Agricultural Efficiency Research Articles

Collective action and farm efficiency of male- and female-headed farm households in Ghana

Collective action and farm efficiency of male- and female-headed farm households in Ghana

Deforestation-induced changes in rainfall decrease soybean-maize yields in Brazil

Whereas the global demand for food, fiber and energy is increasing, the capacity of ecosystems services to sustain agricultural production is being compromised worldwide. Brazil is a global food supplier that has benefitted from agricultural intensification in the past decades. At the same time, expansion of cropland has led to deforestation that, in turn, is increasingly affecting rainfall patterns thereby influencing crop yields. This study examines how loss in forest cover has impacted agricultural yields through change in rainfall. To do so, we use modelled data on changes in rainfall patterns due to deforestation as input to a crop model. We assess yield changes within the soybean-maize double cropping system, the country's most relevant agricultural system, in five states within the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Findings revealed that soybean and maize yields would have been respectively 6.6 % and 9.9 % higher per year in the last decade if rainfall patterns hadn't been altered by deforestation from 1982 onwards. Although agricultural efficiency improved between 2011 and 2020, it was insufficient to offset the negative effect of altered rainfall on yields. Our paper reveals the link between deforestation and crop yields, emphasizing the need to preserve forest cover for agricultural resilience and food security. It reinforces the critical role of forests in regulating the water cycle, particularly in the face of climate change-induced warmer and drier conditions that can impact agricultural production and other human activities.

What causes green efficiency losses in Chinese agriculture? A perspective based on input redundancy

Incompatibility between agricultural production inputs and the resource environment leads to efficiency losses and has an impeding effect on sustainable agricultural development. However, efficiency loss in agriculture is a blind spot in current research. To explore the green development performance and efficiency losses in China's agricultural modernization process, this paper measures the green efficiency of China's agriculture from static and dynamic perspectives. An in-depth analysis of efficiency losses in the efficiency measurement process was conducted. It was found that the overall agricultural green efficiency (AGE) of China showed a continuous upward trend from 2006 to 2019 and the average growth rate is 4.1 %. The utilization efficiency of agricultural inputs in China increased significantly, but the regional variations in the redundancy of agricultural inputs widened. Both agricultural modernization and environmental regulations are associated negatively with labor redundancy, and environmental regulations are associated negatively with fertilizer and machinery redundancy. The effective substitution of labor production factors by agricultural modernization can reduce labor redundancy and release a large amount of rural labor engaged in primary agricultural production, and environmental regulations effectively inhibit the waste of fertilizer, labor, and machinery inputs.

Biocontrol mechanisms of Bacillus: Improving the efficiency of green agriculture.

Species of the genus Bacillus have been widely used for the biocontrol of plant diseases in the demand for sustainable agricultural development. New mechanisms underlying Bacillus biocontrol activity have been revealed with the development of microbiome and microbe-plant interaction research. In this review, we first briefly introduce the typical Bacillus biocontrol mechanisms, such as the production of antimicrobial compounds, competition for niches/nutrients, and induction of systemic resistance. Then, we discussed in detail the new mechanisms of pathogen quorum sensing interference and reshaping of the soil microbiota. The "cry for help" mechanism was also introduced, in which plants can release specific signals under pathogen attack to recruit biocontrol Bacillus for root colonization against invasion. Finally, two emerging strategies for enhancing the biocontrol efficacy of Bacillus agents, including the construction of synthetic microbial consortia and the application of rhizosphere-derived prebiotics, were proposed.

Solution of trade‐offs between food production, water use, and climate change mitigation in global agriculture

AbstractTrade‐off conflicts among the Sustainable Development Goals have been a challenge. To reconcile frictional relationships among food production security (Goal 2), water use efficiency (Goal 6), and climate change mitigation (Goal 13), an empirical examination using deterministic frontier analysis was conducted globally. A single volume‐based index for each goal is too simple to evaluate the agricultural sustainability of different areas from the nexus assessment perspective. Our major findings are threefold. First, approximately two‐thirds of African countries have suffered from small food production and excess water use. Second, marked contrasts are observed in the possibilities of an increase in food production and reduction in water use and CO2 emissions among regions. Asian countries use water efficiently, whereas countries in the western regions control CO2 emissions. Third, trade‐offs among food production, water use, and CO2 emissions in agriculture are observed. It is almost impossible to reduce water use in Asia and CO2 emissions in the western regions for food production security. Based on the nexus approach, local strategies need to be compatible with global sustainability. Future research should identify the factors that determine the agricultural efficiency to devise local strategies, and develop policies simultaneously pursuing relevant environmental and well‐being goals.

Konya İli (Çumra İlçesi) Mısır Üretiminde Etkinlik Analizi ve Etkinliğe Etki Eden Faktörlerin Belirlenmesi

The study aims to determine the efficiency of input use and to analyze the factors affecting technical efficiency in farms producing maize. Maize is among the most cultivated cereals in the world. Konya, on the other hand, ranks first in Turkey with a 10% share in maize production. The research area of Cumra district, which constitutes 15.76% of the maize production in Konya province, has been selected according to the purposive sampling method. In the study, the sample volume was determined as 77, with a 95% confidence interval and a 5% margin of error, according to the stratified sampling method. In the study, linear regression analysis was carried out to determine the factors affecting the technical efficiency of maize producers. According to the results of the research, gross production value (USD), total land size (ha), and age were found to be statistically significant at the 5% significance level. Variable costs and education were statistically significant at the 10% significance level. The DEA method, which is a non-parametric method, was used to determine the technical efficiency and scale efficiency of farms under the assumption of technical efficiency, VRS, and CRS. Farms should be informed about the optimum use of inputs. In addition, a farmer training program to be organized on this subject should be given to the farmers.

The Impact of the Farming Insurance Program on the Efficiency of Lowland Rice Farming in Rias Village, South Bangka Regency

The rice farming insurance program (AUTP) aims to support farmers in their rice production. This study aimed to analyze the effect of farmers’ participation in the AUTP program on the technical efficiency of lowland rice farming in Rias Village. The sample was determined using purposive sampling, which included 30 AUTP participants and 30 non-AUTP participants. The data was analyzed using the stochastic frontier production function and independent sample t-test. The results showed that the total surface area of farming, the amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer significantly affected rice production (α = 5 percent). Average value of technical efficiency of lowland farming was 0.50 (AUTP participating farmers) and 0.34 (non-AUTP participating farmers), which was below the threshold of the average technical efficiency (0.70). Thus, lowland rice farming was technically inefficient. The lowland rice farming of AUTP participants was slightly more efficient than non-AUTP participant farmers, but was not enough to redeem efficiency. Farmers’ age, education, number of family of farmers, duration of farmers joined a farmers group and farmers’ participation in the AUTP programs had significant effects on TE in lowland rice farming (α = 5 percent). Intensive assistance from the agricultural extension workers regarding the technical management of lowland rice farming would be beneficial.

Agricultural specialization activates the industry chain: Implications for rural entrepreneurship in China

AbstractAs one of the means of specialization, agricultural outsourcing is regarded as a breakthrough point for agricultural efficiency improvement and rural economic growth by many developing countries. From the perspective of the interest linkage across the entire agricultural industry chain, the potential entrepreneurial effects of agricultural outsourcing have rarely been discussed. The study innovatively treats a Chinese policy as a quasi‐natural experiment, uses cutting‐edge econometric methods to make rigorous causal inferences, and addresses the difficulty of quantifying agricultural outsourcing. We find that agricultural outsourcing significantly increases rural entrepreneurship activity, with an increase of 9.1% of the rural population working for rural private enterprises and rural self‐employed businesses. From the perspective of heterogeneity, the entrepreneurial effect of agricultural outsourcing is more impressive in nonmajor grain‐producing areas. In addition, agricultural outsourcing mainly promotes opportunistic entrepreneurship. Influencing mechanisms include industrial chain extension, off‐farm employment and credit access. Accordingly, we suggest that policymakers take agricultural outsourcing as a starting point to promote rural innovation and entrepreneurship to complete industrial upgrading and transformation. [EconLit Citations: D13, L26, Q16].

Improving agricultural efficiency with solar-powered tractors and magnetohydrodynamic entropy generation in copper–silver nanofluid flow

This study examines the impact of solar-powered tractor on agricultural productivity and energy efficiency. The implementation of solar energy in tractors has the potential to reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources, minimize carbon emissions, and promote sustainable farming practices. This research investigates the reduction of energy consumption and enhancement of productivity by evaluating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) entropy production through the flow of nanofluids containing copper-engine oil (Cu-EO) and silver-engine oil (Ag-EO). The study also evaluates the effectiveness of thermal transport in solar-powered tractors through several properties such as solar thermal radiation, viscous dissipation, slippery velocity, and porous media. The investigation analyzed the thermodynamics of entropy generation in a non-Newtonian Williamson nanofluid, with the aim of assessing its energy equilibrium and the effects of diverse physical parameters. In order to enable numerical investigation, similarity variables were implemented to transform partial differential equations into ordinary differential equations, and the Chebyshev collocation spectral method was applied to solve the governing equations. It has been revealed that the Ag−EO Williamson nanofluid have a smoother flow compared to the Cu−EO mixture fluid. Furthermore, Williamson-nanofluid demonstrate superior thermal conductivity and heat transfer characteristics compared to the base fluid, making them appropriate for utilization in cooling systems and heat exchangers in various industries. The boundary layer exhibits the maximum temperature while employing lamina-shaped particles, whilst the lowest temperature is shown when utilizing spherical-shaped nanoparticles. The Ag-EO nanofluid an efficiency rate of approximately 2.64 % with a minimum efficiency rate of 3.22 %. The findings will help develop eco-friendly agricultural methods that promote economic development while mitigating harm to the environment.

The effect of adult density on the reproductive output and hatching performance of the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Abstract Commercial availability of insect biomass for food and feed calls for the methodical investigation of all the complications that can deteriorate the insect farming efficiency. An appropriate stocking density is thus instrumental for the establishment of sustainable and cost effective insect farming protocols; high densities may lead to reduced insect fitness and reproduction, while low densities will result to a proportionally lower per capita yield. The present study deals with the estimation of the optimum adult density of the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), a species with great potential as food and feed source based on its high growth performance and reproductive output. However, limited data is available so far regarding the effect of adult density on its reproductive performance. Four different adult densities, ranging from 1.1 to 8.2 cm2 per adult, were evaluated in laboratory experiments in terms of reproductive output (number of eggs) and larval emergence for a period of 45 days of continuous oviposition. According to our results, the reproduction output, expressed as the cumulative number of eggs per adult and the cumulative larval hatching rate, was not affected by the adult densities tested here. Although high hatching rates that in most of the cases exceeded 85% were observed within the initial oviposition interval, these rates were in all treatments drastically reduced to 48-56% after 30 to 36 d. High adult survival (over 93%) was observed during the trial. In this experiment, the maximum reproductive output was observed in the highest density of adults that were left to oviposit continuously for a month. Data as such provide an opportunity to further exploit A. diaperinus in high-throughput production systems.

ANALISIS EFISIENSI USAHATANI PADI SAWAH DENGAN SISTEM ALSINTAN COMBINE HARVESTER PADA PROSES PEMANENAN DI DESA PADANGLOANG KECAMATAN DUA PITUE KABUPATEN SIDENRENG RAPPANG

Combine Harvester is a rice harvester that can cut standing rice grains, thresh and clean grain while walking in the field. The aims of this study were: 1) To find out what factors influence the use of Combine Harvester in Padangloang Village, Dua Pitue District, Sidenreng Rappang Regency, 2) To determine the efficiency of paddy rice farming in Padangloang Village, Dua Pitue District, Sidenreng Rappang Regency. This study uses a descriptive technique method, namely analysis used to reveal or describe something about a situation that is in accordance with accurate facts from the place under study. There were 52 samples, namely farmers who used the Combine Harvester and were processed using SPSS 26. From the results of the study, it was obtained: The variables of harvesting age, harvest duration, land area and labor partially have a significant influence on rice production. As well as the variables of harvest age, harvest duration, land area and labor simultaneously have an influence on rice production in Padangloang Village, Sidenreng Rappangdan Regency. of 1.73. So that from the three results of data processing efficiency it can be concluded that technical, price and economic efficiency are categorized as efficient because they are equal to 1 which means the Alsintan Combine Harvester System in the harvesting process in Padangloang Village, Dua Pitue District, Sidenreng Rappang Regency is efficient to use.

Will common agricultural policy support save farm employment in the wine sector?

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to analyze whether different types of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies maintained jobs or even created them on wine farms during the years 2013–2019 using a Hungarian Farm Accountancy Data Network panel dataset. Farm employment is separated into paid and unpaid labor. The initial decline in farm employment during the first three years of analysis was due to the decline in paid labor, but later there was rather stable development in both paid and unpaid labor. The dynamic panel regression results confirm that the employment in the previous year is the crucial driver for the employment of labor on wine farms. CAP subsidies for direct payments to farmers and, to a lesser extent, economic farm size, are positively associated with the employment of paid labor (and thus the employment of total wine farms-related labor), but not with employment of unpaid labor, and vice versa rented land share. These results and findings are robust independent of year-fixed effects. While CAP subsidies for direct payments to farmers supported the maintenance or increase in paid labor employment on wine farms, trade-offs arose regarding the efficiency of wine farms and their entrepreneurial-, innovation-, and market-added value-chain efforts.

Technical Efficiency Analysis of Cassava Farmers on Suboptimal Dry Land

The government launched a food diversification program, one of which was cassava so that the population does not depend on rice, and anticipates when rice production decreases due to crop failure. However, cassava production was much lower than rice. There were efforts to utilize suboptimal land to increase cassava suplly for population consumption. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of technical efficiency of cassava farming on suboptimal dry land. The research sample of 60 cassava farmers in Jaddih Village, Bangkalan Regency was taken by census to answer the research objectives. Stochastic frontier analysis was used to determine the effect of agricultural inputs consisting of land, seeds, labor, costs, and manure on the production of cassava. Then to determine the effect of age, experience, formal education, non-formal education, and family dependents on cassava insufficiency. The results show that cassava production will increase with the increase in land area, but will decrease with the increase in seedlings. The average technical efficiency of cassava was 87%, where this value will increase if farmers attend non-formal education. This research contributes to policy makers to optimize suboptimal land use, and to farmers to take advantage of production inputs and socio-economic variables that affect production increases and technical efficiency.

One Pot Synthesis of Gluconate NPK Fertilizer its Utilization Efficiency in Agriculture

One Pot Synthesis of Gluconate NPK Fertilizer its Utilization Efficiency in Agriculture

Marketing of coconut farming in Central Sulawesi Province

Coconut is a plantation crop that has high economic value. Central Sulawesi is a producer of coconut plants in Indonesia, this can be seen from the area and production, and the plants are spread in every district within the province of Central Sulawesi. This study aims to determine the channels, margins, and marketing efficiency of coconut farming in Central Sulawesi Province. The research locations were determined purposively, namely Parigi Moutong and Tojo Una-una Regency. The study’s sample size was 244 people. The result of the research shows that there are two types of coconut marketing channels in Central Sulawesi. The marketing margin on channel I at the collector is IDR 300 per item and from collector to wholesalers, has a marketing margin of IDR 400 per item. The marketing margin on channel II at wholesalers is IDR 400 per item and from wholesalers to the industry, the marketing margin is IDR 500 per item. The farmer share on channel I is 70.29% while on channel II is 70.06%. Coconut marketing efficiency in Central Sulawesi on channels I and II is 21.25% and 26.00%, respectively.

On the Historiography of the Stalinist Modernization of the Regional Peasant Society in the USSR (based on the materials of Mordovia)

The object of the study is the historiographical aspects of the modernization of the peasant society of Russia during Stalinism, which is usually identified with the continuous collectivization and dispossession of the late 1920s – early 1930s. The subject of the study is the corpus of scientific works on Stalinist agrarian modernization in the Mordovian region during the first five-year plans, the first of which appeared in the second half of the 1950s, analyzed taking into account the change of ideological paradigms in Russian historical science in the early 1990s. Within the framework of this study, the authors tried to trace the transformation of assessments of Stalin's agrarian modernization in the scientific community of regional historians on the historiographical material of Mordovia. The main conclusions of this study concern sufficiently high degree of elaboration of the issues under consideration in the regional historiography of the Republic of Mordovia. At the same time, despite the growing attention to the pre-war agrarian modernization in the post-Soviet period, a number of problematic issues have been identified that require more in-depth study. Among them: the economic efficiency of collective farms and state farms organized in the late 1920s – the first half of the 1930s, the degree of mechanization of agricultural production, solving the problem of providing the growing urban population with food, changes in the socio-cultural appearance and public attitudes of the multinational and multi-confessional peasantry of the Mordovian Region.

A FAST.Farm and MATLAB/Simulink interface for wind farm control design

Increasing the efficiency of wind farms is important for speeding up the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Current wind farm control relies on maximization of power generation of individual turbines. However, research has demonstrated that plant-wide wind farm control could optimize the performance of a wind farm. Wind farm simulation tools are crucial in designing, testing, and validating wind farm controls. FAST.Farm is a recently developed multi-physics engineering tool for modeling wind farm performance by solving the aero-hydro-servoelastic dynamics of each individual turbine. The capabilities of FAST.Farm for control design purposes can be extended through a co-simulation with MATLAB/Simulink. Therefore, a MATLAB/Simulink interface with FAST.Farm has been developed. The creation and operation of this interface are explained in this paper. This interface supports developing and testing advanced closed-loop control at the wind turbine and wind farm levels.

UI/UX-CENTRIC DESIGN OF IN-THE-FIELD AGRICULTURAL DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

The design of an In-the-Field Agricultural Data Acquisition System with a strong focus on user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) principles is essential to enhance the efficiency and productivity of modern agriculture. This research explores the development of a user-centered system that empowers farmers and agricultural professionals to seamlessly collect, manage, and analyze crucial data while working in the field. By incorporating intuitive and visually appealing interfaces, the system aims to improve data accuracy, reduce human error, and streamline decision-making processes in agriculture. The abstract design of this system takes into consideration the unique needs and challenges of agricultural settings, providing a user-friendly tool that promotes sustainable farming practices and drives innovation in the agricultural industry.

Recent advances of application of optical imaging techniques for disease detection in fruits and vegetables: A review

Fruits and vegetables are among the agricultural products that enjoy a high demand in the market. However, the most critical challenge in the production of fruits and vegetables is disease infections which can lead to economic loss. The current assessment method of disease infection still relies on conventional methods and laboratory analysis. The conventional methods although simple and easy are laborious and have less accuracy while laboratory analysis is costly and time-consuming. Over the last two decades, optical imaging techniques have emerged and are gaining interest in the agricultural and food industries. These techniques offer easy, rapid, accurate, reliable as well as user-friendly sensing tools for the identification of quality and disease infection in agricultural products. The fundamental aspect in the techniques is the interaction of light with the tissue and the manipulation of light when interacting with a surface. The integration of edge computing along with artificial intelligence has also reshaped the technology to another level. The use of other agricultural technologies such as drones or robots enables real-time monitoring and efficient farm management. Thus, this paper reviews recent advances in the application of optical imaging techniques for disease detection in fruits and vegetables. This includes computer vision, multispectral imaging, hyperspectral imaging, biospeckle and thermal imaging. The feasibility of the optical imaging techniques is discussed. Challenges and considerations for future research are also highlighted. This review provides a new insight into the recent application of optical imaging which is not only beneficial for the agricultural and food industries but also to other relevant industries.

EFISIENSI TEKNIS USAHATANI PADI KALIMANTAN TENGAH: PENDEKATAN STOCHASTIC FRONTIER ANALYSIS

<p>The strategy to increase rice production is crucial to maintain food availability. The agricultural land expansion program in Central Kalimantan through the food estate program is considered an inappropriate solution considering social, environmental, and land conditions. The agricultural intensification method in Central Kalimantan is the answer to increasing the productivity of existing agricultural businesses by increasing production efficiency. This research aims to analyze the technical efficiency of lowland rice farming and the factors that influence it in Central Kalimantan province. This research used secondary data from the 2014 Rice Plantation Household Survey from the Central Statistics Agency. The data was analyzed using the stochastic frontier production function with Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE). The research results show that rice farming in Central Kalimantan is technically inefficient. Factors influencing the technical efficiency of rice farming are farmer age, land type, planting system, agricultural facilities, extension, farmer groups, and SLPTT participation. The low level of technical efficiency of rice farming in Central Kalimantan is an indicator that must be utilized to increase rice production so that food availability can be well-maintained.</p>