Holder Farmers Research Articles

301 Older Farmers' Experiences of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Abstract Background Almost a third (n=41,000) of all Irish farm holders are aged 65 years or older. Older farmers are vulnerable to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD’s) both by virtue of the nature of their work and their age. MSD’s are a known risk factor for workplace accidents and farming is the highest risk occupation in Ireland. This study aimed to explore older farmers’ experiences of living with and accessing healthcare for MSD’s. Methods A qualitative study design employing semi-structured interviews was employed. Nine Irish farmers aged 65 years and over with current or previous experience of MSD's were recruited. All participants continued to farm on either a full-time or part-time basis. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Four themes describing older farmers' experiences of MSD’s and healthcare were identified; (1) acceptance of MSD’s as inevitable (2) biomechanical and biological beliefs about MSD’s (3) resilience and a commitment to continuing work in response to MSD’s (4) scepticism and avoidance of healthcare. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge this is the first qualitative study of older Irish farmers’ experiences of MSD’s. Findings reveal that older farmer’s experiences differ significantly from those reported by other occupational groups. Commitment to continue working permeated the findings of this study and shaped older farmers' experiences and responses to MSD's. Older farmers accept MSD’s and pain as inevitable consequences of farming, and they respond to MSD’s with stoicism. Lack of healthcare provider knowledge about farming culture and practices contributes to older farmers' negative healthcare experiences and avoidance of healthcare. Given the prevalence of MSD’s in this population future research should focus on developing and evaluating appropriate health promoting and patient-centered interventions to support continued safe farming for older Irish farmers.

Tenancy Transition and the Effect of Liberalisation on Agricultural Land Leasing

This article studies tenancy transition in India during 2002–2012 and critically assesses the proposed Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act, 2016 in addressing the country’s current tenancy problems. The article is based on the National Sample Survey Organisation data of the 59th and 70th Rounds. Tenancy in India during the period studied has seen the increasing dominance of large-size farm holdings which have posed challenges to agriculture in India. The legalisation of leases, without disturbing the ownership rights of land owners, is essential for tenants and ensures them security, institutional credit and other governmental benefits. However, a complete liberalisation of the lease market without any legal stipulation on the duration, amount and registration of the lease, and the legal acceptability of lease documents to access institutional credit, crop insurance and other subsidised inputs may not provide a level playing field to the tenant farmer, especially when the lessor is rich and powerful. These concerns need to be addressed by the Model Act 2016 so as not to impinge on the goals of equity and efficiency enshrined in the Act. These concerns should also be addressed by all state governments as they frame tenancy laws in the future.

Extended sequencing of vaccine and wild-type capripoxvirus isolates provides insights into genes modulating virulence and host range.

The genus Capripoxvirus in the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae, family Poxviridae, comprises sheeppox virus (SPPV), goatpox virus (GTPV) and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which cause the eponymous diseases across parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. These diseases cause significant economic losses and can have a devastating impact on the livelihoods and food security of small farm holders. So far, only live classically attenuated SPPV, GTPV and LSDV vaccines are commercially available and the history, safety and efficacy of many have not been well established. Here, we report 13 new capripoxvirus genome sequences, including the hairpin telomeres, from both pathogenic field isolates and vaccine strains. We have also updated the genome annotations to incorporate recent advances in our understanding of poxvirus biology. These new genomes and genes grouped phenetically with other previously sequenced capripoxvirus strains, and these new alignments collectively identified several recurring alterations in genes thought to modulate virulence and host range. In particular, some of the many large capripoxvirus ankyrin and kelch-like proteins are commonly mutated in vaccine strains, while the variola virus B22R-like gene homolog has also been disrupted in many vaccine isolates. Among these vaccine isolates, frameshift mutations are especially common and clearly present a risk of reversion to wild type in vaccines bearing these mutations. A consistent pattern of gene inactivation from LSDV to GTPV and then SPPV is also observed, much like the pattern of gene loss in orthopoxviruses, but, rather surprisingly, the overall genome size of ~150kbp remains relatively constant. These data provide new insights into the evolution of capripoxviruses and the determinants of pathogenicity and host range. They will find application in the development of new vaccines with better safety, efficacy and trade profiles.

Determinants of Agro-credit Repayment of Small- Holder Farmers in Tanzania

The study investigated the determinants loan repayment in the two selected districts of Kongwa in Dodoma region and Kilombero in Morogoro region of Tanzania. The objective of the study was to identify the determinants of agro-credit repayment of small-holder farmers in Tanzania. The main problem in this study is the existence of high rates of non-compliance to Agrocredit transactions among smallholder farmers. Primary data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire and key informants. Using a multistage sampling procedure, a total of 329 loan beneficiaries in the four segments namely; commercial banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), government institutions and moneylenders were purposively and randomly selected and interviewed in the two districts. A Logistic (logit model) regression analyses were carried out to isolate and examine the determinants of loan repayment from the respondents' perspective. Findings revealed that the variables of farm size, type of crop, farming experiences, interest rates, and multiple borrowing were the main determinants of loan repayment. The findings also revealed that credit default rate was caused by high interest rates and loan access’ denial from commercial banks due to lack of bankable collaterals. The evidence from the analysis of the study indicating that farmer’s credit repayment is based on many factors which statistically proved significantly in both inferential and descriptive findings. Therefore, the study recommended the need for government to support the establishment of central collateral registry sometimes referred to as secured transactions which will unlock credit to smallholder farmers and assure them access to credits from both formal and informal sources at relatively low interest rates.

English

In Cameroon, common bean is produced and highly consumed as a source of protein and means of generating income by small farm holders. However, diseases like angular leaf spot caused by Phaeoisariopsis griseola (Sacc), poor agronomic practices and low soil fertility are negatively impacting the production of the crop. A field experiment was conducted under natural conditions in the University of Dschang during the 2017 main cropping season. The experiment was laid out in a RCBD in a split-split plot arrangement with three replications: Fungicide application (sprayed and unsprayed); Fertilizer level: F1 (Control), F2 (10 t/ha Tithonia), F3 (3.5 t/ha poultry manure) and F4 (0.4 t/ha 14.24.14 NPK fertilizer). Bean varieties that occupied each experimental unit were V1 (GLP-190 S), V2 (PH201) and V3 (PNG). There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between sprayed and unsprayed plots with respect to disease severity. The highest number of pods was obtained from the Tithonia treatment (F2) while the lowest was gotten from the mineral fertilizer treatment (F4). As concerns the interactions, fertilization and variety, spray and variety, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) among the various components. In all varieties, sprayed plots had more pods, seed weight, 100-seed weight compared to unsprayed plots. From the study, it shows that fungicide treatment reduced disease severity and the different nitrogen fertilizers greatly improved yield components of the crop. Key words: Angular leaf spot, common bean, fungicide spray, nitrogen fertilizers, Western Highlands, yield components. &nbsp

Physical, Physico-Chemical and Nutrient Analysis of Soils from Certain Farm Holdings of Shamshabad to Evaluate Soil Fertility Status

Physical, Physico-Chemical and Nutrient Analysis of Soils from Certain Farm Holdings of Shamshabad to Evaluate Soil Fertility Status

Study of rapport of the milk pollution by multidrug-resistant bacteria (‘superbugs’), cows morbidity and calves lethality in holdings of eastern Ukraine

Pasteurella multocida (46.0%), Neisseria spp. (44.0%), Aspergillus fumigatus (10.0%) were isolated in stable consortia form from milk samples (n = 60) from cows in 6 herds (n = 627 heads) with clinical signs of immunodeficiency status. The bacteria of these consortia is strong resistant to lots of antibiotics from synthetic penicillin group (ampiox, amoxiclav, ampicillinum), cephalosporins (cefalexin, cefixime), and macrolides (macropene, tylosin). The etiological structure of bacterial infections in cattle and their calves (n = 57) in mentioned farm holdings of eastern Ukraine was determined (6 farms in 3 regions). In the majority of these livestock, respiratory syndrome has been recorded for a long time in 56.0% of calves from 20 days to 5 months old. The signs of diarrhea were revealed in 12.0% of lactating and dry cows of these livestock, 18.0% of these animals showed the clinical manifestation of mastitis and 9.0% of them had the diarrhea syndrome. Pasteurella multocida (48.0%), Mycoplasma bovis (32.0%), Neisseria spp. (12.0%), Clostridium perfringens (8.0%) were identified using microbiological methods from nasal and rectal swabs from calves of different age groups, from cows with clinical signs of mastitis were isolated Mycoplasma bovis (50.0%), Pasteurella multocida (34.0%), Neisseria spp. (16.0%). Pasteurella multocida, Neisseria spp. and Clostridium perfringens isolates showed strong resistance to ampiox, amoxiclav, ampicillinum, cefalexin, cefixime, macropene, and tylosin. It was concluded that mentioned multidrug-resistant animal infectious agents in human food chain could be a sources of antibiotic resistance genes for human pathogens.

The Relevance of Smallholder Farming to African Agricultural Growth and Development

Farms less than two hectares constitute most farm holdings in Africa. Most of these farms are operated by rural smallholder farmers who are dependent on agriculture for their economic livelihoods. However, they are constrained by lack of capital assets that would enable them to increase agricultural productivity, food security and income. Despite these challenges, smallholders contribute significantly to the rural economy, and play a significant role in natural resource conservation. Therefore, they represent a critical population to include in poverty reduction efforts. Recent initiatives by African leaders aim to increase public expenditures on agriculture in order to spur economic development, position smallholders to play a significant role in regional growth. To understand the relevance of smallholder farming to Africa’s development agenda, this paper reviews the body of knowledge on smallholder farmers, the constraints and opportunities they face, and their use of practices which embody the tenets of ecological and climate-smart agriculture despite little public investment in this area. This paper recognizes the role of smallholder farmers and concludes that smallholder agriculture will be a driver of economic growth and development in Africa. In order to achieve this, adequate investment should be focused on eliminating the challenges faced by smallholder farmers. Keywords: Smallholder farmers, Sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural development, climate-smart agriculture, green agriculture

Nexus between Off-Farm Employment and Farm Size Among Small Farm Holders in Peshawar Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Nexus between Off-Farm Employment and Farm Size Among Small Farm Holders in Peshawar Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

A two-stage DEA model to evaluate agricultural efficiency in case of Serbian districts

Since the efficient agricultural sector is one of the most important drivers of country's economic development, the main objective of this paper was to examine relative technical efficiency of agricultural production in 25 Serbian districts using two-stage data envelopment analysis. Results of this research indicate that the efficiency score values lie between 70% and 100%, therefore it can be concluded that the agricultural sector of Serbia performs at a high level of efficiency, with the average efficiency score of 90%. The lowland region of Vojvodina is characterized with the highest efficiency scores, while districts in the southeastern part of Serbia have the lowest efficiency score values. Furthermore, the Tobit regression model was applied that one may examine the drivers of technical efficiency scores. The results show the significance of agricultural training among farm managers, land irrigation and age of farm holders in altering agricultural efficiency among Serbian districts.

Marketability and challenges of small farm holders of rubber-A study at tripura

Remunerative price realisation is the major concern to small farm holders considering uncertain and price volatility of rubber. Tripura being the second largest rubber producing state in India consists around 80000 small farm holders with 194 Rubber Producer Societies. Rubber is a major plantation crop for the people living in rural Tripura for their livelihood. However, the prices of rubber at Tripura is comparatively lower than the prices of rubber at Kerala due to many reasons including quality and marketability. This paper explored issues of marketability and challenges of small farm holders and found poor access to finance, price uncertainty and marketability, issue of transportation etc., are major concerns.

Stacking three late blight resistance genes from wild species directly into African highland potato varieties confers complete field resistance to local blight races

SummaryConsidered responsible for one million deaths in Ireland and widespread famine in the European continent during the 1840s, late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, remains the most devastating disease of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) with about 15%–30% annual yield loss in sub‐Saharan Africa, affecting mainly smallholder farmers. We show here that the transfer of three resistance (R) genes from wild relatives [RB, Rpi‐blb2 from Solanum bulbocastanum and Rpi‐vnt1.1 from S. venturii] into potato provided complete resistance in the field over several seasons. We observed that the stacking of the three R genes produced a high frequency of transgenic events with resistance to late blight. In the field, 13 resistant transgenic events with the 3R‐gene stack from the potato varieties ‘Desiree’ and ‘Victoria’ grew normally without showing pathogen damage and without any fungicide spray, whereas their non‐transgenic equivalent varieties were rapidly killed. Characteristics of the local pathogen population suggest that the resistance to late blight may be long‐lasting because it has low diversity, and essentially consists of the single lineage, 2_A1, which expresses the cognate avirulence effector genes. Yields of two transgenic events from ‘Desiree’ and ‘Victoria’ grown without fungicide to reflect small‐scale farm holders were estimated to be 29 and 45 t/ha respectively. This represents a three to four‐fold increase over the national average. Thus, these late blight resistant potato varieties, which are the farmers’ preferred varieties, could be rapidly adopted and bring significant income to smallholder farmers in sub‐Saharan Africa.

HUMAN ENERGY UTILIZATION AND EFFECTIVENESS IN SMALL AND MARGINAL FARM HOLDINGS

In India, small and marginal farmers have emerged as a distinct and dominant category. While farm mechanization represents a rapid transformation from traditional to modern methods of farming, it is not uniform across the crops and regions. The level of mechanization, however, remains scattered due to the compulsiveness to the situation dominated by the economic layout of farm holdings, land size, and large-scale deprivation of access to the technology suitable to small holdings. This present contribution elucidates the extent of use tools and machinery among the rice farmers of the state of Wes Bengal, India. Analysis revealed that the total number of man-days involved in paddy cultivation was 120-140 per ha, i.e., 900-1000 man-hours depending upon the availability of labour, tools, and machinery used for the individual operation. Analysis of farm work in small and marginal holdings evolved that over 90% of the total number of farmers use either tractor or power tiller for land preparation. Use of the animal-drawn country plough is gradually phased out in the study regions. For sowing and transplanting operations are primarily manual methods using hand tools. The study provided an insight of the issues of work methods and practices of the farmworkers in small and marginal farm holdings.

Transition of small farms in Ghana: perspectives of farm heritage, employment and networks

This paper uses a survey data on Ghana and survival analyses to examine whether or not farm heritage, employment history and networks contribute to the transition of small farms into medium and large-scale production units. Specifically, we have investigated how these factors influence the survival of small farms and their effects on the time rate of occurrence of medium and large-scale farm holdings in Ghana. The results show that farm expansion beyond the scope of small farms has been slow, especially when the farms are inherited. Farmers without formal employment or personal informal business alongside farming transit more slowly while those who have such additional employment expand their farms faster. Also, farmer motivations for going into farming are mainly centred on feeding their families and this supports our finding that farm heritage leads to lower rates of transition of small farms into medium and large-scale status. Besides, as supports from non-governmental agencies encourage occurrence of medium and large-scale farming, governmental assistance gives grounds to survival of small farms. As well, perceived changes in land tenure systems facilitate persistence of small farms and increase the time that a farmer may take to attain a level of medium or large-scale farming status. Additionally, our analyses show that male farmers have higher tendency and potential of becoming medium and large-scale farmers than their female counterparts. Besides considering the motives of the farmers and ensuring stable land tenure arrangements, we recommend that policies targets to transform the farm sector from small farms into medium and large-scale farm holdings should consider dynamisms in the employment history of the farmers, farm-related heritage, the gender of the farmers and the operational networks at the farmers’ disposal.

Comparative assessment of irrigation systems’ performance: Case study in the Triffa agricultural district, NE Morocco

Programs targeting conversion to irrigation techniques promoted as water-efficient, such as drip irrigation, are multiplying worldwide with the claimed objective to secure food production while alleviating the pressure on water resources. However, there is a persisting and widespread questioning about the actual impact when implementing the techniques in the real-world context, particularly in smallholder farms. We propose a framework to support an integrated assessment of the impact on farm holding performance resulting from the conversion towards a new irrigation technique. It is implemented for a 4030 ha agricultural district in the Triffa plain of NE Morocco where increasing number of farms are changing surface to drip irrigation. The indicators within the framework are calculated using survey data from a sample of 25 farm holdings collected in 2012 and 2013. The survey data are enriched with institutional data and data estimated from hydrologic modeling. The results indicate that, in the study area, farmers engaging with drip irrigation are mainly motivated by social factors, while most environmental and economic indicators are signaling a neutral or undesirable effect resulting from the conversion to drip irrigation. These results question the relevance of the water use reduction objective underlying the ongoing national plan “Plan Maroc Vert” (PMV) that aims converting up to 50% of irrigated agricultural land in drip irrigation, and call for a stronger appropriation of this water-saving objective by the farm holders. However, limited data availability and quality did not allow to firmly demonstrate the robustness of the findings. This severe data constraint revealed the difficulty to assess the socio-eco and environmental impact of such irrigation plan in the study area, and highlights the need for a data collection, centralization, and sharing effort. Conditioned to a strong reduction in data uncertainty, the framework methodology proposed in this study can serve as a practical reference for other studies seeking for an integrated assessment of irrigation management changes.

Treadle pump: A low cost irrigation option for marginal farmers

The population of marginal farmers in India is bound to increase due to continued division of farm holdings. Characteristically, marginal farmers are having more family labours but the production and productivity of their land holdings is low. The foremost reason behind this is the erratic rainfall and lack of assure supplementary irrigation during long dry spells. This paper presents the scope and applicability of a diaphragm based treadle pump in Bihar where groundwater is abundant and available at shallow depths round the year. Therefore, this pump could be very useful for marginal farmers in improving production and productivity of their tiny piece of land, as it uses human power and can be operated by male and female of age group 32- 45 years and lifts water from a depth ranging from 0- 30 feet. The water saving technologies such as bucket kit drum kit etc. could be used with this pump to irrigate the crops with high water productivity.

FACTORS LIMITING DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT IN MODERN FARMS: CASE STUDY IN SOUTH-EAST POLAND

Contemporary farms are enterprises that operate according to market principles, the development of which is influenced by a number of factors. The aim of the paper was to identify factors that inhibit the development of farms located in south-eastern Poland. The study made use of findings obtained in research by the Central Office of Statistics (GUS) concerning the structure of agricultural farm holdings in 2016. Factors inhibiting the development of agricultural farms located in south-eastern Poland include, first and foremost, unfavourable agrarian patterns, few farm owners with agricultural training as well as lack of appropriate managerial skills needed for effective management in modern agricultural enterprises. Only about 20% of farm managers were below 40 years of age. About 15% of owners indicated that over 50% of farm incomes were from non-agricultural activities.

Development from the bottom : small and medium farm holders empowerment and challenges of food security in Zimbabwe

Development from the bottom : small and medium farm holders empowerment and challenges of food security in Zimbabwe

The ‘blind spot’ of agricultural research: Labour flexibility, composition and worker availability in the South West of England

Agriculture in the UK faces a number of long-term challenges as the global marketplace continues to expand, world population grows, and an increasing pressure is exerted upon natural resources. It needs to ensure its place as a competitive, resilient, and environmentally sustainable industry both locally and in the global arena. A key constraint which ties in with all of the above is the availability of labour. Both governmental departments in their statistical analyses of agriculture in the country, as well as academic research, largely ignore the existence of certain actors performing farm labour who are not the farmer, particularly agricultural contractors, and as a result, have missed the emergence of significant patterns occurring within the farm workforce. Accuracy of data concerning labour use in agriculture has, therefore, been extremely limited. This paper identifies the composition of labour on farm holdings in the South West of England today and recognises the increasing prevalence of flexible labour sources. It determines both current and anticipated future staffing needs of the holdings studied, which provides an indicator as to the gravity of agriculture’s labour crisis in the South West.

Nigeria and the Development Quagmire: Prospects of Development through Agriculture, Food Security and Agro-Based Industrialization

This paper focused on ‘The Prospects of Nigeria’s Development through Agriculture, National Food Security and Agro-Based Industrialization’. To effectively examined how these areas of the agricultural sector can serve as prospects for Nigeria’s development, the role of agriculture in a country’s development were highlighted and it was found out from previous agricultural and developmental journals that, agriculture has the potentials to reduce poverty, provide employment, ensure food sufficiency in a developing country and can also improve her GDP and foreign exchange earnings. The impacts of national food security on development were also examined and excerpts from previous studies showed that, national food security has the capacity to improve the health of a country’s population, save local and foreign industries the cost of doing business and reduce a country’s import. It was also found out that, agro-based industrialization has the potential for accelerating a country’s development because it increases the number of indigenous entrepreneurs, improve infrastructural facilities in rural areas and serve as a link between local industries and multi-national firms through knowledge and skill transfer. The growth prospects areas of Nigeria’s development through agriculture, national food security and agro-based industrialization were highlighted to include: reduction of Nigeria’s poverty rate, improving national food sufficiency, improving citizens’ health, enlarging Nigeria’s foreign exchange earning capacity, expanding Nigeria’s export trade and reducing the internal or external migration of Nigeria’s youth. Finally, the paper was concluded by recommending that; Nigerian citizens should consider a career in agriculture and see it as a pride, retirees should take small scale farming as post-retirement occupation and the current land ownership system should be changed to make land accessible to farmers. Also, small farm holdings should be encouraged in satellite towns of urban centres and a ban should be place on the import of farm produce that could be adequately produced in Nigeria.