Effect Of Farmers Research Articles

Efficiency of a mixed farming system in a marginal winter rainfall area of the Overberg, South Africa, with implications for thinking about sustainability

ABSTRACT This study presents a preliminary analysis of the productivity performance of a small group of mixed winter rainfall farms over the past decade. Results indicate that there has been no technical progress in the sector over the past decade and group members are falling further behind their own benchmark as time passes. Relative rankings have remained stable, with most of the group riding the peaks and troughs of good and bad years without breaking rank. There is clearly room for fresh thinking. Drought does not offer a simple explanation for the observed trends. This group’s total factor productivity is inversely correlated with farm size despite evidence that their technology is increasing returns-to-scale. This is difficult to explain. Woolled sheep seems to be the solution to drought, but too much land under planted pastures lowers overall efficiency. There is much more investigation to do, including to cast the net wider so that a more sophisticated efficiency model can be fitted. There was no information on heat stress or rainfall variability, or the date of adoption of conservation agriculture, which is known to be a good strategy against unreliable rainfall. We also could not model the effect of farmers’ skills and ambitions on their performance. The study’s main contribution is to debunk the myths that rainfall places an absolute limit on performance and that a larger scale of operation is always beneficial.

Effects of Farmers’ Facial Expression on Consumers’ Responses in Print Advertising of Local Food: The Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence

In the context of ethical consumption, we examine the effects of farmers’ facial expression in print advertising on consumers’ responses to local food. Furthermore, we try to verify the moderating role of emotional intelligence (EI) on consumers’ responses to the advertising message strategy. The advertising message strategy that connects farmers and consumers is expected to create more favorable responses among consumers toward local food and its retailers. This study examines consumers’ responses (perceived product quality, trust, and a positive attitude toward the local food retailer) to three conditions of farmers’ facial expression in the advertisement (neutral facial expression, positive facial expression, and product only, with no portrait) across two levels of EI (low and high). We find that farmers’ positive facial expressions in the advertisements have the greatest positive effects on consumers’ perceived product quality, trust, and attitude toward the local food retailer under a high level of EI. Therefore, individuals with a high level of EI were more influenced by facial expressions in print advertising, whereas those with a low level of EI were less influenced by facial expressions in print advertising, and their responses were indifferent to whether the local food farmer had a neutral or a positive facial expression in print advertising. Our findings suggest that marketing practitioners consider personal characteristics such as EI in persuading local food consumers in target markets to implement strategies to promote local food purchase and consumption.

The effect of farmers’ market access on residential property values

Improving farmers' market accessibility is increasingly being used as a mechanism to promote healthy food consumption. Previous studies about farmers’ markets largely focused on describing either the demographics of market patrons or the impact of market participation on fruit and vegetable intake. Thus, little empirical research has examined how market accessibility impacts nearby communities.The goal of this study is to assess whether consumers value farmers' market accessibility by exploiting preferences revealed through housing purchases. Using residential sales data from 2007 to 2012 in five Central Maryland counties, we tested whether farmers' market accessibility is associated with housing prices by estimating hedonic models with temporal and neighborhood fixed effects. The results suggest an inverse association between housing prices and distance to the closest farmers’ market, a relationship that remains statistically significant when using matching and instrumental variables estimators. The results also suggest that the association between market accessibility and housing prices is stronger in areas with poor-quality food environments.The findings are important to policy makers and planners because they suggest that farmers' market accessibility is valued by consumers in nearby communities and that consumers with limited access to food stores are willing to pay a premium for houses with access to farmers’ markets. Assessing the mechanisms driving this association is an important area for future research.

HOW GOOD IS THE FOOD SECURITY IN INDONESIA

This research aims to provide analysis on the effect of farmers’ terms of trade, agricultural land area, gross regional domestic product and population on food security in 34 provinces in Indonesia. The data analysis method used is data panel model with fixed effects model. The results showed that the farmers’ terms of trade variable and The agricultural land area had no significant effect on food security in various provinces in Indonesia. Gross regional domestic product variable had significant effect on food security in various provinces in Indonesia. It showed that a high gross regional domestic product variable could decrease the amount of public food expenditure, which means lower consumption incurred for food causes food security to rise. Meanwhile, population variable had positive and significant effect on food security in various provinces in Indonesia, meaning an increase in population also increases the amount of public food consumption. Based on the results, it is recommended to find out how to stimulate various economic sectors in each province in which it could increase the amount of gross domestic product of each region. Better distribution of population could also affect the rate of food security in each province in Indonesia.

The effects of farmers’ place attachment and identity on water conservation moral norms and intention

Investment in the behavioral change projects would not be possible without knowing their prerequisites and determinants including intention, moral norms, identity, and place attachment. Therefore, this study aimed at the determination of the effects of place attachment (PAT) (place dependence (PDE), place identity (PID), and place affect (PAF)) and farmers’ identity (conservationist identity (CONID) and productivist identity (PROID)) on the moral norms of water conservation (MNWC) as well as the intention of water conservation (IWC) of the Iranian farmers. This was a descriptive-correlational and causal-relational study. The instrument of the study was a questionnaire completed using a cross-sectional survey and face-to-face interviews. Hence, a stratified random sampling method along with a proportionate allocation was used to select 380 farmers. The research findings indicated that the PAT (PDE, PID, and PAF) and CONID had significant positive effects on the MNWC. In addition, MNWC and CONID had significant positive effects on the IWC. However, PROID had a significant negative effect on the MNWC and IWC. In general, it was found that independent variables (PDE, PID, PAF, PROID, and CONID) could predict 39% and 53% of the variance of the MNWC and IWC variables, respectively. Moreover, the social-psychological framework of the study provides practitioners, decision-makers, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders of the agricultural water management with useful practical and theoretical insights about the practices of behavior changes and social interventions. Finally, it is recommended that government decision-makers should further focus on the increased attractiveness of the rural and agricultural areas to increase PAT, MNWC, and IWC.

The effect of farmer’s education on productivity and income (Case study: Herat province rural area’s farmers)

The effect of farmer’s education on productivity and income (Case study: Herat province rural area’s farmers)

Diesel Exhaust Exposure during Farming Activities: Statistical Modeling of Continuous Black Carbon Concentrations.

Daily driving of diesel-powered tractors has been linked to increased lung cancer risk in farmers, yet few studies have quantified exposure levels to diesel exhaust during tractor driving or during other farm activities. We expanded an earlier task-based descriptive investigation of factors associated with real-time exposure levels to black carbon (BC, a surrogate of diesel exhaust) in Iowa farmers by increasing the sample size, collecting repeated measurements, and applying statistical models adapted to continuous measurements. The expanded study added 43 days of sampling, for a total of 63 sample days conducted in 2015 and 2016 on 31 Iowa farmers. Real-time, continuous monitoring (30-s intervals) of personal BC concentrations was performed using a MicroAeth AE51 microaethelometer affixed with a micro-cyclone. A field researcher recorded information on tasks, fuel type, farmer location, and proximity to burning biomass. We evaluated the influence of these variables on log-transformed BC concentrations using a linear mixed-effect model with random effects for farmer and day and a first-order autoregressive structure for within-day correlation. Proximity to diesel-powered equipment was observed for 42.5% of the overall sampling time and on 61 of the 63 sample days. Predicted geometric mean BC concentrations were highest during grain bin work, loading, and harvesting, and lower for soil preparation and planting. A 68% increase in BC concentrations was predicted for close proximity to a diesel-powered vehicle, relative to far proximity, while BC concentrations were 44% higher in diesel vehicles with open cabins compared with closed cabins. Task, farmer location, fuel type, and proximity to burning biomass explained 8% of within-day variance in BC concentrations, 2% of between-day variance, and no between-farmer variance. Our findings showed that farmers worked frequently near diesel equipment and that BC concentrations varied between tasks and by fuel type, farmer location, and proximity to burning biomass. These results could support the development of exposure models applicable to investigations of health effects in farmers associated with exposure to diesel engine exhaust.

The Roles of Farmers in the Development of Belimbing Village Agrotourism and Its Effect on Satisfaction and Loyalty of Tourists

Belimbing Village Agrotourism is an agriculture-based sustainable agrotourism that has extensive terraced rice fields and stretches with a variety of natural potential around. Development of Belimbing Village Agrotourism is a tourism activity without changing the use and damage of agricultural land and can help the economy of the community in Belimbing Village. This study aims to determine the effect of farmers' knowledge, farmers' skills and farmers' attitudes on the satisfaction of Belimbing Village Agrotourism, the effect of tourists’ satisfaction on visitor loyalty visiting Belimbing Village Agrotourism and Belimbing Village Agrotourism contribution to the welfare of the community in Belimbing Village. Data analysis method used is quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. The population in this study were farmers in Belimbing Village Agrotourism and tourists visiting Belimbing Village Agrotourism using 60 respondents, 30 people for farmers and 30 people for tourists. The model was designed using a Smart PLS-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach that was analyzed using a computer. The results showed that farmers' knowledge had a significant influence on tourists’ satisfaction (p = 0.031). Farmer skills have a significant influence on tourist satisfaction (p = 0.024). Farmer's attitude has a significant effect on tourist satisfaction (p = 0,000). Tourist satisfaction has a significant effect on tourist loyalty (p = 0,000). The contribution of the Belimbing Village Agrotourism in terms of economy, environment and social has a positive impact on the welfare of the community in the Belimbing Village. Based on the results of the study, it is hoped that the Belimbing Village Agrotourism can maintain and improve farmers' knowledge, farmers' skills and farmers' attitudes, so that visiting tourists are satisfied and generate tourist loyalty to visit again.
 Keywords: Role of Farmers, Agrotourism Development, Tourists’ Satisfaction, Tourists’ Loyalty

Effect of farmers’ management practices on safety and quality standards of cocoa production: A structural equation modeling approach.

The adoption and implementation of sustainable management practices in the cocoa sector remain crucial in the research and policy agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study aimed to investigating the ...

Effects of farmers’ credit demand rationing on the adoption of agricultural technologies that improve cultivated land quality：An analysis based on the moderating effect of farmer differentiation

Effects of farmers’ credit demand rationing on the adoption of agricultural technologies that improve cultivated land quality：An analysis based on the moderating effect of farmer differentiation

A new driver of farmers' entrepreneurial intention: findings from e-commerce poverty alleviation

E-commerce poverty alleviation (EPA) is an emerging form in which poverty alleviation is conducted via e-commerce platforms in China. Although EPA has stimulated farmers' entrepreneurial intention, it remains unknown how to effectively promote farmers' entrepreneurial intention in the context of EPA. To mitigate this deficiency, this study examines the effect of farmers' entrepreneurial intention through the case of Shanxi Province in China. SEM is employed to study new drivers of farmers' entrepreneurial intention, including government, e-commerce platforms, farmers' perceived risk and farmers' trust in e-commerce entrepreneurship. The empirical results show that governmental support of EPA has a direct positive effect on farmers' entrepreneurial intention and positively affects farmers' trust in the e-commerce entrepreneurship. The trust and perceived risk that farmers associate with an e-commerce platform partially mediate the relationship between government support and farmers' entrepreneurial intention. E-commerce platform policies indirectly affect farmers' entrepreneurial intention. The results of this study can help local governments make appropriate policies to promote entrepreneurship among farmers.

Poverty alleviation through improvement in technical efficiency in the smallholder rubber sector: case study from Kegalle District of Sri Lanka

Growth and development of the agriculture sector play an important role in the alleviation of poverty. There is a long-lasting debate on whether improvement in efficiency levels leads to eradicate poverty. Further, some studies unveiled that farm and farmer characteristics have a significant influence on poverty. Hence, this study attempts to examine the relationship between technical efficiency and poverty and the effect of farmer’s characteristics on poverty levels among the smallholder rubber farmers in Kegalle District. Data were collected from 195 smallholder rubber farms in Kegalle district through a questionnaire survey. Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) was employed to determine the Technical Efficiency (TE) of the farmers and Poverty Gap Index (PGI) was calculated to measure the depth of poverty in the sample. Correlation analyses were conducted to analyze the relationship between poverty and technical efficiency. Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was employed to determine the farm and farmer characteristics affecting poverty. The estimated mean technical efficiency of smallholder rubber farmers in Kegalle district was 63%, implying that the natural rubber production could be increased further by 37% through better use of existing resources and technology. Correlation analysis indicated that TE has a significant negative correlation (r=-0.147, P=0.04) with poverty, indicating that improving TE will help to alleviate poverty. Results of GLM model indicated that years of education of the farmer and the farm size have a strong negative influence on poverty while family size and age of the farmer have a positive association with poverty. Hence, policymakers should give more consideration to these factors in poverty alleviation programmes.

Evaluating the Effect of Farmers’ Participation in Irrigation Management on Farm Productivity and Profitability in the Mubuku Irrigation Scheme, Uganda

Irrigation remains a critical input into farming and, therefore, it remains a proxy for food security and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Despite their role in economic growth and the received investment, irrigation schemes are still underperforming. Among many irrigation schemes, transferring more management responsibilities to farmers proved to be a viable path toward improving performance. However, the large diversity of implementation strategies makes evaluation difficult, while its well-demonstrated benefits have paramount importance to convince reluctant smallholders to take additional roles. In order to address this gap, we analyze the effects of participation on farming outcomes (yield, revenue, net profit) by estimating the treatment effect. We present the case study of a Mubuku small-scale irrigation scheme, Uganda. We provide a framework to construct the Farmers Participation Index while distinguishing farmers into participating and not participating groups. The effects of participation are investigated through econometric methods including nonparametric and semiparametric estimation methods such as a difference in means, a regression adjustment, propensity score matching, and entropy balancing. The analysis reveals a positive and significant treatment effect of participation on farming outcomes. The obtained results endorse the efforts of governmental programs to foster responsibility transfer and the farmers’ role in irrigation management. A strong causal relationship between management and profitability provides incentives for farmers to engage in participation.

Risk aversion level influence on farmer's decision to participate in crop insurance: A review

Agricultural insurance in Indonesia is focused specifically on rice farming and is locally known as Asuransi Usahatani Padi (AUTP). To encourage farmer participation, the government subsidises farmers’ cost of insurance (premium) by 80%. Despite high subsidy, AUTP is still unable to reach the coverage target. The objectives of this study are to investigate farmers’ Risk Aversion Level (RAL), its influence on farmers’ decision to participate in AUTP, and the effect of farmers’ participation in AUTP on their income. The result of this study can contribute to enriching agriculture insurance literature from the point of view of developing countries and catalyse other studies on this matter especially in Indonesia. The analysis methods used in this study were multiple pricelist designs and propensity score matching with a logistic regression model. 130 farmers were interviewed. The results showed that farmers tend to have a high level of risk aversion (82.3% of farmers insure almost all of their land). RAL has a significant effect on farmers’ decision to purchase AUTP (< 0.01). A positive value of Average Treatment on the Treated (ATT) indicated that participation in AUTP has a positive impact on farmers’ income. AUTP is able to absorb production risks and encourage use of high input in farming.

Determinants of Income Diversification of Farm Households’ in Uttar Pradesh, India

This article investigates the determinants of diversified income sources in farm households in Uttar Pradesh, India. Data has been collected from 220 randomly selected respondents through structured questionnaires. This study analyzed the effect of farmers’ characteristics, farm characteristics, institutional factors, and perceived climate risk on income sources diversification adopted by farm households. A logistic regression model was developed and tested based on responses collected from survey data. The findings revealed that education, family size, land size, proper infrastructure for livestock, adequate production technology, information sources, access to market, and climatic risk are significant variables affecting diversification. The implication of the study suggests that farm household needs to adopt a concentric strategy which requires policy intervention on focused research, knowledge dissemination, infrastructural development, and agricultural technical institutions setups to improve livelihood.

DNA damage and adverse neurological outcomes among garlic farmers exposed to organophosphate pesticides

Garlic farmers used organophosphate pesticides to control insects, resulting in an increased risk for adverse health outcomes. Thus, we investigated exposure to organophosphate pesticides, DNA damage, nerve conduction, and neurological symptoms among 134 garlic farmers. They were interviewed, measured nerve conduction, and collected blood and urine for determining DNA damage and dialkylphosphate metabolites. Total dialkylphosphate levels of farmers who began cultivating garlic in October were significantly higher than those of non-farmers and the farmers who began cultivating in November and December. Farmers showed significantly longer comet tail lengths and tail moments than non-farmers. However, their mean compound motor and sensory nerve action potential amplitudes of the median, ulnar, and common peroneal nerves were within normal ranges. Measurement of DNA damage is useful as a biomarker of long-term and low-level exposure to organophosphate pesticides; however, electromyography might be not sufficiently sensitive to detect nerve conduction effects in farmers exposed to pesticides.

Effect of farmers’ management on movable sprinkler solid-set systems

Farmer's management is considered a key factor for efficient, cost-effective irrigation. In this study, the effect of proper irrigation management in the solid-set systems of Kurdistan province in Iran was investigated. Performance indices including Coefficient of Uniformity (CU), Potential Application Efficiency of the Low Quarter (PELQ), Wind Drift and Evaporation Loss (WDEL), Adequacy of Irrigation (ADirr), Deep Percolation Losses (DP), and Application Efficiency (AE) were measured in ten different local plots in 2007 and 2017. The performance of selected systems remained similar in 2007 and 2017. The management of the plots evaluated in 2017 was modified, taking into account the preliminary design considerations and applying changes such as irrigation scheduling and sprinkler type. These plots with improved management were re-evaluated. Results showed that CU and PELQ were improved by 29% and 82%, respectively, in all systems. In addition, deep percolation losses (DP) were reduced by more than 40%. Insufficient training for farmers and the use of unskilled labor are of the main reasons for sustained underperformance in the study area. Actions are required in farmers’ education and in public performance monitoring. Additionally, the results of this research have shown that management improvement measurements are urgently required for the satisfactory performance of the above-mentioned systems.

Farmers’ Attitudes Towards Climate Risks and Effects of Farmers’ Risk Aversion Behavior on Inputs Use in Northern Togo

Farmers’ Attitudes Towards Climate Risks and Effects of Farmers’ Risk Aversion Behavior on Inputs Use in Northern Togo

Household Property Rights Formation in Rural China: Farmers' Preference, Transaction Cost and the Efficiency Hypothesis

This paper examines the effects of farmers' preference, transaction cost and household productivity on land reallocation in rural China. Empirical results from a sample of 2102 households show that farmers' preference has no effect on land reallocation. The transaction cost has negative effects on partial‐scale land reallocation but has no effect on full‐scale land reallocation. Interestingly, highly productive and unproductive households receive more partial‐scale land reallocation than households with a median level of productivity, supporting the efficiency hypothesis (Brandt et al., 2004).

So Close Yet So Different: Cultural Differences Among Farmers in Central Kenya Affect Their Knowledge of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) Landrace Identification

So Close Yet So Different: Cultural Differences among Farmers in Central Kenya Affect Their Knowledge of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) Landrace Identification. Whether knowledge of landrace identification is shared among farmers in rural societies is a matter of debate in crop diversity research, and the influence of culture on knowledge heterogeneity remains largely misunderstood. This study analyzes the heterogeneity of farmers’ knowledge of crop landrace identification, and investigates factors involved in its patterns. It especially explores the effect of cultural differences by comparing how three ethnolinguistic groups identify and name sorghum diversity in the Mount Kenya region. A set of 293 panicles representing sorghum diversity in the study area was presented for identification to 96 farmers randomly selected in the three groups. A subset of 287 panicles was scored for morphological characteristics using 16 qualitative descriptors, and neutral genetic diversity of 170 of them was described using 18 SSR genetic markers. Distance-based analyses were applied to analyze knowledge patterns within and between groups and to describe the structure of sorghum morphological and genetic diversity. Results show that the degree of heterogeneity of knowledge among farmers varies strongly according to both their ethnolinguistic membership and panicle characteristics, despite their high geographic proximity. The effect of farmers’ experience of landraces and of pathways for social learning on inter-individual variations of knowledge is discussed.