Farm Size Productivity Research Articles

Farm size and agricultural productivity of nutritious foods: Evidence from Ethiopia

AbstractAgri‐food systems are transforming quickly in Africa. An important issue in the transformation process of agricultural production is the role of small farms. While many authors have looked at this question, one aspect that has received little attention is the role of small farms in the production of nutritious foods, an important topic given the low availability and relatively high prices of nutritious foods and the consequent low level of nutrition security in the continent. Using a unique large‐scale dataset from Ethiopia—one of the largest countries in Africa that has been transforming rapidly—we look at the production of vegetables and dairy products. We find a strong association between farm size and partial productivity measured in terms of output, value of outputs and profit per hectare/cow, with productivity twice to four times as high for larger farms. These farms have substantially higher input expenditures as well as differences in farm technologies compared to small ones. Our findings have important implications for the debate on the role of small farms and nutritional improvements in the continent.

Peasant Productivity and Welfare in The Middle Ages and Beyond

Abstract Driven by the quality of sources rather than their representativeness, the history of English agriculture has been written primarily from the perspective of well-documented large farms to the neglect of smallholders and cottagers who for centuries cultivated the greater part of the nation’s farmland but left scant records. The superb series recording the mediocre and low crop yields of the expansive demesnes of great lords has long been adopted for the productivity of all medieval England’s arable and is deeply embedded in economic and social histories and calculations of economic growth and the welfare of the population. Yet no convincing justification for this supposition has ever been made, and an increasing flow of research and analysis indicates that the productivity of land varied markedly in accordance with the size and function of farms, with the output per acre of large farms constrained by the need to control costs in order to sell surpluses at a profit, while smallholders, at the cost of low and frequently abysmal labour productivity, produced higher yields by striving to maximize output using abundant family labour to secure subsistence from meagre acreages. An appraisal of farming across the centuries and the continents from the Middle Ages to modern times clearly shows that an inverse relationship generally prevailed between farm size and land productivity.

Optimizing Sustainable Farming Practices for Enhanced Rice Yield in the Mekong Delta: A Case Study of Palau

This study delves into the intricate dynamics of Palau's agricultural landscape, exploring the multifaceted challenges faced by local farmers and the interconnected factors influencing crop yields. The research employs a comprehensive approach, investigating the relationships between climate resilience, soil health, farm size, and crop productivity. Through quantitative analyses, including correlation, regression, and comparative studies, the study unveils nuanced insights that contribute to the discourse on sustainable agriculture in the Pacific region. Practical recommendations emerge, emphasizing the need for context-specific interventions to bolster climate resilience, promote soil health, and support small-scale farmers. As Palau navigates the complexities of its agricultural symphony, this study provides a harmonious composition of findings and recommendations for cultivating resilience and productivity in the nation's agricultural sector.

Land Resources and Agricultural Exports Nexus

Abstract Research background As part of the process of structural transformation that countries go through in their development journey, the relative significance of agriculture as a sector typically shrinks over time. Nonetheless, the agricultural sector maintains its significance in terms of its trade potential and global employment prospects to this day. The extant literature largely neglects the impact of countries’ land resources on agricultural trade by emphasizing agricultural farm size and land productivity nexus. This justifies the exploration of the causal nexus between countries’ agricultural land resources and their agricultural exports. Purpose The study herein aims at investigating the nexus between countries’ total agricultural land resources and agricultural exports for 174 selected countries over the period 1991–2019. Research methodology Dumitrescu and Hurlin’s (2012) test for Granger non-causality for heterogeneous panels is harnessed. Results Estimation results evidence the presence of bi-directional causality (feedback) between countries’ agricultural land resources and agricultural exports not only in the whole panel (1991–2019) but also in subpanels too (1991–2000, 2001–2010, and 2011–2019). Overall, the results stress the strategic importance of agricultural land as a significant determinant of agricultural exports. Novelty Our study takes a unique approach and investigates if there is a cause-and-effect relationship between a country’s agricultural land resources and its agricultural exports by relying on the implications of the factor endowment theory of trade.

Assessing inverse relationship in joint farm decision-making households: An empirical evidence from Eastern India

In the eastern India region, due to the dominance of fragmented and smaller land holdings and lack of irrigation facilities, the adoption of green revolution technologies has progressed slowly. Economic growth, income, and land fragmentation have induced families to allocate labor to non-farm jobs. In the absence of male decision-makers, spouses are responsible for making farming-related decisions jointly with their husbands. This study examines the inverse relationship between farm size and rice productivity in joint farm decision-making among married couples. The study uses survey data from four eastern states of India. The finding confirms the inverse relationship between cultivated rice area and rice yields. The inverse relationship holds but weakens when we control for farm and household characteristics and land quality. Smallholders in India tend to have dual employment, and as a result, more farm management decisions are being made jointly with spouses. Findings indicate that joint farming decision-making may have an adverse effect on rice productivity. Socially advantaged farmers have a lower yield. Finally, the study reveals that off-farm income from off-farm employment increases rice productivity. Policymakers can strengthen extension services to disseminate farming knowledge (agronomic practices and technology) to socially disadvantaged farmers and off-farm job opportunities for smallholders.

Does the Inverse Farm Size-Productivity Hypothesis Hold Beyond Five Hectares? Evidence from Ghana

AbstractWe contribute to the inverse farm size-productivity puzzle (IR) literature by examining the relationship using a unique data set from southern Ghana that covers farms between 5 and 70 ha. The study uses an instrumental variable (IV) for land size to mitigate some effects of measurement error in land size. The inverse relationship between farm size and farm productivity is upheld when ordinary least squares estimators (OLS) are applied but becomes insignificant although still negative in the IV estimation. The results show that measurement error in land size attenuates the IR. While some studies found the IR to flatten and then become positive, this study finds that in Ghana, the IR only flattens.

Farm size and productivity in Nicaragua: Parametric and nonparametric analyses for panel data

This paper examines the inverse relationship hypothesis (IR-H) between farm size and agricultural productivity in Nicaragua using parametric and nonparametric methods designed specifically for panel data. The data employed are from the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study for the years 1998, 2001 and 2005. The analysis reveals strong support for the IR-H based on a number of alternative parametric specifications. The results from the nonparametric models lend partial support to the IR-H,and such support is weaker than what is obtained from the parametric models, particularly among medium and large landholders.

Structural Transformation of the Agricultural Sector In Low- and Middle-Income Economies

Movement of labor from agriculture to nonagriculture and the associated increase in farm size through structural transformation are at the core of economic development. We conduct a comprehensive review of the literature exploring the causes and consequences of the transformation. We discuss ( a) the size and determinants for the persisting wage gap between agriculture and nonagriculture, ( b) policy-induced barriers to structural changes, ( c) the role of trade costs and technical change in shaping the nature of structural transformation and comparative advantage of regions, and ( d) how the overall development of an economy affects the relationship between farm size and farm productivity and hence changes competitiveness of different scales of farms. We also identify questions for policy and research and the ways in which new sources and interoperability of data can help answer these questions.

Farm Size and Agricultural Productivity in the Low Hill Zone of Himachal Pradesh: A Study

The relationship between size of holding and productivity has been the subject of study since the result of farm management investigations. The present paper also makes an attempt to examine the relationship between operational holding, gross value of output and value of major inputs used in the production of selected field crops. In addition to this, net returns across different farm sizes have also been examined. The results obtained from the study pointed out that there exists inverse relationship between the operational holding and productivity on maize crop, whereas, constant productivity relationship was observed on paddy and wheat crops. When all these crops were taken together, inverse relationship between the two-hold true. In respect of profitability, only small farmers are able to convert to their output advantages into net profitability by taking all these crops together. The important policy implications of the analysis is that consolidation of land holdings, formation and effective implementation of a development strategy and management of basic economic holding in the study area will undoubtly of primary importance to boost agricultural production, productivity and profitability thereby enhancing the productive employment and well-being of farm families.

Reconnoitring the Relationship between Farm Size and Productivity and Economies of Scale in Agriculture in Eastern Uttar Pradesh

An attempt was made to understand the recurrent debate about the relationship between returns to cultivation per hectare and size-class of land cultivated in eastern Uttar Pradesh using primary data collected from the five districts from each agro-climatic zones of the eastern region. The research showed the statistical validity of the farm size and crop productivity, which was a crucial exploration. The analysis was done separately for the relationship to the total value of agriculture output and yield of different crops grown in the study area. The empirical evidence proved the hypothesis that there was a negative association between land size and crop yield. The study further argued that the efficiency of the small-land holders must be taken with a pinch of salt because their low absolute returns bring into focus the question of their livelihood sustainability which was further aggravated on account of higher unit costs incurred. The first exercise in a series of proposed explorations into disaggregated analyses across the State of Uttar Pradesh and for specific crops opens the classic debate on farm size and productivity in the 21st century.

Land rental market reforms: Can they increase outmigration from agriculture? Evidence from a quantitative model

Recent econometric work suggests that there is a positive link between the development of land rental markets and the migration of workers out of agriculture in the developing world. I investigate this claim using a two-sector model of structural transformation that takes into account the well-known inverse relationship between farm size and farm productivity. The model studies how the allocation of employment between agricultural and non-agricultural activities is affected by the presence of transaction costs in the land rental market, as well as by the initial distribution of land ownership. Theoretically, a reduction in transaction costs induces outmigration from agriculture if agricultural prices are sufficiently flexible, while rigid agricultural prices may lead to the reverse phenomenon of immigration in agriculture. Practically, the model predicts that for most of the countries tested, a reduction in transaction costs causes little labor movement between sectors. This is equally true concerning the effect of a land redistribution. In spite of this, these reforms are found to increase substantially the production efficiency and welfare of farmers. These results suggest that the main benefit of stimulating land rentals is not in fostering structural transformation, but in improving the livelihoods of farmers.

Agricultural land marketization and productivity: evidence from China

ABSTRACT The marketization of agricultural land affects the average land productivity not only through improving land allocation efficiency but also through reducing land price under the perfect market. The effect of the improvement of land allocation efficiency on the average land productivity is positive. However, when the agricultural land market is imperfect, the effect of the decrease in land price under the perfect market on the average land productivity is negative. By using the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) database and the empirical framework for the inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity, this paper empirically finds that these two channels improve and reduce average land productivity by 34.4% and 1.4%, respectively, implying that agricultural land marketization in China improves the average land productivity by 32.9%.

Are small farms really more productive than large farms?

This paper shows that using yields may not be informative of the relationship between farm size and productivity in the context of small-scale farming. This occurs because, in addition to productivity, yields pick up size-dependent market distortions and decreasing returns to scale. As a result, a positive relationship between farm productivity and land size may turn negative when using yields. We illustrate the empirical relevance of this issue with microdata from Uganda and show similar findings for Peru, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. In addition, we show that the dispersion in both measures of productivity across farms of similar size is so large that it renders farm size an ineffective indicator for policy targeting. Our findings stress the need to revisit the empirical evidence on the farm size-productivity relationship and its policy implications.

A revisit of farm size and productivity: Empirical evidence from a wide range of farm sizes in Nigeria.

The relationship between farm size and productivity has been studied extensively in the agricultural and development economics literature. However, most of the documented evidence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is based on samples of small-scale farms operating 5ha or less, with very little evidence assessing this relationship over a wider range of farm sizes. This omission is especially important considering the rapid expansion of medium-scale farms in much of Africa. This study examines the farm size-productivity relationship over a range of farms between zero and 40ha in Nigeria. It also tests whether there is heterogeneity in productivity within medium-scale farms depending on how they came into being. Using four measures of productivity, empirical estimates reveal a U-shaped relationship where the IR holds between zero and about 22ha, turning positive afterwards. Moreover, when medium-scale farms are distinguished between those who were actively engaged as small-scale farmers and stepped up/expanded their scale of operation and those who were primarily in non-farm employment and later stepped into medium-scale farming, the turning point for farmers who stepped up into medium-scale farming is at 11ha, in contrast to 22ha for those who stepped in. Further evidence suggests heterogeneity in productivity within medium-scale farms depending on whether the owner-operators stepped up or stepped into medium-scale farming. These findings imply that policies facilitating smallholders' ability to expand the scale of their activities could contribute substantially to growth in farm productivity, agricultural commercialization and increase in food security in Nigeria, although in most areas only a small proportion of smallholder households are in a position to do this.

Does the inverse farm size productivity hypothesis hold for perennial monocrop systems in developing countries? Evidence from Kenya

The inverse farm size and productivity relationship (IR) is a recurring theme in the literature. However, most previous studies were undertaken within a setting of mixed cropping systems. In this article, we investigate the effect of farm size on productivity within the context of a perennial monocropping system, acute competition for farmland, frequent subdivision of farms and declining yields. We apply household survey data of smallholder tea farms in western Kenya and consider both technical efficiency (TE) and the yield per hectare as indicators of productivity. The findings show that the effect of farm size on productivity is nonlinear, with TE initially declining and then rising with farm size. The findings also demonstrate that the farm size and productivity relationship is important for perennial monocrops and that the use of robust measures of productivity is important for the IR. The findings have important implications for agricultural policy in developing countries.

Farm Size, Tenancy, and Productivity: An Overview

The present study intends to investigate the relationship between farm size and productivity. The objectives of the study are: to investigate the relationship between farm size and productivity, to suggest some policy implications. The study is based on secondary data. Data were collected from different published and unpublished documents. The main findings of the study are: the small farms have the higher productivity of land than the larger ones, there exists the inverse farm size productivity relationship, few studies showed that although there exists an inverse relationship between these two this inverse relationship got weakened or even disappeared in the regions adopting new technology, some cases there also exists the positive relationship between farm size and productivity, the output level of owner cultivator is likely to be higher than the share-cropper. Few researchers pointed out the higher productivity of sharecroppers than the owner cultivators. In view of the above findings, the following policy measures are suggested: emphasis should be given to farm-related research, the assistance of small farmers in order to form associations for enhancing production, absorbing credit, and adopting farm technologies.

Productive efficiency and farm size in East Africa

ABSTRACT In this study, we undertake a comparative analysis to re-examine the inverse relationship hypothesis between farm size and land productivity, paying special attention to possible errors in land measurement and the role of technical efficiency (TE). Our primary focus is on the distribution of TE over farm size, so that we may assess the productivity and efficiency relationship with land that has been discussed extensively in the literature. We hypothesize that the distribution of TE over farm sizes is non-linear. To test our hypothesis, we use the Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture and a stochastic production frontier with Greene’s (2005) true random effects framework. Specifically, we ask if smaller farms – within the range of farm sizes prevalent in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda – are more technically efficient than larger ones after accounting for a number of attributes often ignored such as measures of the production environment, including transportation infrastructure, public extension visits, among other characteristics. The results confirm a robust overall inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity in all three countries. However, the relationship between farm size and TE is positive across some size segments, resulting in a U-shape distribution.

Production risk, technical efficiency, and input use nexus: Lessons from Bangladesh aquaculture

AbstractThe optimal use of resources in aquaculture is important, especially in developing countries, to obtain the highest possible outcome from the production process to support food security and poverty alleviation. Thus, within this study, the risk, efficiency, and input‐use variation in aquaculture farms in Bangladesh is investigated using a flexible stochastic frontier model with a risk and an inefficiency function. The results reveal that feed, labor, and capital have positive and significant impacts on production. In addition, an increased fingerling density and a larger farm increase the risk, whereas the use of feed and the capital invested have the opposite effect. Access to extension services has a positive effect and increases farm efficiency. An investigation of the farm size–productivity inverse relationship reveals that this phenomenon is not applicable to Bangladesh aquaculture. In general, efficient farmers are large‐scale farmers, who use a lower stocking density but a higher feeding intensity, resulting in a higher yield. On average, farmers use less labor and feed than what is optimal. To increase efficiency and reduce risk, it is recommended that more technical knowledge on optimal input use, extension service, and capital is made available to aquaculture farmers.

Factor Market Activity and the Inverse Farm Size-Productivity Relationship in Tanzania

Although the inverse farm size-productivity relationship (IR) is sometimes used to motivate arguments in favour of smallholder-led agricultural development, it remains unclear what drives this relationship. It may be attributed to market imperfections that compel small farms to use land more intensively than large farms. Using a three-wave longitudinal household survey from Tanzania, we examine whether the intensity of the IR is related to local factor market activity for land, labour, credit, and animal and machine traction. The IR holds in Tanzania when family labour is either not counted or valued at its shadow cost, though it disappears when family labour is valued at the prevailing local agricultural wage rate. Moreover, the IR is significantly weakened in regions with relatively active agricultural factor markets, such as for land and mechanization services. This suggests that the IR is at least partly driven by imperfections in rural factor markets. As household participation in agricultural factor markets continues to rise, the IR may be expected to weaken or even reverse.

Microfinance is a Non-productive and Expensive Source of Borrowing: A Case Study of District Sargodha (Pakistan)

The study examines Pakistan’s microfinance institutions' performance and checks the productivity of microfinance institutions. For this purpose primary data was collected from a sample of 260 respondents from 6 microfinance banks in Sargodha District. This paper examined the livestock sector and the impact of microfinance on livestock productivity. According to the results of the role of microfinance was non-productive due to the high cost of borrowing, small loan size, high feed cost and use of the loan in a non-productive term. According to the results microfinance productivity is negative due to small loan size and high cost of borrowing. While the productivity of borrowing amount for large farm size is positive which is three times greater as compared to small farm size. So results showed that the efficiency of production increase through large scale farming. Small loan size and high cost of borrowing is a basic cause of negative microfinance productivity. Small loan size is not benefited for investment because the loan amount is unable to meet the basic requirements at the farm level for the increase in productivity of livestock farming. The main reason for the high productivity of livestock financing in large farming is due to its economies of size. Replacement of dilapidated equipment with modern equipment is one way to increase productivity in an organization. Large loan size decreases the inefficiency in input costs. The major three factors of livestock productivity are the amount of interest rates, milk production and feed cost which are responsible to make efficient use of loan amount in its productivity. Productive capacity is a basic characteristic of large farm size and loan productivity depends on productive capacity.