Enhance Farm Income Research Articles

Agricultural diversification and enhancing farm income: Learning from grassroots

Enhancing the income of farmers is a national priority to address the agrarian issue of distress and improving farmers’ welfare. In this context, a network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) was engaged to make interventions on farmers’ field. This study carried out in Madhya Pradesh, presents the quantitative assessment on the impacts of KVKs’ initiatives in terms of different interventions made to contribute in farmers' income (doubling farmers income, DFI). The structured sampling method was followed using multi-stage random sampling. This has covered selecting 11 agro-climatic regions of the state and 25% of KVKs from each region. Further, 2 treatment (DFI) and 2 control (non-DFI) villages were taken. Finally, from each village, a total of 20 farm households were taken. The results indicated that average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), which is the difference between matched DFI and non- DFI households after accounting for counterfactual, was positive and significant. The value of ATT implies that net income of DFI households was more than that of non-DFI households by 111%. The net income of DFI households has increased by 156% during 2016–17 (the year of launch of KVKs' DFI scheme) to 2020–21. Households with male heads, without any other source of income, owning smaller livestock and land holdings were observed to get benefit from participation in the interventions on DFI made by the KVKs. Recognition and response to the heterogeneity treatment effect can help in optimizing resource allocation, enhancing programme effectiveness and maximizing the potential impact of the KVKs’ DFI initiatives. Agricultural diversification shifted to high value crops (e.g., like vegetables, dairying, etc.), has been crucial in enhancing income of DFI households.

Genetic and genomic evaluation of age at first calving in Italian Holsteins

Age at first calving (AFC) represents the non-productive period of around 2 yr in Holstein cows and thus it has a relevant impact on the cost of rearing replacements in the dairy herd. In the present study we aimed at evaluating genetic and genomic aspects of AFC in the Italian Holstein population. Data of 4,206,218 heifers with first calving between 1996 and 2020 were used. Age at first calving averaged 26.09 ± 3.07 mo and decreased across years. Heritability was estimated using a linear animal model which included the fixed effects of herd-year-season of birth and classes of gestation length, and the random animal additive genetic effect fitted to a pedigree-based relationship matrix. Estimated breeding values (EBV) and genomically enhanced breeding values (GEBV) were obtained, and they were standardized to mean 100 and standard deviation 5, where animals above the mean are those contributing to reduce AFC. Heritability estimates of AFC ranged from 0.031 to 0.045. The trend of sires' GEBV was favorable and indicated a reduced AFC across years. Approximate genetic correlations between GEBV of AFC and GEBV of other economically important traits were calculated on a subset of genotyped females born after 2015. Moderate favorable associations of AFC with production traits (0.39 to 0.51), udder depth (0.40), interval from first to last insemination in heifer (-0.43), and longevity (0.34) were assessed. Overall, the greatest lifetime productive performances and most favorable days open in first lactation were observed when heifers calved at 22-23 mo. On the other hand, progeny of sires with GEBV of AFC above the mean yielded more milk, fat, and protein in first lactation, and had shorter days open than progeny of sires with GEBV of AFC below the mean. Results suggested that breeding strategies to improve AFC should be pursued, also considering genetic correlations between AFC and traits which are already part of the Italian Holstein breeding objective. The inclusion of AFC in an aggregate index is expected to contribute to enhance farm income.

Effect of Land Configuration on Different Crop Based Chickpea Sequences in Dryland Area of Central India

The present investigation makes an attempt to study the effect of land configuration on yield, water use efficiency and economics for cropping sequences in dryland area of Central India. Different cropping sequences soybean-chickpea, maize-chickpea and greengram-chickpea were adopted under different sets of land configurations such as Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed (FIRB), Broad Bed Furrow (BBF) and Flat System as Farmer’s Practices (FP). Various yield attributes such as plant height, dry matter per plant, branches/plant, pods/cob per plant, seeds/cob per plant, 100 seed weight, seed and stover yield along with Seed Equivalent Yield (SEY), gross and net return, Benefit Cost ratio, Rain Water Use Efficiency (RWUE) were evaluated in this study. In case of SEY, for soybean-chickpea, maximum SEY was observed in FIRB (3197 kg ha-1), followed by BBF (3131 kg ha-1) and FP (2870 kg ha-1). Similarly for maize-chickpea, highest SEY was detected in FIRB (3601 kg ha-1), followed by BBF (3485 kg ha-1) and FP (3241 kg ha-1). A similar trend was obtained for greengram-chickpea where FIRB expressed highest value of SEY (2121 kg ha-1) followed by BBF (2065 kg ha-1) and FP (1805 kg ha-1). The analysis of yield attributes along with economics clearly suggested that for all combinations of crop sequences, FIRB yielded better results over BBF and FP. The results obtained through this study clearly advocates the fact that sowing of rabi crops on such land configurations (FIRB and BBF) amplifies the crop yield due to the presence of residual moisture which ultimately leads to enhanced farm income.

Enhancing farm income resilience through climate smart agriculture in drought-prone regions of India

The variability in climate affects the agricultural production especially in drylands. It is necessary to understand and quantify the impacts of resilient technologies as well as effects of extreme events. Keeping these in view, the primary data on household characteristics and the farm income was collected from a sample of 60 farmers each from National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) program adopted village and a comparable control village in the district. The sample was also post classified into small, medium and large farmer to bring out the economic impact across land classes. The impact was estimated following the difference-in-differences (DiD) model as the data allows us to use effectively the data across time and regions. The results show us that the average income of a farm household in the NICRA village is more than 40 percent than non-adopted village and during a drought situation the farmers under NICRA intervention where better off by 19.5 percent. The income from crops and livestock production in adopted village was significantly higher than the control village. The DiD model output showed the farm income of adopted village was 40 percent higher showing that better climate smart interventions improved the farm incomes. The estimate showed that the treated farm household had higher income of Rs. 54,717 than the control during a drought year. Better knowledge and quantification of impact of technology adoption on farm income specially during drought will help to effectively design technological and policy interventions for better drought management in drylands.

Agricultural diversification and its impact on enhancing farm income

Agricultural diversification and its impact on enhancing farm income

Productivity of Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) under Trench Protected Structure in Cold Desert Ladakh, India

Early growing season and later harvest season encounter with low temperatures restricting summer squash cultivation commercially in Ladakh. Summer squash cultivation in Ladakh have generally been restricted to limited pockets due to lack of awareness about technological advancement like cultivars and proper protected structure. Moreover, poor quality planting material is also responsible for low productivity even in protected structures. Hence, varietal trial under trenches was conducted with a view to improve yield and availability period. Results revealed that summer squash var. All Green was highest yielder (1206.875 Q/ha) with highest fruit weight (1.838 kg) and number of marketable fruits (5.75). More than 200 per cent increase in summer squash yield is observed in trenches with variety All Green as compared to variety Australian Green. Therefore, production technology comprising trench and summer squash variety All Green might be up-scaled to similar climatic condition with high wind velocity to enhance farm income of the farmers.

The influence of off-farm work on farm income among smallholder farm households in northern Ghana

Income diversification is an essential livelihood strategy among small-scale farmers in low-income countries. Through income diversification, farmers can potentially invest off-farm earnings into their farm business to enhance productivity and income from farming. Conversely, working off-farm can lead to a labour-loss effect which can reduce farm performance. This study therefore assesses the effect of off-farm work (OFW) on farm income using data from 486 smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. An endogenous treatment regression model was used to assess the effect of diversifying income sources on farm income. The results showed that involvement in OFW enhanced farm income per acre by GH¢ 386. Other factors that enhanced farm income included years of formal education and access to extension services and input subsidy. Farmer group membership and household size however reduced farm income. The farm sector can therefore take advantage of the positive linkage with the non-farm sector to improve farm income levels of farmers. In this light, government’s rural industrialization policy should seek to provide more job opportunities outside the farm sector to enable smallholder farmers to take advantage of such opportunities to improve income from on-farm activities.

Direct Payments to Provide Environmental Public Goods and Enhance Farm Incomes: Do Allocation Criteria Matter?

Direct Payments to Provide Environmental Public Goods and Enhance Farm Incomes: Do Allocation Criteria Matter?

Direct Payments to Provide Environmental Public Goods and Enhance Farm Incomes: Do Allocation Criteria Matter?

Direct Payments to Provide Environmental Public Goods and Enhance Farm Incomes: Do Allocation Criteria Matter?

Direct Payments to Provide Environmental Public Goods and Enhance Farm Incomes: Do Allocation Criteria Matter?

Direct Payments to Provide Environmental Public Goods and Enhance Farm Incomes: Do Allocation Criteria Matter?

Analysis of the dietary diversity status of agricultural households in the Nkomazi Local Municipality, South Africa

BackgroundDietary diversity is a good alternative measure of the nutritional adequacy and food security. The present study assessed the household dietary diversity status and its determinants among agricultural households in the Nkomazi Local Municipality, South Africa.MethodsOut of 543 households in the study area that were supported by the Phezukomkhono Mlimi programme during the 2018/19 production season, only 355 met the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in this study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, computation of the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and the ordered logit regression model.ResultsMost of the respondents were elderly (56.10%) and females (59.44%). Most had low levels of education (43.66%) and low farm income (96.34%). In addition, most (65.35%) had large households. The majority (49.86%) of the households in the study area had a HDDS of 4.40, while the median HDDS in the study area was 3.90. Over the recall period, the majority of households consumed cereals (100%) and vegetable (78.31%) food types. Households headed by respondents with no formal education had lower odds (OR = 0.20; 95% CI 0.06–0.61) of having a higher dietary diversity compared to those headed by heads who had attained tertiary education. Households with income ≤ R3000.00 had lower odds (OR = 0.51; 95% CI 0.31–0.85) of having a higher dietary diversity as compared to those with income > R3000.00. Households with 1–5 members had higher odds (OR = 10.41; 95% CI 1.05–103.20) of having a higher dietary diversity as compared to larger households. With every unit increase in the age of the household head, the odds of the household of having a higher dietary diversity increased by 1.03 (OR = 1.03; 95% CI 1.01–1.05).ConclusionSince cereals and vegetables dominated the diets of the respondents, findings of this study highlight the need for improved access to sources of protein among the respondents. Therefore, there is a need for programmes to educate respondents on the dangers of inadequate nutrition (lacking in protein). Strategies that enhance farm income and the level of education among respondents should be prioritised because of their potential to boost Household Dietary Diversity (HDD) in the study area. Collaborations between different stakeholders, such as nutritionists, extension workers and researchers, should be encouraged so as to develop a holistic approach to improving the HDD in the study area.

Enhancing Farm Income through Boundary Plantation of Poplar (Populus deltoides): An Economic Analysis

Poplar is popular among farmers and planted widely in the form of block and boundary systems. The preferences of farmers are shifting much more towards bund plantations due to their smaller yield reductions and can take up kharif and rabi crops till rotation. As for boundary plantations, farmers tend to grow trees in any direction without concern for yield reduction or profitability. Against this background, an experiment was designed by planting poplar at 2 m intervals in East–West (E–W) and North–South (N–S) directions during 2008 to determine the production potential and economic viability of boundary plantations and their effect on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) crop rotations till harvesting of the trees. The experiment comprised three variables: stand age (years); four aspects (northern and southern E–W rows, eastern and western N–S rows; these four aspects are considered by dividing the tree lines); and six distances from tree the lines (0–3, 3–6, 6–9, 9–12, 12–15, 15–18 m and a control). A split-split plot design with three replicates was used. A significant reduction of fodder biomass of sorghum and wheat yield was observed up to 9 m distant from the tree line: the reduction was 10 to 60% for the kharif season and 7.2 to 29.5% for rabi crops from the second year to eight years after planting, respectively. Interestingly, the poplar boundary plantation had a favorable microclimatic effect from 9 to 15 m distance from the tree line, which increased crop yields compared with the control. The total dry wood production of poplar in the E–W direction (166.99 mg ha−1) was almost two times more than production for the N–S direction (82.62 mg ha−1) at 8 years of rotation. The economic analysis of this study concluded that an E–W boundary plantation of poplars exhibited the maximum net returns of INR 549,367 ha−1, a net present value of INR 222,951 ha−1, a BC ratio of 1:1.65, an IRR of 85% and an LEV of INR 1,220,337 ha−1. Therefore, it is concluded that the intercropping of a sorghum-wheat crop rotation in E–W boundary plantations was more beneficial for enhancing farm income over traditional agriculture in north India.

Do direct payments efficiently support incomes of small and large farms?

AbstractThis paper assesses how efficiently Common Agricultural Policy direct payments enhance farm incomes by applying a quantile continuous treatment effect model on the Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network sample. Adding to previous analyses, we show that income responses to direct payments are higher in large farms rather than in small farms and lower in farms benefiting from larger levels of support. This suggests that direct payments are not very efficient in supporting incomes of small farms and reducing the disparity existing within the farm population. Furthermore, results suggest that there is scope to reduce the amount of payments provided to highly supported farms.

Effect of nutrient management strategies on productivity in rice-pigeon pea intercropping under drought prone rainfed ecology of Eastern India

An experiment was undertaken to compare the productivity of rice- sole with rice-pigeon pea intercropping under different nutrient management (inorganic, organic and integrated nutrient management) strategies in drought prone rainfed (upland) ecology. The experimental data showed that, rice equivalent yield (REY) (2.83 and 3.22 t ha-1 under rice sole and rice -pigeon pea respectively) and yield attributing characters (grain panicle-1 (73) and test weight (24.3g) were higher under inorganic nutrient management followed by the integrated nutrient management (T4) (2.25 t ha-1, 2.64 t ha-1, 64 and 22.7 g respectively). The yield gap between the inorganic and integrated nutrient management decreased over the three years, because, in the first year integrated nutrient management could not produce enough yield and difference was more which became narrow as this treatment produced comparatively more yield afterward. REY was more in rice-pigeon-pea system (varied from 1.13 to 3.22 t ha-1) over the rice-sole (1.01 to 2.83 t ha-1) across the nutrient management strategies. Thus it is evident that, rice- pigeon pea intercropping under integrated nutrient management in upland condition would be better choice in rainfed drought prone area to enhance farm income as well as system productivity.

Conservation Agriculture Benefits Indian Farmers, but Technology Targeting Needed for Greater Impacts

Rice and wheat production in the intensive, irrigated farming systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) is associated with significant negative environmental and health externalities. Conservation Agriculture (CA) has the potential to curb some of these externalities while enhancing farm income. However, farmer adoption of CA remains modest in the Indian IGP. The present study focuses on the constraints to adopting the major CA component, zero tillage (ZT). We examine whether ZT wheat is feasible for smallholders and the potential of technology targeting to realize faster and wider diffusion. Econometric models and machine learning algorithms were used to analyze remote sensing data and farm household data collected from the Indian states of Punjab and Bihar, two contrasting agrarian economies of the IGP. While farmer adoption was low among smallholders (owning <2 ha of land), the on-farm effects of ZT on variable cost reduction and yield and profit enhancement for smallholders are comparable to large farmers. We estimate the economic potential of technology targeting using an equilibrium displacement model. In the relatively developed state of Punjab, technology targeting based on landholding size does not appear to add substantive economic benefits. In Bihar, a less prosperous state with a dominance of smallholders in the population, technology targeting could markedly enhance economic surplus and reduce rural poverty.

Beyond production: How can diversification enhance farm income in the North-Eastern region of India?

Beyond production: How can diversification enhance farm income in the North-Eastern region of India?

Oyster Mushroom Production in Meghalaya: A Potential Venture

"Oyster mushroom production, which is profitable agri-business enterprise for enhancing farm income, generating additional employment and subsistence to nutritional security. Considering the growing demand and importance of oyster mushroom production for promising enterprise, an attempt has been made to estimate the cost and returns of growing oyster mushroom, to identify various determinants affecting its value of mushroom productivity. The study was carried out in Rongram block, West Garo Hills of Meghalaya using 60 oyster mushroom growers. Findings revealed that the total cost depicted a decreasing trend with increase in the size of beds spawned due to economies of scale. On overall basis, the total cost estimated to be ` 467 per 5 units of polybag beds spawned. The returns from mushroom cultivation depicted a positive association with farm size; these are ` 58/kg, ` 76/kg and ` 120/kg for small, medium and large mushroom farms respectively. It was worked out in the overall farm size that one rupee invested in mushroom growing, yields about ` 1.55. The input-output ratio was highest on large mushroom farms (1.82), followed by medium (1.48) and small (1.35) farms. The single window input delivery system should be encouraged in the study area. There was a felt need for a linkage and full co-operation between the state government, financial institutions, researchers, scientists, extension workers and mushroom growers on different advanced technological aspects of better production oyster mushroom, which would help the farmers’ to get remunerative prices for their products."

Impact assessment of ‘Potash for life’ project: Accelerating adoption of balanced use of fertilizers and enhancing farm income of farmers’ in Chhattisgarh, India

Rice is the major crop and the central plains of Chhattisgarh are known as Rice bowl of central India. Under present study four districts have been selected, namely Bilaspur, Durg, Raipur and Rajnandgaon. In Rajnandgaon two blocks Rajnandgaon and were selected. In Rajnandgaon block two villages Haldi and Surgee and, Arjunda village from Gonderdal block was selected to conduct survey. Two villages namely: Malud and Mahamara were selected from Nakpura and Durg blocks in district Durg. Similarly, three villages Janjra, Devri and Kopra from Fingeswer block of Raipur district was selected to conduct socioeconomic survey. In district Bilaspur Bilha block was identified in which Sendari, Kechar and Dhabipara villages were selected for the above cited purpose. From each district cooperator-farmers were selected, as in Rajnandgaon 29 farmers, in Durg 18 farmers, in Raipur 29 farmers and in Bilaspur 30 farmers. A total of 106 cooperator farmers were surveyed. 85% of area is comes under irrigated land out of total aerable portion and the major sources of irrigation are electric operated shallow tube wells and canals. The area under tube well and canal irrigated lands are 204 ha and 96 ha, respectively. It occupies about 90% (274 ha) and 92% (283 ha) area to total cropped area in kharif season and 50.6% (155.2 ha) and 49.9% (153.10 ha) area in rabi season in 2012-13 and 2014-15, respectively. Another important crop is tomato which occupies 3.3% (10.1 ha) and 3.9% (12.1 ha) in the year 2012-13 and 2014-15, respectively on sample farms. In kharif rice, use of potash increased significantly by 262.42% while the doses of nitrogen and phosphorus is reduced by 23% and 19%, respectively in assessment year over the base year. However, total nutrient use has been increased by 16% in the referred period. In rabi rice the use of potash fertilizer increased by 170.2% in the corresponding period and the doses of nitrogen and phosphoric nutrients have decreased by 30% and 24.46%, respectively. It shows that the farmers are using higher doses of potash after they have gained knowledge and education about its significances from the PFL project activity. The impact of potassic fertilizers have also been studied over crop tolerance to various stresses such as adverse weather conditions, water stress, severity of diseases and effect of natural enemies. Application of potash, protect crop from many adversaries which happened during cropping season. Many communication as well as extension techniques and tools are being used under PFL project for creating awareness regarding balanced use of fertilizers and benefits of using potash in soils. Demonstration plots are ranked first in creating awareness among cooperator farmers. Besides it, field days, publicity material, digital media, TV publicity and crop seminars were found to be most effective in communication techniques. Therefore, suitable technological interventions and policy option need to be design to encourage farmers for use of balanced inorganic fertilizers.

The political economy of agricultural trade liberalization in Northeast Asia: comparisons with the West and between Japan and Korea

This paper contrasts agricultural protection of Japan and Korea with the West and identifies major differences between them. It characterizes agricultural protection of Japan and Korea (net heavy food importers) as “tariff-based and scarcity-sensitive” aimed at promoting survival and the West (net food exporters) as “subsidy-based and surplus-inducing” aimed at enhancing farm income. We then identify factors underlying the coevolution and divergence in the extent of agricultural trade liberalization between Japan and Korea since the launch of the Uruguay Round in 1986. Korea accepted deep cuts in agricultural tariffs in bilateral FTAs with the US and EU during the 2000s while Japan continued to protect farm interests by concluding low levels of FTAs with politically sensitive products excluded from tariff concessions. The two countries’ stances reversed since 2013 with Japan becoming proactive in pursuing high levels of FTAs with major agricultural exporting countries and Korea decelerating its opening of agricultural markets. To explain such divergences, this paper develops a political economy framework in which the incumbent political leadership would consider both national interests and sectoral (farm as import competing industries and business/manufacturing as exporting industries) special interests. Our analysis shows that President Roh (2002–2007)’s embracing of neoliberal paradigm in formulating foreign trade policies that would promote national interests underlies the unprecedented level of agricultural trade liberalization in Korea during the 2000s, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s determination not to be outcompeted by the rising China and Korea’s ambitious FTA strategies underlies Japan’s proactive bilateral and mega-FTA drives since 2013.

Small Scale Irrigation Farming Adoption as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Impact on Household Income in Ethiopia. A Review Paper

Small-scale irrigated farming has been offered as a climate-smart agriculture technology to boost production and diversify livelihood scenarios as an option to mitigate climate change and variability. Small-scale irrigation as a climate-smart agriculture strategy is one of the most important adaptation options for increasing agricultural production in rural areas, stabilizing agricultural production and productivity, and mitigating the negative effects of variable or insufficient rainfall. The reviewed literature showed that the adoption of small-scale irrigation farming as a climate-smart agriculture practice has a significant positive influence on farming income. Small-scale irrigation practice increases the adaptive capacity of households by enhancing farm income. Small-scale irrigation users are better off in crop production that enhances household income and enables buffer against climate variability compared with non-users. Small-scale irrigation is an important strategy in reducing risks associated with both rainfall variability production of different crops twice or three times within a year and increasing income of rural farm-households. Farmers' age, distance to market, and formal employment all negatively influence small-scale irrigation adoption. Off-farm employment, irrigation equipment, access to reliable water supplies, and awareness of water conservation practices all positively promote Small-scale irrigation adoption. As a result, governments and other key stakeholders should consider strengthening small-scale irrigated farming in rural families as climate smart agriculture. Keywords: CSA, Small-scale irrigation adoption, household income, livelihood. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-17-02 Publication date: September 30 th 2021