Constraints Of Farmers Research Articles

Genetic improvement in buffaloes for enhancing global food security

The global food crisis is worsening, with around 282 million people experiencing acute food insecurity in 2023, largely due to extreme weather events and inflation. This crisis is particularly severe in the Asia-Pacific region, where the rising cost of healthy food has left 232.8 million people unable to afford a nutritious diet. In India, home to approximately 200 million malnourished people, buffaloes have become essential in the fight against hunger, contributing around 45% to the nation’s milk production and significantly to meat production. Buffalo meat and milk, known for their high nutritional value, are crucial in addressing food insecurity. Additionally, buffalo farming is linked to sustainable practices, such as efficient feed use and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past fifty years, India’s efforts to improve buffalo genetics have led to significant increases in productivity. Despite challenges like smallholder farming constraints, there are opportunities to expand buffalo meat exports and value-added dairy products. Adopting precision dairy farming and advanced breeding programs could transform India’s dairy industry, enhancing its global competitiveness and sustainability.

Pricing of Groundwater and Constraints of Farmers in Groundwater Marketing in North Eastern Karnataka

The present study was conducted in North Eastern dry Zone of Karnataka which falls under semi arid tropic region. The study is based on primary data obtained from 45 water sellers and 45 water buyer farmers through snow ball sampling techniques. The data collected were analysed by using descriptive statistics and Garret ranking method. The cost of irrigation was calculated by employing amortization technique. The findings revealed that there were mainly two methods of transactions that could be seen in the groundwater markets in the study area viz., cash payment and crop share/ kind method. It is also found that relationship between water sellers and water buyers among the sample farmers in the study area. The percentage of neighbourers in the total transaction of groundwater marketing was 55.23 and relatives constituted 26.66 per cent, and the percentage of friends was 21.11. The water price or rents varied with type crops grown by water buyers (₹7848.06, ₹2240, ₹1950 and ₹2350 for paddy, groundnut, pigeon pea and cotton, respectively.) per acre in the study area. High water charges, lack of money to pay for water rent, unable to get water timely, etc were the major constraints of water buyer farmers and difficulty in fixing the price or rent for groundwater, delaying in payment of groundwater by water buyers, irregular power supply in rural area were the major constraints faced by water seller farmers in the study area. Therefore, Government and Agricultural extension institutions should educate the farmers about the pros and cons of over exploitation of groundwater not only for present generation and but also on future generation.

Does rural e-commerce improve the economic resilience of family farms?

E-commerce and other digital economies are emerging drivers for high-quality development in the Chinese economy. Based on the e-commerce plan in rural China, this paper investigates the effect of e-commerce development on the economic resilience of family farms, using data from 110,574 family farms in China from 2013 to 2021 and applying the staggered DID method. The results show that e-commerce development significantly enhances the resilience of family farms. Mechanism tests reveal that e-commerce policy substantially reduces the financing constraints of family farms and curbs underinvestment, thereby boosting their resilience. However, the effect on family farms with overinvestment is not significant. Additionally, the analysis of heterogeneity indicates that e-commerce has a greater impact on the resilience of family farms in areas with better institutional quality. Regarding the development status of the farm, the impact of e-commerce on resilience is greater in large-scale and capital-intensive family farms. Overall, this study sheds light on the actual impact of rural e-commerce in China on the economic resilience of family farms and offers valuable empirical insights for the revitalization of rural areas in developing countries.

Constraints of Farmers in Adoption of Improved “Kachai Lemon” Cultivation Practices in Ukhrul District of Manipur, India

Constraints of Farmers in Adoption of Improved “Kachai Lemon” Cultivation Practices in Ukhrul District of Manipur, India

A Study on Mass Media Preferences and Constraints Faces by the Farmers in Imphal East District Manipur

A research study was conducted during March–April, 2023 at Imphal East, Manipur, India to gain insights into the preferences and constraints of farmers concerning their utilization of mass media. Two blocks were select randomly and from each block two villages were selected randomly; a total 120 respondents were interviewed through structured scheduled. Mean, frequency, percentage and garret ranking method were used to analysis the data and to find out the appropriate result. The outcomes illuminated that, among the farmers, mobile phones emerged as the most favored mass media, trailed by television, radio, newspapers, and agricultural magazines. The major constraints faced by farmers in the case of television were a lack of market availability of suggested inputs (59.16%), a lack of use of a complex technical word (44.16%) in radio, a lack of use of a complex technical word (46.66%) in newspapers, no one subscribe to any farm magazine (94.16%) in farm magazines, and a lack of awareness of mobile applications related to agriculture (56.66%) on mobile phones. This study underscores the pivotal role of mass media in rural areas and highlights the challenges tied to specific mass media.

Drivers for optimum sizing of wind turbines for offshore wind farms

Abstract. Large-scale exploitation of offshore wind energy is deemed essential to provide its expected share to electricity needs of the future. To achieve the same, turbine and farm-level optimizations play a significant role. Over the past few years, the growth in the size of turbines has massively contributed to the reduction in costs. However, growing turbine sizes come with challenges in rotor design, turbine installation, supply chain, etc. It is, therefore, important to understand how to size wind turbines when minimizing the levelized cost of electricity (LCoE) of an offshore wind farm. Hence, this study looks at how the rated power and rotor diameter of a turbine affect various turbine and farm-level metrics and uses this information in order to identify the key design drivers and how their impact changes with setup. A multi-disciplinary design optimization and analysis (MDAO) framework is used to perform the analysis. The framework uses low-fidelity models that capture the core dependencies of the outputs on the design variables while also including the trade-offs between various disciplines of the offshore wind farm. The framework is used, not to estimate the LCoE or the optimum turbine size accurately, but to provide insights into various design drivers and trends. A baseline case, for a typical setup in the North Sea, is defined where LCoE is minimized for a given farm power and area constraint with the International Energy Agency 15 MW reference turbine as a starting point. It is found that the global optimum design, for this baseline case, is a turbine with a rated power of 16 MW and a rotor diameter of 236 m. This is already close to the state-of-the-art designs observed in the industry and close enough to the starting design to justify the applied scaling. A sensitivity study is also performed that identifies the design drivers and quantifies the impact of model uncertainties, technology/cost developments, varying farm design conditions, and different farm constraints on the optimum turbine design. To give an example, certain scenarios, like a change in the wind regime or the removal of farm power constraint, result in a significant shift in the scale of the optimum design and/or the specific power of the optimum design. Redesigning the turbine for these scenarios is found to result in an LCoE benefit of the order of 1 %–2 % over the already optimized baseline. The work presented shows how a simplified approach can be applied to a complex turbine sizing problem, which can also be extended to metrics beyond LCoE. It also gives insights into designers, project developers, and policy makers as to how their decision may impact the optimum turbine scale.

Perception and constraints of farmers in adoption of crop intelligence systems in the state of Andhra Pradesh

The adoption of IoT based crop intelligence systems has been gaining momentum in modern agriculture, offering services to dry land farmers to enhance their farming practices and increase productivity. This study intend to analyze the farmers perception and constraints in adoption of IoT based crop intelligence systems in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Primary data was obtained from a random of 100 sample farmers and data obtained was analysed through mean score, rank order and Farrette’s ranking techniques. The results from the study indicated that the crop intelligence systems played a crucial role in improving the planning of farm operations, crop protection particularly in irrigation alerts and disease control. The ease-of-use factor was also highly regarded. Among adopters, the lack of flexibility in operation and negative support from social networking were identified as significant barriers. For non-adopters, high initial investment cost and limited access to credit facilities were identified as the major hindrances to adopting crop intelligence systems.

Pig farming profitability and constraints in smallholder households in Rwanda: a case study of Musanze district.

The increasing human population risks food insecurity especially food of animal origin. Pig plays an important role in household income in all production. The main aim of this study was to analyze the pig farming profitability and constraints in smallholder households in Rwanda. A multistage sampling technique was employed for the success of the research. The study was carried out in five sectors of Musnze district. A purposive sampling technique was used to select Musanze district and five sectors. However, a random sampling method was used to have a sample size of 120 pig farmers’ respondents. The cost and returns associated with pig farming production were carried out to determine the profitability of pig production while a stochastic frontier production function was used to determine factors influencing pig farming in small householders using STATA. The findings indicated that men are the majority of the respondents in pig farming production in the study area. The findings of the regression analysis indicated that five factors namely education level, market availability, off-farm generation, feed availability, and access to veterinary services were positive, and statistically significant at P ≤ 0.01 level of probability and influenced pig farming in the study area. The findings also indicated that the Total Revenue (TR), Total Cost (TC), Gross Margin (GM), and Net Farm Income (NFI) were statistically significant at (p < 0.01). The research findings indicated that pig farming is a profitable business in the study area. The result of regression analysis also indicated that the three factors namely income generation, employment opportunities, and new job creation had positive and statistically significant impacts on pig farming in the study area at P ≤ 0.01 level of probability. The findings of this study revealed that the most common constraints for pig farming in smallholder households were the high cost of feeds, inadequate initial capital, feeds sacristy and quality, lack of conservation facilities, pests, and diseases outbreaks, high cost of piglets, lack of farming information, and poor housing. Despite the constraints indicated by different respondents in the study area. Pig farming is an economically profitable business in the study area and it is capable of creating new jobs, enhancing employment opportunities, generating income, and clearly improving the standard livelihood of farmers. Based on the findings of the study, it has been recommended to promote interventions that can help provide initial start-up capital for farmers or marketing groups to help kick-start their farming operations; and to train and equip pig farmers and veterinaries in new technologies and innovations. Promote the analysis of profitability, opportunities, and constraints along the pig value chain as well as to support and improve the underlying business progress or stunting well as to make a good decision.

Socio-economic characteristics of farmers and constraints to livestock development in the Drâa-Tafilalet region of Morocco

The study aimed to determine the socio-economic characteristics of livestock breeders in the Drâa-Tafilalet region of Morocco, as well as the constraints of livestock farming. Five sites in the region, representing mountain oases, intermediate oases and plain oases, were selected. In each site, three to five rural districts, each with one to eight breeders of each livestock species were selected. Depending on the main livestock species owned by the breeder, the interviewer completed the species-specific questionnaire. A total of 305 surveys were conducted in 21 districts with 19.7, 34.4, 23.3, 6.88, 11.5 and 4.26% cattle, sheep, goat, camel, chicken and rabbit breeders, respectively. Descriptive statistics were calculated for continuous variables and frequencies were calculated for qualitative variables. According to the findings, the breeders of the region were men (82%), married (93.7%), having been to school (48.4%) and exercising agriculture - livestock as a primary activity (71.5%). Breeders of each species owned on average 4.14 ± 4.81 cattle, 52.2 ± 77.8 sheep, 66.0 ± 77.4 goats, 27.2 ± 30.3 dromedaries, 10.7 ± 8.99 chickens and 12.0 ± 14.9 rabbits. Their initial herd was acquired through inheritance (51.4%), purchase (34.7%), both purchase and inheritance (10.4%) or donation (2.39). The objective of breeding was the generation of income through the sale of live animals and animal products. The preferred traits varied depending on the livestock species. The dynamics of animal numbers over the past five years were increasing (32.2%), decreasing (45.2%) and stable (22.6%). The main constraint to livestock development was the high cost of feedstuffs (index= 0.47). The first action proposed by breeders for livestock development was the provision of feedstuffs at subsidized prices (index= 0.42). It was concluded that these results might be helpful in developing strategies to improve livestock production.

Farmers’perception of veterinary services in Bangladesh

Farmers’ perception of veterinary services at the Upazila (Sub-district) Veterinary Hospital (UVH), and constraints of livestock farming in Bangladesh were studied. Data from 135 livestock farmers which were obtained, using a pretested questionnaire. Most of the farmers (99.3%) had small families. Most were illiterate (60.0%), 22.2% had Secondary School Certificate and 17% had Higher Secondary Certificate or above. Mostly, stall feeding system was practised (76.9%), concentrated feed (71.9%) and water (68.9%) were supplied twice daily and animals were dewormed at regular intervals (51.1%). Irregular vaccinations were followed by 15.6% farmers. Only 55.2% of farmers called on veterinary surgeons when their animals were sick. About 77.6% farmers were satisfied with the existing public veterinary services.About 32.1% farmers got veterinary services at their door step by the veterinary surgeons whereas 29.9, 28.4 and 8.2% farmers received drugs, services, and free vaccination, respectively. Poor knowledge of farming (71.3%), feeds and fodder scarcity (55.6%) and unavailability of safe water (64.4%) were the main constraints identified. It is suggested that more training and veterinary extension programmes for farmers are required. Bangl. vet. 2022. Vol. 39, No. 1-2, 26–33

Effect of adoption of organic farming on technical efficiency of olive-growing farms: empirical evidence from West Bank of Palestine

Organic farming is one of the methods that increases the value added of agricultural products in a sustainable way. This paper examines how the adoption of organic farming has impacted the technical efficiency of Palestinian olive-growing farms in the West Bank. Using cross-sectional data of olive farms in the Jenin governorate, we employ an input-oriented data envelopment analysis framework to compute radial and input use efficiencies. Considering heterogeneity in technology between organic and conventional farming, a metafrontier with a directional distance function approach was applied. As self-selection bias may exist due to the decision to adopt organic farming, we apply the endogenous switching regression method to reduce bias caused by unobserved heterogeneity. Results suggest that organic farms in Jenin are not less efficient than conventional farms. Their organic farming method improves input use efficiency with respect to labor and cost relative to conventional farming. While organic farming is commonly considered to be less efficient and more costly, our findings from Jenin imply that it is, in fact, a more efficient method. We suggest that promoting organic olive farming could offer an effective strategy for small farms to add value, despite the severe geopolitical constraints of farming in the West Bank.

Smart Shallot Farming: Prototype of Internet of Thing (Iot)-Based Shallot Farming System as a Sustainable Agricultural Innovation

The shallot commodity is an important agricultural commodity for the food economy, its price often experiences a high increase especially when entering the dry season. The current constraints of shallot farming spend more time and energy because the whole process is done manually which makes farmers experience losses and incur more costs. To overcome these obstacles, researchers innovate to offer Smart Shallot Farming, this system can be applied to shallot farming to simplify and save the cost of maintaining shallot plants. This innovation in shallot farming will simplify and save the cost of shallot plant maintenance. The application of Salfarm on shallot farming is expected to be a technological innovation to improve national resilience in agriculture.

Tractors, Talk, Mindset, Mantras, Detachment, and Distraction: A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Coping Strategies Used by Farmers in Canada

Characterized by high unpredictability and little control, everyday factors make farming one of the most stressful occupations globally. Indeed, farmers around the world and in Canada score more severely on measures of perceived stress and negative mental health outcomes like anxiety and depression, and suicide ideation among farmers is disproportionately high. Research investigating effective ways of coping with everyday stress within the time and workload constraints of farming is scarce. This mixed-methods study explores the ways farmers in Ontario and Canada cope with daily farming stressors. Qualitative data from 75 in-depth interviews with farmers and industry professionals in Ontario, Canada, were analyzed to investigate farming-specific coping strategies within the farming context. Quantitative survey responses from 1167 farmers across Canada to the 14-item Ways of Coping measure developed for the Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 1.2 were analyzed to determine which coping strategies Canadian farmers use most in relation to the representative national population. The ways of coping endorsed by farmers are presented in this paper, including adaptations of positive coping strategies in the farming context. The descriptions of positive and negative coping strategies used provide direction for effective avenues to reduce stress and boost farmers’ well-being.

Organic Milk Production and Dairy Farming Constraints and Prospects under the Laws of the European Union.

In recent years, there has been rapid development in organic farming. When choosing organic livestock products, consumers are guided by the conviction that animals are provided with the highest welfare standards and access to pasture. The purpose of this article was to trace the principles of organic farming prevailing in the EU with regard to milk production and cattle breeding. The principles of organic production are universal and their application is not limited to certified farms. Organic certification is intended to assure the consumer of the quality and method of production. Due to additional requirements imposed by law, organic cows are usually kept in better welfare conditions compared to conventional cattle, but this is not the rule. The altered taste and texture of organic milk and its products compared to conventional products mainly depends on the presence of pasture greens in the cows' diet. Therefore, milk from conventionally kept, pasture-grazed cows may have similar characteristics and composition. Organic farms tend to have lower milk yields compared to conventional farms due to the lower consumption of concentrate feed. In the future, it is expected that the proportion of land that is unsuitable for the production of crops for human consumption will increasingly be used for cow grazing.

The polarization and constraints of scale farming in China under the impact of rising wages

For small-peasant economy countries in Asia, scale farming, characterized by land transfer, helps achieve scale economies and improve productivity. However, the scale farming development is hindered by the increasing farm labor cost because of the rising wages. Based on a panel dataset of 458 tenant farmers in Jilin, Jiangsu, and Sichuan provinces in China, we investigate heterogeneity in the impact of rising wages on tenant farmers’ farm size and machinery investment of different initial farm sizes. Additionally, we further analyze the different constraints they face in adapting to wage increases. Our results show the antithetical impact of rising wages on tenant farmers with different farm sizes. This results in the polarization of tenant farmers’ farm size in China. Meanwhile, tenant farmers face various constraints in the adjustment process of farm size and machinery investment. Specifically, large-scale tenant farmers increase their farm size and invest in agricultural machinery given the rising wages. The extent of this adjustment depends on farming seasons and their liquidity. In contrast, small-scale tenant farmers reduce their farm size and machinery investment. Their choices are limited by the availability of off-farm employment opportunities. Therefore, the government should consider the heterogeneity of tenant farmers and help mitigate the constraints they face to promote the development of scale farming.

Impact of operation scale and labor costs on pesticide use intensity of fruit farmers: evidence from peach farmers in China

The impact of the operation scale on the pesticide use intensity of farmers may be related to different crop types and production factors constraints over different operation scales. This study uses the survey data of 522 peach farmers in China in 2018 to investigate the impact of the operation scale on pesticide use intensity and discusses the influence of labor costs constraint on the pesticide use intensity of different operation scales of cash crop. Empirical analysis results reveal that the operation scale shows a U-shaped relationship with pesticide use intensity; as the labor costs of pesticide use increases, the pesticide use intensity decreases. After classifying peach farmers into large-scale and small-scale farmers, significant differences were found between them. Large-scale farmers are more inclined to use pesticides scientifically because of the dual constraints of pesticide costs and labor costs, while small-scale farmers are more inclined to overuse pesticides because of a lower constraint of labor costs. Further, as labor costs of pesticide use rise, the negative influence of scale expansion on pesticide use intensity decreases. Therefore, the formulation and implementation of relevant policies need to distinguish different crop types and different operation scales and need to understand the actual needs and constraints of farmers, so as to truly reduce pesticide use intensity and increase pesticide use efficiency.

Challenges in Developing Aquaculture for Livelihood Enhancement in Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone

The study investigated socioeconomic characteristics, aquacultural practices and constraints among smallholder fish farmers in the study location of Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone. The present study employed a survey research design. The smallholder farmers who were growing food for themselves, for sale, and for consumption by others as well as those who were primarily growing it for the market were each given 40 questionnaires in total. The results revealed that most of the respondents were male (90.0%), married (60.0%), lacked training in fish farming (57.5%) and the household income of most (60.0%) ranged from NLe600-NLe1,000. The farmers mostly opined low fish farming experience (70.0%), Semi-intensive fish farming (67.5%), low aquaculture development (57.5%), predominantly seasonal fish pond irrigation (77.5%). All of the respondents’ view fish farming as an economically viable enterprise as well as a profitable (87.5%) entity. The mean rank of constraints was significantly (p ≤ 0.006) differed among fish farmers. The key fish farming constraints included culturing fish, fish feed in culturing fish, less interest, fewer fish farmers, high inputs, high cost of fish pond construction and intensive capital investment that could be exploited for improved productivity. The outcomes of these recent studies imply that fish farmers should receive training and funding for their operations to improve their competitiveness in their smallholder fish businesses as well as in the local and international aquaculture industries. Also, the governments and other practitioner authorities ought to implement policies and initiatives that would support fish farming activities, further research development in aquaculture, the development of the nation, and the fish farmers themselves.

Identification and prioritization of the constraints of rubber farming in Moneragala District

Identification and prioritization of the constraints of rubber farming perceived by rubber smallholders in Moneragala district were the objectives of this study as rubber farming is still being expanded. There were 44 constraints identified by the focus group discussion with 48 Rubber Smallholders (RSs), who were selected from eight rubber-growing DS divisions based on a stratified sampling technique, prior to the questionnaire survey. Identified constraints were listed on the questionnaire. A pre-tested questionnaire survey, a focus group discussion, semi-structured interviews and field observations were used to collect data from 597 rubber smallholders who were selected from eight rubber-growing DS based on stratified sampling technique. The respondents were asked to assign a rank for all constraints. The 44 constraints perceived by rubber smallholders were categorized into following rubber farming activities; 1. Immature up-keeping, 2. Rubber tapping, 3. Manuaring of rubber farming, 4. Rubber processing, 5. Rubber marketing, 6. Extension service related to rubber farming and 7. Thurusaviya rubber societies. Among them, low quality of planting material, lack of knowledge of tapping, lack of knowledge of applying mature fertilizer unavailability of quality acid, low prices for every grade of RSS, lack of training programmes on rubber processing aspects and unsatisfactory input distribution were the highest prioritised constraints address the sustainability of rubber farming in Moneragala by the Henry Garrett Ranking Method. Development of an extension strategic plan in order to transfer the knowledge of the recommended rubber farming practices introduced by the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka to rubber smallholders in Moneragala with the aim of enhancing rubber productivity, restructuring the rubber farming subsidies focused on Intermediate Zone rubber farming, improving the rubber marketing system and strengthening the Thurusaviya rubber societies were identified as strategies to overcome the identified perceived constraints of rubber farming in Moneragala.

Pelatihan Pembuatan Pupuk dan Pestisida Organik bagi Petani Cabai di Desa Tajau Landung Kabupaten Banjar

Chili is one of the vegetable commodities that have excellent and promising business opportunities in Tajau Landung Village. In this village there are 16 farmer groups and 75% of them grow chilies, both large chilies and cayenne peppers. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are the main production factors in chili farming. Prices and access to subsidized pesticides and chemical fertilizers are a constraint for farmers, and their residues have a negative impact on consumers and the environment. This activity aims to provide training to farmers in Tajau Landung Village to produce organic fertilizers and pesticides. The activity began with counseling about Chili Pests and Diseases and how to control them organically, as well as pretest and posttest using a questionnaire. The next activity was training on making bokasi fertilizer enriched with Trikoberas, and PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria). Based on the results of the evaluation, it was concluded that there was an increase in participants' understanding of chili pests and diseases and their control before and after being given counseling. %). Participants already have skills in making organic bokasi fertilizer from water hyacinth and kiyambang weeds, PGPR, and Trikoberas added to bokasi fertilizer to become Trikokompos, and showed very good acceptability assessment results.

Assessment of farm constraints and income losses during COVID-19 lockdown in India

A telephonic survey was conducted during May 2020 among 675 farmers across 28 districts of 11 states of India to assess farm constraints and income losses of lockdown 1.0 and 2.0. The results indicate that labour availability and input accessibility were hurdles, but manageable to some extent. However, marketing constraints inflicted 48 and 19% losses in total expected income of perishable and non-perishable commodities and average loss per farm household was ₹0.93 lakh (28%). Although, income support was given through PM-KISAN, it was not adequate to compensate losses. Therefore, farm income support needs to be enhanced to cope with lockdown losses.