Farm Labor Research Articles

Contributions of Ethiopian Women in Farming and Its Allied Fields

Women are active participants in almost every aspect of agricultural activity around the world. However, due to the deep-rooted gender division of labor in developing countries, their contribution is underestimated. Despite having the fastest growing economy in the world, Ethiopia is still one of the poorest nations. It is vulnerable to weather-related shocks and suffers from widespread food insecurity, particularly among rural populations and smallholder farmers. In Ethiopia, women farmers perform 75 percent of farm labor, which accounts for 70 percent of household food production, but they typically produce up to 35 percent less than male farmers because they have less access to extension services. Therefore, the study focused on reflecting on the role of women in Ethiopian agriculture. This study was conducted at Oda Dawt Kebele, Teyo District, Arsi Zone, and the Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia. The main objective of the study was to identify and examine the role of women in agriculture. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to collect data from primary and secondary sources. The researcher used a simple random sampling technique and chose 405 women as the sample size. The questionnaires were written in English for data collection and then translated into the local Afan Oromo language for easier comprehension by respondents. The data collected was also analyzed using a variety of statistical techniques. The main objectives of this evidence-based study were to identify and examine the role of women in agriculture and related sectors. The study results suggest that women play an important role in farming activities that are underestimated. In general, the study emphasizes the importance of the male and female workforce for the economic or agricultural sector. Recognition of the roles and contributions of women in social and economic development, particularly by planners and policymakers, to improve the status of women and increase food security at household and national levels. The purpose of this study is to highlight the important role of women in agricultural activities as the number of studies on the role of women in agriculture increases. In addition, the results of this research could be useful for planners, decision-makers, and practitioners as effective use of women's labor power are required. In general, the study discovers or emphasizes the importance of the female labor force, as opposed to the male labor force, in contributing to the economic activity of the agricultural sector.

Covid and US Farm Labor

ABSTRACTMany governments closed their borders in spring 2020 to prevent the spread of Covid, but they also made exceptions to allow farm employers to recruit temporary foreign workers to fill seasonal farm jobs. The pandemic changed many parameters of food systems. Closed restaurants led to widespread layoffs in leisure and hospitality, rates of Covid were high among nonfarm food processing and meatpacking workers, and there was less Covid than expected among the foreign workers who increased their share of employment in production agriculture. The pandemic accelerated three major changes that were already underway, viz., more labor-saving mechanization, more foreign workers, and increased imports of labor-intensive commodities. Mechanization increases the resilience of production agriculture to labor supply shocks.

Review: The Shadow of El Centro: A History of Migrant Incarceration and Solidarity, by Jessica Ordaz

Review: <i>The Shadow of El Centro: A History of Migrant Incarceration and Solidarity</i>, by Jessica Ordaz

Selected Economic Determinants of Labor Profitability in Family Farms in Poland in Relation to Economic Size

Farms in Poland come in a wide variety of sizes, and the effect of farm size on the profitability of labor has not been sufficiently investigated. This paper takes a fresh look at the model for labor profitability determinants of family farms in Poland in relation to their economic size. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that determine the labor profitability index in farms of various economic size classes (classes ES1–ES5). In the analysis of factors shaping the profitability of labor in family farms, a panel analysis was applied. Family farm income expressed per family labor unit was adopted as the dependent variable. The following variables were used as explanatory variables: (1) macroeconomic index of price relations (“price gap”); unemployment; average monthly gross wages and salaries; inflation; (2) technical-agricultural production efficiency index; (3) microeconomic ratio of total assets to agricultural land; technical equipment for work; land-to-labor ratio; debt ratio, subsidy ratio, and investment effort. A diversified influence of selected factors determining the level of profitability of labor in agriculture in particular groups of farms was found. The econometric models developed also indicate different strategies that are adopted by farmers on various farms. There is no single solution here; strategies for improving the profitability of work must take into account the specificity of a given entity. The models estimated indicate the necessity of using other mechanisms and tools of agricultural policy for farms of various economic sizes. It should be expected that, in the future, there will be a dichotomous development of farms. Medium-sized farms will become larger and economically effective, and smaller farms will perform residential functions, with the disappearing function of agricultural production.

Essential agriculture, sacrificial labor, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the US South.

As farmworkers were reframed as "essential" workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, US growers demanded unfettered access to foreign farm labor. After initially announcing a freeze on all immigration processing, the Trump administration bowed to farmers' demands, granting a single exception for agricultural guestworkers under the H-2A visa program. Through a focus on H-2A farmworkers in Georgia, this paper highlights how the pandemic exacerbated farm labor conditions in the US South. The author interrogates these conditions through the lens of racial capitalism, exposing the legacies of plantation political economies and a longstanding agricultural labor system premised on devaluing racialized labor. These histories are obscured by the myth of agricultural exceptionalism-the idea that agriculture is too different and important to be subject to the same rules and regulations as other industries. Agricultural exceptionalism naturalizes the racial capitalist system and informs state responses that privilege agricultural production through the exploitation of farmworkers, remaking "essential" farmworkers as sacrificial labor.

Diversification increases the resilience of European grassland‐based systems but is not a one‐size‐fits‐all strategy

AbstractDiversification of grassland‐based systems is highly valued in agroecology, organic farming and other forms of regenerative agriculture. For lowlands, mountain and Mediterranean areas, we illustrate that diversification of grassland types, livestock species, products and farm labour allows coping with market, climatic and workforce‐related risks. However, diversification is not a one‐size‐fits‐all strategy and the type of diversification strategy should be adapted according to socio‐economic, structural, technical and pedoclimatic conditions of each farm. Farmers' technical skills and ability to re‐organise and monitor the system must be considered to avoid ineffectiveness of the diversified system. Moreover, it is essential to account for site‐specific conditions so that the ecological processes to be optimised can provide the expected benefits. Diversification occurs on different levels, from grassland management to the entire farm activity. There may be trade‐offs among these different levels impairing grassland ecosystem services. For instance, if diversification of farm activities dilutes the workforce, simplified grassland management can lead to the loss of vegetation communities of high ecological value. In contrast, case‐adapted diversification benefits from local opportunities, available resources and external supports to secure the system and favour sustainable resource management. Diversification thereby preserves grassland ecosystem services and enhances farm socio‐economic resilience to withstand perturbations.

Explaining Implementation Politics

An implementation politics model is proposed to explain how the extent and direction of policy implementation is determined by the impact of politics and the changing political and economic environments on implementation activities. The model is used to analyze the delay in implementation of the 1978 Pennsylvania Seasonal Farm Labor Act. The primary methodology employed in the research is the interviewing of key participants in the implementation of this law. The model suggests why policy implementation does not unfold in neat progressive stages but instead moves forward and backward according to some dis-cernible patterns based on the opportunities and constraints presented by the changing political and economic environments.

Examining drivers of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in cocoa farming: empirical evidence from Ghana.

In Ghana, cocoa production is a major economic activity among rural farmers. Its production contributes significantly to the GDP and further, livelihood security enhancement among rural folks. However, recent development has unveiled a situation of persistent low farm-level productivity among cocoa farmers which threatens their livelihood security. In view of this, we estimated the economic, technical, and allocative efficiencies among cocoa farmers and their determinants to help proffer relevant policy strategies to arrest the situation of low farm-level productivity. Using a multistage sampling procedure, we collected data from 750 cocoa farmers across the cocoa-growing regions of Ghana. To estimate the farm-level efficiency scores, we employed the stochastic frontier analysis and our results show that cocoa farmers generally exhibited significant levels of technical, allocative, and economic inefficiencies. We estimated the average technical, allocative, and economic efficiencies scores among the cocoa farmers to be 67%, 69%, and 51% respectively. The analysis of the determinants of technical, allocative, and economic inefficiencies revealed that farmer and farm-specific variables such as sex, household size, educational level, years of farming experience, frequency of extension contact, quality of extension received, use of climate smart adaptation technologies, farm size, farm labour and access to credit facilities significantly explain cocoa farm level efficiencies. Accordingly, we recommend that extension service providers and COCOBOD develop strategies to improve upon the quality of extension service delivery as well as incorporate the promotion and adoption of climate smart adaptation technologies into its productivity enhancement programmes for farmers.

Quantifying the Evolution of Giant Panda Habitats in Sichuan Province under Different Scenarios

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a relic species in China and a flagship species in the field of endangered wildlife conservation. The conservation of the giant panda’s habitat has gained widespread attention for this reason. Historically, Chinese Giant Panda Nature Reserves are surrounded by communities and the resource utilization behavior of households disturbs the giant panda habitat. Changes in these communities and in Giant Panda Nature Reserves began around 2010, with the feminization and aging of the farm labor force. These changes brought different resource utilization behaviors that led to different evolutionary tendencies in giant panda habitats. This research study assesses the impact of these tendencies based on data from the fourth survey of the giant panda in the Sichuan Province and from geographic information data. The paper aims to uncover the internal mechanisms of farmers’ resource utilization behavior in terms of the changes wrought to giant panda habitats. The paper simulates the future habitat of the giant panda based on the LUCC (land use/cover change) model to identify anticipated changes in future landscape patterns and the habitat quality of giant pandas under the current scenarios. The paper analyzes the spatial-temporal change of landscape patterns through the land use transfer matrix, based on the Markov model. The results of the scenario analyses illustrate the spatial and temporal difference in habitat quality. The driving mechanism for landscape pattern change is explored using the logistic regression model. The paper simulates the variation tendency of giant panda habitats under differential labor force structures and resource utilization behavior based on the CA (cellular automata) model, with the robustness of the results verified by participatory experiment. Through four scenarios of simulated farm labor force structure and resource utilization behavior, results suggest that the quality of giant panda habitats in the future will be relatively high when workforce feminization and aging is intense and resource utilization behavior is weakened. The simulated results confirm that the current agricultural labor force structure can reduce the intensity of resource utilization behavior. In this scenario, disturbance to giant panda habitats would decrease and their quality would improve.

A decoupling process of Pakistan's agriculture sector: Insights from energy and economic perspectives

As the energy-intensive and productive sector, agriculture enriched social prosperity, fed people, and enriched huge poverty worldwide. Development mechanisms, energy consumption and energy efficiency in the agriculture sector have become equally necessary in the services and industrial sectors. The study's main objective is to analyze the agricultural energy decomposition and its decoupling with the economic output in Pakistan from 1981 to 2020. For this, the study employed the logarithmic mean Divisia index method to give proof of the effect of four major driving factors, including agriculture energy intensity (AEI), agriculture economic output (AEO), agriculture labor intensity (ALI), and total agriculture land (TAL). The study gives a significant relationship between energy consumption and economic growth based on identified decoupling states. The outcomes show that AEO is the major factor in raising energy consumption. AEI and TAL show an increasing return to scale, while ALI shows mixed effects over the intervals. Only strong and expansive negative decoupling is maximally given in the analysis, while the other five decouplings show little impact. Thus, based on further policies, the strong negative decoupling state could be further substituted with strong decoupling using energy technologies. It suggests that the agriculture sector can attain mixed energy, energy management, enhance capital investment, and skilled labor because the speed of energy use is increasing. To check the provincial measures, costing, energy share, and carbon emission information can be further estimated.

The Reformed Agrarian Structure and Changing Dynamics of Rural Labour Migration in Zimbabwe

This article examines the changing dynamics of rural labour migration in Zimbabwe following the radical land redistribution since 2000 through the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Since the colonial period, dispossessed peasants with inadequate land access were forced to offer cheap migrant wage labour for large-scale capitalist farms (LSCFs) and beyond. Despite the wide acknowledgement of the redistributive nature of the FTLRP, there is sparse understanding of how the new land access patterns impacted on rural labour migration. Empirical evidence from Goromonzi and Kwekwe districts demonstrates that while there were many peasant beneficiaries, land shortages were not completely eradicated and the new farm labour markets depended on the super-exploitation of landless migrants. Altogether, the data contradicts the conventional wisdom that views migration as a deliberate diversification strategy of household labour to enhance a livelihood. Rather, resistance to proletarianisation undergirds the struggles of farm labourers as they largely seek autonomous land-based social reproduction outside the wage economy.

Analysis of the Constraints Faced by Rural Women Farmers in Vegetable Production in South-East Nigeria

Globally, vegetable forms a most valuable part of every household's diet and are used to increase the quality of the soup. It has also become the most important crop grown by farmers in recent time. However, vegetable farming is not without production challenges. Regrettably, there is an acute shortage of empirical studies to substantiate this claim. It was against this backdrop that the study on analysis of the constraints faced by rural women farmers in vegetable production in south-east Nigeria was undertaken. Specifically, the study was guided by the following objectives; describing the type and level of constraints women face in vegetable farming; determining the perceived effects of such constraints on all round vegetable farming and describing the solution women vegetable farmers practice in reducing the constraint they face in all round vegetable. The hypothesis of the study was that the socio-economic characteristics of women do not significantly influence their level of constraint in all round vegetable farming in the area. A multistage random sampling method was used in the selection of respondents. Sample size comprised one-hundred and thirty-five (135) vegetable women farmers. Well structured questionnaire was the main tool for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools, likert –scale rating and multiple regression analysis. Regrettably, most of the women farmers identified and perceived poor access to road and control of farm resources, e.g farmland ( =3.68), insufficient education ( =3.11), lack of credit ( =3.50) and poor institutional support ( =3.59) amongst others as the serious challenge they face in all round vegetable farming in the area. Additionally, the women farmers perceived and reported that the constraints they face has led to shortage of farm labour ( =3.63) and is disrupting planting and harvesting season of their all round vegetable production ( =3.56) amongst others. Diversification of agribusiness (99.26%) is one of the solutions they practice in reducing the constraint they face in all round vegetable. Estimated multiple regressions showed that the socio-economic characteristic of women farmers influences their level of constraint in all round vegetable farmingand is significant at 1% level of probability. It was therefore recommended that the government should subsidize the price of farm inputs in order to make them accessible and affordable to women farmers. In the same vein, better access of women to farmland and agricultural extension services is very essential in promoting not just vegetable production but more women driving the production.

Toward abiotic sugar synthesis from CO2 electrolysis

Toward abiotic sugar synthesis from CO2 electrolysis

Impact of Front-line Demonstrations on Integrated Crop Management in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.)

The present investigation was conducted in ten villages under DAATTC, five each in Nalgonda and Bhuvanagiri districts, Telangana, India operational areas during 2018–19 to 2020–21. Total 30 demonstrations were laid out on farmers’ fields in the districts (15 in each district). The main objective of front-line demonstrations (FLDs) was to demonstrate the integrated crop management practices in Water melon for getting higher yields over farmers’ practice. The study was undertaken to do a formative and summative (outcome and impact) evaluation of the frontline demonstrations on integrated crop management in watermelon. Data was collected with the help of structured interview schedule. The result of present study revealed that average highest yield recorded was 42.95 t ha-1 in demonstration plot over control (30.57 t ha-1) and 40.31% average yield increase was recorded over control plot. The extension gap ranged from 10.4 t ha-1 to 16.65 t ha-1 and technology gap ranged between 13.15 t ha-1 to 27.5 t ha-1 respectively with the technology index of 33.92% during the demonstration years. Besides this, the demonstrated plots gave higher gross returns, net return with higher benefit cost ratio when compared to farmers’ practice. In present study efforts were also made to study the impact of FLD on horizontal spread which has increased by 115%. The study also revealed that there was significant and positive relationship between farming experience, labour source, farm size and yield whereas age, education and family size didn’t have any significant effect on the yield.

Barriers and adaptation strategies to climate change among farming households in Guinea Savanna

Identifying appropriate climate policy interventions that improve the resilience of Guinea Savanna farming systems to extreme weather conditions is crucial to reducing food insecurity and poverty. This study explored rural farming households’ encountered adaptation barriers and strategies used toward climate change. Participatory research tools and methods were used to collect data, including household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. A multistage sampling procedure was employed in selecting 1,500 respondents in nine livelihood zones prone to drought and floods. Problem confrontation index (PCI) and relative importance index (RII) estimations were used to rank small-scale farmers’ climate adaptation barriers and strategies. Results showed that key barriers to successful climate change adaptation practices included limited access to farm inputs (PCI = 3203), poor access to agricultural machinery (PCI = 3161), and shortage of farm labour and its high cost (PCI = 3026), while the most prioritized adaptation strategies were crop diversification (RII = 0.59), planting early maturing crop varieties (RII = 0.47), and changing the timing of planting (RII = 0.42). This study provides decision-makers insights into farmers’ most adaptation barriers and prioritized strategies toward climate change to design effective and context-specific policies that aim to improve farming resilience to the adverse effects of changing climate.

RESOURCE-USE EFFICIENCY OF RICE PRODUCTION IN KURA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Rice is an important crop to the Nigerian economy. However, the level of inputs used in its production are not at the optimum level. This study examined the resource use efficiency of rice producers in Kura LGA of Kano State, Nigeria. Data used for the study was obtained by scheduled interview using structured questionnaires administered to 115 respondents selected using a simple random sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics, budgetary techniques and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Results obtained revealed that the mean age of the farmers was 31 years, most of the farmers were male, educated and with farming experience of 8 years. Results for profitability of rice production showed that the net farm income for rice production was N176922.2 with a return to Naira investment value of 2.7. This implies that 1N invested on rice production would give a return of N1.7. Results for regression analysis showed that farm size, agrochemicals, and labour had a significant effect on output. Analysis of return to scale was 4.5. This indicates an increasing return to scale with increased use of input resources. Results for resource-use efficiency revealed that farm size, agrochemicals, seed quantity, and labour were under-utilized. Further analysis showed that inadequate capital and poor extension service delivery affected rice production. The study recommended improvement on extension service delivery. The government, Non-governmental organizations and farmer organizations were advised to educate the farmers on appropriate use of farm inputs and ensure the availability of these inputs to farmers at subsidized prices. Farmers could be provided with soft agricultural loans to finance purchase of equipment and production inputs.

The impact of immigration enforcement on agricultural employment: evidence from the US E-Verify policy

ABSTRACT Immigration enforcement often brings unintended consequences in domestic labor markets. Using the universe of administrative immigration data from 2005 to 2019, we uncover evidence that the E-Verify, an employment verification mandate, exacerbates the ongoing farm labor shortage in the US. Relying on the newly developed staggered difference-in-differences method, we find that the E-Verify policy restricts the employment of undocumented farmworkers. Our results indicate that domestic workers are not being replaced with declined undocumented workers wherein the inflow of the H-2A visa migrants still remains. Our finding advances a more nuanced picture of the US labor shortage driven by the E-Verify policy. This paper contributes to the rising policy debate on reforming nationwide E-Verify enactment and the H-2A visa program in the US.

Using Small Area Estimation to Produce Official Statistics

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and other federal statistical agencies have used probability-based surveys as the foundation for official statistics for over half a century. Non-survey data that can be used to improve the accuracy and precision of estimates such as administrative, remotely sensed, and retail data have become increasingly available. Both frequentist and Bayesian models are used to combine survey and non-survey data in a principled manner. NASS has recently adopted Bayesian subarea models for three of its national programs: farm labor, crop county estimates, and cash rent county estimates. Each program provides valuable estimates at multiple scales of geography. For each program, technical challenges had to be met and a strenuous review completed before models could be adopted as the foundation for official statistics. Moving models out of the research phase into production required major changes in the production process and a cultural shift. With the implemented models, NASS now has measures of uncertainty, transparency, and reproducibility of its official statistics.

Push And Pull Factors for People Living in the Mountains of Arfak in Manokwari City

This study aims to determine 1) the characteristics of the people of Arfak who migrated to the city of Manokwari ; 2) the driving factors for the migration of the Arfak people from their home villages, and 3) the pull factors for the migration of the Arfak people to the city of Manokwari . To obtain data, the study used a descriptive approach through survey activities to the Arfak community living in the city of Manokwari as a case. The case of this research is the mobility or migration of the Arfak community as the main ethnic group in Manokwari Regency. The results showed that the main driving force behind Arfak mountain residents leaving their villages was economic factors, namely in their home villages they did not have adequate educational facilities, limited employment opportunities only relied on agriculture and forest labor, transportation and communication facilities were still lacking , the price of goods was limited. basic necessities are expensive, and the fear of being attacked by suanggi . Meanwhile, the issue of differences of opinion within the church, land disputes, and cold weather conditions do not always have an effect. While the main pull factor so that Arfak residents are interested in moving to the city of Manokwari are because the reasons in the city are good health and education facilities and services, available jobs, easy access to government, and guaranteed security.

Push And Pull Factors for People Living in the Mountains of Arfak in Manokwari City

This study aims to determine 1) the characteristics of the people of Arfak who migrated to the city of Manokwari ; 2) the driving factors for the migration of the Arfak people from their home villages, and 3) the pull factors for the migration of the Arfak people to the city of Manokwari . To obtain data, the study used a descriptive approach through survey activities to the Arfak community living in the city of Manokwari as a case. The case of this research is the mobility or migration of the Arfak community as the main ethnic group in Manokwari Regency. The results showed that the main driving force behind Arfak mountain residents leaving their villages was economic factors, namely in their home villages they did not have adequate educational facilities, limited employment opportunities only relied on agriculture and forest labor, transportation and communication facilities were still lacking , the price of goods was limited. basic necessities are expensive, and the fear of being attacked by suanggi . Meanwhile, the issue of differences of opinion within the church, land disputes, and cold weather conditions do not always have an effect. While the main pull factor so that Arfak residents are interested in moving to the city of Manokwari are because the reasons in the city are good health and education facilities and services, available jobs, easy access to government, and guaranteed security.