Farmers In Developing Countries Research Articles

Agro-input dealers' perspectives on the design of a certification scheme for pesticide risk reduction.

While pesticides are essential for crop protection and food security, they pose serious risks to human health and the environment. Agro-input dealers can play an important role in mitigating pesticide risks, given that they are a major source of pesticides and plant health information for many developing-country farmers. In this article, we assess the willingness of agro-input dealers to offer integrated pest management-based advisory services and promote pesticide risk reduction through a voluntary certification scheme. Using survey data from 557 agro-input dealers in Uganda and a discrete choice experiment, we find that the proposed certification scheme is significantly valued by agro-input dealers, particularly for its potential to provide training opportunities and ensure safety to human health and the environment. Agro-input dealers have a positive attitude towards a certification scheme that restricts the sale of high-risk pesticide products, especially if it stimulates additional income-generating opportunities. Further analysis shows that preferences for voluntary certification attributes are influenced by certification experience, agro-dealership experience, business ownership status and incidence of acute pesticide poisoning. The study findings demonstrate that agro-input dealers are conscious of pesticide risks to human and environmental health and are keen to participate in a certification scheme promoting safer plant protection products. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Testing for distributional structural change with unknown breaks: application to pricing crop insurance contracts

Abstract Agriculture in developed countries is produced under heavily subsidized insurance. The pricing of these insurance contracts, termed premium rates, directly influences farmers profits, their financial solvency, and indirectly, global food security. Changing climate and technology have likely caused significant shifting of mass in crop yield distributions and, if so, has rendered some of the historical yield data irrelevant for estimating premium rates. Insurance is primarily interested in lower tail probabilities and as such the detection of structural change in tail probabilities or higher moments is of great concern for the efficacy of crop insurance programs. We propose a test for structural change with an unknown break(s) which has power against structural change in any moment and can be tailored to a specific range of the underlying distribution. Simulations demonstrate better finite sample performance relative to existing methods and reasonable performance at identifying the break. The asymptotic distribution is shown to follow the Kolmogorov distribution. Our proposed test finds structural change in most major U.S. field crop yields leading to significant premium rate differences. Results of an out-of-sample premium rating game indicate that incorporating structural change in crop yields leads to more accurate premium rates.

An act of defiance? Measuring farmer deviation from personalised extension recommendations in Zambia

AbstractGiven the recognised role of blanket extension advice in the low uptake of productivity‐enhancing technologies among developing country farmers, personalised or site‐specific extension approaches are gaining attention. Focusing on the case of the plant clinic extension model which provides personalised crop protection services to smallholder farmers, we investigate to what extent and how accurately farmers adopt personalised extension advice, and the implications for agricultural productivity. We combine a unique database of personalised integrated pest management (IPM) recommendations provided to 420 plant clinic attendees in Zambia with survey data on the actual IPM practices implemented by these same clinic attendees. We find that more than 80% of the sample farmers deviated from the personalised IPM recommendations they received from plant clinics. Based on the degree of deviation from the personalised recommendations, we identify five categories of adopters of IPM practices and show their heterogeneous effects on maize productivity. For example, our multi‐valued treatment effect estimates suggest an 82% yield penalty for non‐adopters compared to full adopters of recommended IPM practices, while the yield gain for full adopters is more than double that of partial adopters, as well as that of those who adopted additional practices beyond what was recommended. Our findings have important implications for the promotion of personalised extension services and for the measurement of the impact of complex agricultural technologies.

Precision Agriculture: Where do We Stand? A Review of the Adoption of Precision Agriculture Technologies on Field Crops Farms in Developed Countries

Precision agriculture is a management concept, which relies on intensive data collection and data processing for guiding targeted actions that improve the efficiency, productivity, and sustainability of agricultural operations. Several studies have assessed the adoption rate of precision agriculture technologies at regional or national scale, but the literature lacks global evaluations of the development of precision agriculture. For this paper, a review of 17 papers was conducted to provide an evaluation of the adoption rate of precision agriculture technologies on field crops farms in developed countries. This review shows a fast development of Global Navigation Satellite System-based technologies (such as guidance system and automatic section control), and yield monitor on combine harvesters, with a rate of adoption ranging from 60 to 80% in 2016. The adoption rate of these technologies is higher for North American farms than for European farms, with an average rate of adoption 17% higher in North America than in Europe. The three technologies closely correlated with variable rate application (soil mapping, variate rate fertilizing, and variable rate seeding) have seen a slower pace of growth, with only a third of the field crops farms of developed countries using automated methods of managing the spatial crop variability and spatial soil variability within a field. Three hypotheses to explain this difference are discussed: successive adoption of technologies, reject of complex technologies and preference for technologies improving working conditions.

Contract farming and rural transformation: Evidence from a field experiment in Benin

Contract farming has emerged as a popular mechanism to encourage vertical coordination in developing country agriculture. Yet, there is a lack of consensus on its ability to spur structural transformation in rural economies. We present results from a field experiment on contract farming for rice production in Benin. While all contracts have positive effects on welfare and productivity measures, we find that the simplest contract has impacts nearly as large as contracts with additional attributes. This suggests that once price risk is resolved through the offer of a fixed-price contract, farmers are able to address other constraints on their own.

Danish farmer cooperatives

The Danish farmer-owned cooperatives started back in the 1880s. The overall aim was to ensure farmers’ market power and market access in the marketing chain. Since then, cooperatives have emerged in most major agricultural and food industries. In certain industries, the market shares of cooperatives are large and dominant. In other sectors, market shares are smaller, and in some sectors, cooperative ownership has completely ceased.
 A number of prerequisites have been crucial for the significant development of the Danish farmer cooperative industry: A bottom-up approach has been important, so that farmers themselves have driven the development and have had strong incentives to strengthen the cooperative model. A certain level of social capital, a human cohesion, a certain level of education as well as a certain degree of trust and access to infrastructure have also been important factors.
 Today, the development and importance of cooperatives is recognized as a key driver behind the strong international competitiveness of the agricultural and food sectors in Denmark.
 The purpose of the article is thus to describe and analyze the development, the significance and the underlying drivers of the farmer-owned cooperatives. Based on literature studies, case studies and interviews, experiences are summarized and possible lessons are presented. Opportunities and barriers to transferring Danish cooperative experiences to other countries are analyzed and evaluated, and a number of recommendations are presented.
 Opportunities and barriers to transferring Danish cooperative experiences to other countries are analyzed and evaluated. The results in terms of market access etc. meet the needs of farmers in many less developed countries. However, a number of barriers are identified, and the cooperative model must be adapted to the specific circumstances in individual countries.

Demand for Crop Insurance in Developing Countries: New Evidence from India.

Determining farmers’ real demand for crop insurance is difficult, especially in developing countries, where there is a lack of formal financial sector integration and a high reliance on informal risk mitigation options. We provide some new estimates of farmers’ willingness‐to‐pay for insurance in the context of a large‐scale subsidised programme in India. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with agricultural households across four states in India, enabling us to estimate preferences for specific insurance policy attributes such as coverage period, method of loss assessment, timing of indemnity payments and the cost of insurance. Our results suggest that farmers do value crop insurance under certain conditions and some are willing to pay a premium for such coverage in excess of the subsidised rates they are currently required to pay under this programme. In particular, farmers value the assurances that they will receive timely payouts when they incur losses, and may not have a strong preference for the method with which losses are assessed. On the other hand, farmers are quite sensitive to coverage periods. Our baseline assessment shows that when optimised to farmer requirements, there can be a sizeable demand for crop insurance by developing country farmers.

Measuring Time Use in Developing Country Agriculture: Evidence from Bangladesh and Uganda

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the challenges associated with implementing time-use surveys among agricultural households in developing countries and offers advice on best practices for two common measurement methods: stylized questions and time diaries. Using data from Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) surveys in Bangladesh and Uganda, it finds that stylized questions do not always produce shorter interviews compared to time diaries, and recall accuracy may depend on the regularity and saliency of the activity and enumerator abilities. The paper suggests that combining promising methodological innovations from other disciplines with mainstream time-use data collection methods would allow capture of both the quantity and quality of time and provide richer insights into gendered time-use patterns. Broadening the scope of time-use research to other aspects of well-being can help identify how time constraints contribute to gender inequality and inform the design of policies and interventions to relieve those constraints. HIGHLIGHTS Time-use surveys are essential for addressing gender disparities, yet little research has compared time-use survey methods in developing countries. Developing country agricultural contexts present unique logistical challenges to time-data collection, including low literacy and unfamiliarity with clock-oriented time. In Bangladesh and Uganda, there are systematic differences between time-use estimates obtained using stylized questions and time diaries. Men and women experience different emotions toward different types of work, and gender gaps exist in the distribution of pleasant and unpleasant activities. Learning from non-economics disciplines, including research on quality of time, leads to richer insights into gendered time-use patterns.

PERSPEKTYWY GOSPODARSTW RODZINNYCH – CIĄG DALSZY

Family farms dominate in agriculture determining global food security and are essential for ecological security. These farms have not been precisely defined probably due to their enormous differentiation among and within regions and countries of the world. Along with the development of capitalism, family farms are subject to industrial transformation which is highly advanced in developed countries, while in less developed countries it has just started. New challenges and development conditions related mainly to environmental limitations and globalization, as well as contestation of industrial transformation outcomes give rise to a question about the universality of such transformation and inevitability of transformations in agriculture of less developed countries to follow the path demarcated by developed countries. In addition to the issues of understanding and importance of family farms, the article presents the issue of perspectives of agricultural transformation in general and in Poland, including the position on the comments by S. Figiel.

The Role of Rural Livelihood Diversification Strategies for Household Food Security in Southern Ethiopia: Empirical Evidence from Kecha Bira District of Kembata Tembaro Zone

Agriculture in developing countries is unable to meet food needs of rural people. Thus, rural households engage in to different livelihood diversification activities to ensure their food needs and secure their future livelihoods. The study investigated the role of livelihood diversification strategies for rural household food security in Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia with empirical evidence from Kecha Birra district with data collected from a sample of 355 households selected by multistage sampling technique. The descriptive statistics were used to identify the livelihood strategies in the study area. The finding of the study indicated that majority of the rural households (41.6%) engaged into on-farm activity. However, 22.54%, 21.41% and 14.37% practice on-farm plus off- farm; on-farm plus non-farm; and on-farm plus off-farm plus non-farm livelihood diversification activities respectively. Household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) was used to measure food security status of households. The study result showed that 51.27% households were food insecure and the rest 48.73% were food secured. Logistic regression model was used to assess the role of livelihood diversification strategies to rural household food security. The results of the model indicated livelihood diversification strategies, Income obtained from diversification activities, Education status of the households, Total farm land size of households, Total livestock unit owned and Training and extension service are positively and significantly related to rural household food security status and improves food security status of rural households. It confirmed that livelihood diversification strategies have a positive effect and would be the best solution to reduce poverty and improve food security at household level in rural areas. Therefore, due attention should be given to strengthen livelihood diversification strategies so as to improve rural household food security.

Agricultural production strategies: world experience

Agricultural production strategies: world experience

Maize (Zea mays) Response to Anthill Soil (Termitaria), Manure and NPK Fertilization Rate under Conventional and Reduced Tillage Cropping Systems

Soil fertility management has been described by many scholars as fundamental and a major hindrance to food production amongst smallholder farmers in the developing world. To counteract this challenge, some farmers have been reported to use anthill soil as analternative fertilizer to improve soil fertility for supporting crop growth. Against this background, a study was undertaken with the aim of ascertaining the effect of anthill soil application alone, cattle manure, and/or their combination with commercially available NPK fertilizer on the growth and yield parameters of three maize varieties under field conditions involving conventional (CONV) and conservation agriculture (CA) tillage systems. Results revealed that anthill soil alone (5000 kg/ha) or in combination with either manure (10,000 kg/ha) or half rate of commercially available fertilizer (NPKS: 10% N, 20% P2O5, 10% K2O, 6% S at 100 kg/ha) competed favourably in terms of response to growth parameters. Furthermore, pH and P levels changed significantly (p < 0.05) at harvest. We conclude that resource-constrained smallholder farmers in less developed countries utilizing anthill soil for fertility improvement purposes should judiciously apply it in CA planting basin structures compared with conventional methods, which appeared to be less effective and leads to sub-optimal yields.

Genetic Parameters for Growth and Kid Survival of Indigenous Goat under Smallholding System of Burundi.

Simple SummaryGoats play a key multifunctional role in food security and poverty alleviation for small farmers in many less developed countries. Unfortunately, the productivity level of these goats is low. Among the alternatives proposed to overcome this situation, one is to establish a phenotypic breeding program with the support of community breeding organizations. In this study, genetic parameters were estimated for the growth, conformation, and survival of 1538 young goats raised by small farmers in Burundi organized in farmer field schools. Overall, the results suggest that phenotypic selection of growth and conformation traits would be possible if data recording and animal management were improved. On the other hand, efforts to improve survival should focus on improving the environmental conditions in which kids are raised. The role of community breeding organizations and animal health workers is therefore essential to disseminate breeding techniques and methods that optimize animal production and health.The goal of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for the growth, conformation, and survival of goat kids raised in smallholder farming systems in Burundi. To do this, measurements were taken on live weight, thoracic perimeter, length, and height at birth (n = 1538 animals), at 3 months (n = 1270 animals), at 6 months (n = 992 animals), at 9 months (n = 787 animals), and at 12 months (n = 705 animals). Kids were born between 2016 and 2019, from 645 dams and 106 bucks. Three bivariate animal models were used to estimate genetic parameters of body weight and conformation measurements as potential indicators of this weight. According to the measure, heritability was estimated between 15 and 17% and genetic correlations between 65 and 79%. An accelerated failure time animal model was used to estimate the heritability of survival for kids under one year, adjusted for birth weight. Goat survival was significantly prolonged by 0.64 days per kilogram of birth weight. The estimated heritability for this trait was 2%. Overall, these results suggest that a selection program could be implemented to improve animal growth, either directly on weight or indirectly on conformational traits. At the same time, efforts need to be made to improve rearing conditions to increase the survival of kids.

How experimental research in agriculture has gone from lab to field

Abstract Agriculture has a long tradition of randomized experiments in the research station and of comparative demonstration plots under scientist control. The BDK Nobelists have pioneered randomized field experiments under agency control to fight global poverty, thus making behavior, contextual circumstances, and institutional constraints key determinants of outcomes. In agriculture, experimentation has massively responded in jumping the fence from lab to field, with already major advances as to how to better use agriculture for development. We document how this has happened and how the methodology of field experiments has to be adapted to perform in the challenging context of developing country agriculture.

Key Risk Factors Affecting Farmers' Mental Health: A Systematic Review.

Recently, concern has increased globally over farmers’ mental health issues. We present a systematic review of the outcomes, locations, study designs, and methods of current studies on farmers’ mental health. In particular, this review aims to fill an important gap in understanding of the potential key risk factors affecting farmers’ mental health around the world. 167 articles on farmer mental health were included in a final systematic review using a standardized electronic literature search strategy and PRISMA guidelines. The four most-cited influences on farmers’ mental health in the reviewed literature respectively were pesticide exposure, financial difficulties, climate variabilities/drought, and poor physical health/past injuries. The majority of studies were from developed countries, most specifically from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Comparative studies on the mental health of farmers and other occupational workers showed mixed results, with a larger portion identifying that psychological health disturbances were more common in farmers and farm-workers. Knowledge of farmer psychological disorder risk factors and its impacts are essential for reducing the burden of mental illness. Further research will be required on climate change impacts, developing country farmers’ mental health, and information on how to reduce help-seeking barriers amongst farmers.

Let them Eat Promises: Global Policy Incoherence, Unmet Pledges, and Misplaced Priorities Undercut Progress on SDG 2

The international community has adopted and endorsed an ambitious global development agenda for the period 2015–2030 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 2 seeks to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. This reflects a broad international consensus on the unacceptability of hunger articulated previously at the 1996 World Food Summit and reiterated at the 2008 High-Level Conference on World Food Security. In 2009, at their L’Aquila Summit, the G8 heads of state and government pledged a significant expansion of aid to agriculture, in order to address the global food-price spike of the preceding year. However, serious global policy incoherence severely undermines this apparent political will to end hunger and boost developing-country agriculture. In particular, although official development assistance to agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (hunger’s center of gravity) doubled between 2003 and 2012, the share of total global aid going to agriculture, at just 5% in 2014, is well below the 20% share of the mid-1980s. In addition, donor-country agricultural trade and security policies often undercut support for agricultural development in the Global South. Furthermore, there is incoherence within donor policies on aid to agriculture, which tend to focus more on promoting commercialization and exports than on boosting smallholder productivity and the economic empowerment of women farmers. For their part, developing-country governments have not fulfilled pledges to increase their own agricultural development budgets (as seen in the African Union Declarations of Maputo and Malabo), and the bulk of those budgets go to recurrent expenditure rather than development investments. In Sub-Saharan Africa, military expenditures account for a greater share of public funds. This paper suggests that while policy makers in both the Global South and North treat food security and agricultural development as priorities, these remain in a relatively low position on policy agendas because other concerns respond to much stronger constituencies.

Agricultural mechanization and reduced tillage: antagonism or synergy?

ABSTRACTThis paper reviews agricultural mechanization and reduced tillage use in the context of sustainable intensification in developing country agriculture. The scoping review includes selected and contrasting cases – including Zimbabwe (manual systems), Bangladesh (2-wheel – single axle tractor systems), India (4-wheel – i.e. 2 axles tractor systems), Kazakhstan (mechanized systems) and Brazil (diverse systems). The expansion of reduced tillage appears strongly associated with the level of agricultural mechanization – facilitated by a number of common drivers and contextualized by the prevailing farm power and intensity of tillage. Soil conservation, timely planting and farm power savings in crop establishment are important drivers for the expansion of reduced tillage across the world, facilitated by conducive markets, institutional and policy environments and the integration of diverse actors to introduce, adapt and promote the necessary components.

Gene-edited livestock could be a boon to farmers in developing countries

Gene-edited livestock could be a boon to farmers in developing countries

Price premiums, payment delays, and default risk: understanding developing country farmers’ decisions to market through a cooperative or a private trader

AbstractSmallholder farmers in developing countries face a competitive disadvantage in modern agricultural supply chains. Joint marketing through cooperatives is a potential tool to mitigate these disadvantages; yet cooperatives’ success in these settings is uneven at best. We develop an analytical model to study a farmer's choice of selling to a private trader who pays cash on delivery but may exercise market power or a cooperative that promises a price premium but delays payment and carries a concomitant risk of default. In the presence of impatient and risk‐averse farmers, we show that these factors can severely limit smallholder patronage of a cooperative, despite a promised price premium. We then construct and parameterize a simulation model to fit a profile of heterogeneous farmers within a prototype developing‐country village, and study the optimal decisions of farmers regarding marketing through a cooperative versus a private trader. Results suggest that modest improvements in either timeliness of payment or probability of default can induce a substantial increase in a cooperative's market share and economic viability. Extending the simulation analysis to a dynamic setting shows how implementing reasonable policies to improve a cooperative's payment timeliness and default probability can markedly improve its growth trajectory.

Policy Note: "Addressing Trade-offs to Promote Safely Managed Wastewater in Developing Countries"

Policy Note: "Addressing Trade-offs to Promote Safely Managed Wastewater in Developing Countries"