Farmers In Rural Areas Research Articles

Farmers’ perception of rice production community enterprise’s roles: evidence from Chachoengsao Province, Thailand

Rice production community enterprises (RPCEs) have emerged in Thailand as a group initiative supported by the government to help address the challenges of rice farmers in rural areas. However, farmers still faced problems due to a lack of targeted programs and policies to improve the enterprise’s roles in the community. This study investigated farmer-members’ perception of an RPCE’s specific roles. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 201 farmers in Sanam Chai Khet District, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Data were analyzed using the weighted average index (WAI) method to assess the farmers’ perception of the RPCE’s roles. Results reveal that RPCE members have a strong perception of the enterprise’s role in increasing their income. Other roles such as knowledge and skills improvement, supplying inputs at a fair price, increasing social network, product competition with rivals, and provision of credit facilities, were rated as medium, demonstrating the considerable efforts exerted by RPCEs to improving its members. Moreover, a weak rating was given by members for the enterprise’s role as a saving source implying that government should further intensify its support for RPCEs in terms of promoting the saving behavior among members. This study suggests that stronger policy support should be given to upgrade RPCEs based on how members perceived them. This would encourage more member participation and secure more benefits and income for members of the community enterprise.

Grow Kisan: E-Agriculture App

Abstract: Web apps and services facilitate information, communication, entertainment, and leisure. Web apps have ushered in a new era. In India, information and communication technology (ICT) in agriculture is a relatively new subject aimed at increasing agricultural and rural output. It entails the development of novel ICT-based rural applications. Farmers can benefit from ICT innovation by receiving timely and accurate information and services, resulting in a more productive agricultural climate.This study offers a web-based tool for farmers that will help them with their agricultural tasks while also keeping them informed about new government programmes. “Grow Kisan” is a service that gives agriculture-related information to Indian farmers in rural areas who face financial and connectivity challenges. The concept makes use of existing government services and mobile services to deliver a solution to the current situation with the least amount of cost to the farmer. The application system provides customers with all of the information that is relevant for their own land, searches, on-line crop management, statistic profit summaries, a statistical summary of their land by cultivating a specific crop, and the FAO recommendation not to use water, but to use fertilisation to increase productivity; "Fertilization" With GPS and Web methods, the system allows effective land management, monitoring, and data supply. The device's interface is more "image-based" than "word based," whereby even analphabets will comprehend and utilise it. The initiative focuses largely on small landowners, who truly may do miracles if specific instructions are supplied for effective land management and knowledge on the crops most appropriate for their territory. Not only will the initiative offer the smallholder with a free callback service, but also some films and soundtracks to show how things are to be accomplished in the country. The most essential component is video conferencing since farmers may ask through video and demonstrate whether they have a problem with crops and soil. For example, how to apply a certain herbicide and how to seed the soil for improved production, etc. A mobile cloud service for responding to Tomato Diseases is a voice-based response technique (VBAT) that is designed for farmers to receive voice queries in their natural language utilising the keyboard for the use of mic or text inquiries. Via speech and text the user will get the appropriate responses. India's cellular subscribers are 900 million. Keywords: E-Agriculture, Crop information, E-commerce, weather prediction, Agro - assistant.

ANALYSIS OF PERSONAL AUXILIARY FACILITIES ON THE SUBJECT OF THE READINESS TO CONDUCT BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

This article is written based on the results of two years of research during the implementation of the Grant financing project of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. AR08053217 "Development of a model for the effective functioning of personal subsidiary farms on the example of poultry meat production", 2020-2022.
 The basis of this article is the study of such form of farming in rural areas as personal subsidiary farms. The importance of private farming is actualized both in matters of a social nature in rural areas, and issues of sustainable development of entire sectors of the economy. The article clarifies the main socio-economic functions of personal subsidiary farms.
 The basics of motivation and goal-setting are considered in the direction of entrepreneurship. And in this regard, a model is given for increasing the business activity of personal subsidiary farms based on small-scale poultry meat production. The model is described from the point of view of the mechanisms of interaction of participants, and from the point of view of the organization.

Design and analysis of a solar integrated agriculture irrigation system for rural farming area

Precision farming involves a management strategy to increase productivity and economic returns with reduced environmental impacts. Precision farming is available for small farm agriculture and big farm agriculture, and it plays a significant role in rural development programs in the agriculture industry. Accordingly, an automated solar integrated agriculture irrigation system is proposed to effectively help farmers in rural areas supply the water to their farms. The proposed automated system is expected to increase productivity and provide better quality control, as well as minimising the work labour time. The system was designed by considering various design factors, such as the reliability, safety, and ergonomic factors, to ensure the product is user friendly. Besides, the material selection process and parametric studies conducted to determine the right sizing and position of the components are discussed. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis was used to simulate the water tank to visualise the water flow. From the design analysis, a higher water tank placement and bigger pipe diameter are found to make the system more efficient.

Pedal cum solar powered paddy thresher for small farms

The performance of pedal operated paddy thresher was evaluated in the field. During threshing operation the optimum speed of threshing drum 290-310 rpm was achieved by 21 strokes. The paddy was threshed at a moisture content of 18.45%. The threshing efficiency of the thresher was found up to 99%. The optimum paddy holding capacity achieved was 0.5 kg, 1 kg and 0.75 kg. The optimum foot pedal size was 14.35 cm. The optimum threshing cylinder height was 101.25 cm. Threshing efficiency in solar mode was found as 99.58-98.67% compared to 98.54-97.01% for pedal. The threshing rate in solar mode was achieved as 231.67 kg/h as compared to 66.63 kg/h in pedal mode. Hence, solar mode threshing rate is 3.47 times more than pedal mode. This thresher will be very useful for small poor farmers in rural areas where there is no electricity or its supply is erratic. Due to its small weight it will also be very useful for farmers in hilly regions due to its easy transport from one place to another.

Strategic guidelines for community enterprise development: a case in rural Thailand

PurposeIn spite of the government’s support for small-scale rice farmers in rural areas of Thailand, several problems still affect their production and marketing performance. This study aims to assess a rice production community enterprise (RPCE) through an in-depth investigation of its problems and capabilities; and formulate internal strategic guidelines for enterprise development.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with the community enterprise leader and committee members, and focus group discussion with eight farmer-members, purposively selected in Chachoengsao, Thailand. Data were transcribed, sorted and organised to determine themes and patterns. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) matrix situational analyses were done to develop strategic options. Strategic guidelines were formulated through a final deliberation with all members to ensure strategies aligned with the enterprise’s goals and objectives.FindingsThe results have identified three main problem categories encountered by the community enterprise in the areas of membership and labour; production and milling operations; and product design and marketing. The enterprise’s main strengths and opportunities include its product certifications and support from external organisations. Strategic points were developed, and policy support programmes are recommended for capacity building and product development as most problems identified relate to these aspects.Originality/valueThe utility of this study is its focus on an RPCE. The findings will help policymakers and concerned government agencies implement better programmes and policies to develop RPCEs. Furthermore, this study will be a source for future qualitative literature that will provide helpful information to other studies aiming to develop other types of community enterprises (CEs).

Development in South Africa: Bridging The Rural-Urban Gap

South Africa is a highly unequal society with high levels of inequality, poverty, unemployment and other injustices that continue to affect the majority of the population. Although great strides have been made in addressing these challenges, there continues to exist a significant gap between the urban areas (usually over-developed) and the rural areas (usually under-developed), making it harder to bridge these parallel worlds. Worth noting is the report from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) which suggests that Covid-19 has further widened the gap between urban areas and rural areas. These disparities have always existed, but the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to light a lot of challenges that have been ongoing, especially in the case of South Africa. To mitigate the urban-rural divide, agriculture in rural areas should be considered as a viable solution, with the support of technological platforms. The results of investing in rural economies will have spill-over effects, positively impacting on urban areas, while creating employment in the peripheries of the country. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we look into other alternatives which will not only benefit the country, but also bridge the gap between rural and urban areas.

Socioeconomic Impact of Climate Change in Rural Areas of Greece Using a Multicriteria Decision-Making Model

Agriculture is the main and, in some cases, the only, source of income and employment in rural areas. The change in the conditions under which agriculture is practiced has various effects on the agricultural economy but also on the social structure of rural areas. Climate change has multiple effects on agricultural production, necessitating the reorganization of agricultural production in some cases. These effects of climate change will also impact the economic and social aspects of farms in rural areas. This paper attempts to identify these effects by measuring the socioeconomic impacts of climate change in the region of Central Macedonia in Greece. For this reason, a multicriteria model was developed to simulate these impacts by estimating a set of seven social and economic indicators. The model was implemented to the average farm which was estimated from the main cultivations of the region. A scenario analysis was also used in combination with the multicriteria model. The multicriteria model suggests modifications are needed in the average farm crop plan of the region as a result of the climate change impact. The scenarios results show that climate change will negatively affect all the social and economic indicators and will continue to affect them over the years. These results can be used by policymakers to understand the economic and social impacts of climate change in the region to plan their future policies.

AGRICULTURAL LAND USE PRACTICES AND INTENSITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA’S ARABLE FARMING LANDSCAPE

Arable land is the most important agricultural production input. Land use, coupled with management practices is the key instrument for achieving environmental security, increase in yield and productivity. This study examined the agricultural land use practices and intensity of environmental degradation among arable farming households in North central Nigeria. A survey of 356 households was used to generate household level data using a well-structured questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics like means and ordered logistic regression analysis (Ologit). Results showed that land is cultivated intensely and on a continuous basis with mixed-cropping and complete tillage commonly practiced by 83.2% and 67.4% of the farmers, respectively. On the average, arable farmers perceived environmental degradation as having high intensity (2.46) on their farmland. Agricultural land use practices like complete tillage, more frequent weeding, land conflicts, farming on sloppy farmlands increased the intensity of environmental degradation while practices like herbicide use reduced it. The study concluded that improving land use practices is, therefore, a pre-requisite for sustainable agriculture, which is itself a necessary condition for environmental conservation. Hence, extension agents should organize proper teaching of farmers in rural areas on the best ways to cultivate and harvest crops and to take due caution in the choice of equipment for land clearing as well as the technique of land clearing in order to minimize injury to the environment.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH STATUS RELATED TO NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN DURING LACTATION PERIOD: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY AMONG MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN AGE 0 – 6 MONTHS IN AGRICULTURAL AREAS OF INDONESIA

Maternal and child health status (MCHS) plays an essential role in the exclusive breastfeeding practice (EBP), which in turn helps to determine the nutritional status and development of children (NSC & CD) aged 0-6 months. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors influencing EBP, NSC, and CD to MCHS in Jember, East Java, Indonesia. A family-based survey was conducted among 470 mothers with children aged 0-6 months, by using a stratified random sampling method. Furthermore, a self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the characteristics of children and mothers, MCHS, EBP, NSC (z score with weight per age= WAZ and height per age= HAZ), and CD (pre-screening developmental questionnaire=PSDQ). The prevalence of EBP was 74.7% (95% CI= 65.5 – 81.2%), with influential factors being education, family income, children's age, and distress to limitations. Also, the Z-score of WAZ and HAZ were 2.99±0.22 and 3.01±0.22, respectively (3% of underweight and 1.7% of stunting). The factors influencing WAZ were children's age, birth weight, approach, and attentional shifting. However, the factors that only influenced the HAZ was the children's age. Also, among children three months old, the score of PSDQ was 8.30±1.33 (0.8% of deviation and 56.5% of suspect development), and their influenced factors were mother's work, infant's age, and the weight of birth. Among those that were 6 months old, the PSDQ score was 8.83±1.42 (7% of deviation and 24.3% of suspect development), and their influenced factors were mainly relationship. The analysis of the result further showed that the EBP, NSC, and CD, are related to MCHS, in rural agricultural areas. Therefore, the relationship of the parent-child should function appropriately, in order to support infant growth and development during lactation.

Food Consumption Pattern and Dietary Diversity among the Farmers in Kanyakumari and Perambalur Districts of Tamil Nadu

Aims: To study the consumption pattern and dietary diversity among the farmers in rural areas.
 Study Design: Random Sampling.
 Place and Duration of Study: Primary data were collected from the Kanyakumari and Perambalur districts of marginal and small farmers between July and August 2020.
 Methodology: The study was conducted in Kanyakumari and Perambalur districts based on Tamil Nadu state planning commission report 2017.The Simpson index of dietary diversity was calculated to score the quantity and consumption of food items were consumed. The multiple linear regressions were used to understand the variation of socio-economic and demographic features of the household members.
 Results: The overall result of the SIDD score for Kanyakumari district was 0.73 and 0.72 for Perambalur district. When compared to Perambalur district, the results clearly showed that Kanyakumari district farmers had a higher dietary diversity. Because the food habits of Kanyakumari district farmers differ significantly from those of Perambalur district farmers, owing to a higher intake of nutritious foods in Kanyakumari district farmers.
 Conclusion: The factors like monthly income and education most influence the household dietary pattern and nutrition status of Kanyakumari district rather than the Perambalur district.

Business Model Development of a Fresh Milk Agro-Industry in Rural Areas

This research aims to identify several business models of fresh milk agro-industry that are emerging in rural areas, as well as factors that influence agro-industry development, and establish a dairy agro-industry business model framework. The case study method used in this research consists of an agro-industry with business models and cooperatives. According to the finding of this research, there are seven supporting factors that influence the growth of the fresh milk agro-industry in rural areas, that are; (1) organizational structure, (2) fresh milk handling operations, (3) technology application for production activities, (4) training of employees and breeders, (5) product marketing strategies, (6) product quality and quality assurance, (7) company actor’s innovation. These seven factors can be determined using the weight ratio to assess the value of each factor that influences the development of the fresh milk agro-industry in rural areas, namely business management (0.2641), raw material handling (0.1510), and quality assurance (0.1347). The importance of the decision is a crucial factor in the development of the dairy agro-industry in rural areas. In rural areas, the fresh milk agro-industry business model is a cooperative form of business, as well as a business model that incorporates both private and cooperative business practices. The more varied the business models examined, the stronger the fresh milk agro-industrial business model system would be. Since they help small-scale milk farmers in rural areas market their products, regional milk cooperatives are still the best business model to use. Keywords: business model, BMC (Business Model Canvas), cross-case analysis, fresh milk agro-industry, multiple case study

Does commitment to cooperatives affect the economic benefits of smallholder farmers? Evidence from rice cooperatives in the Western province of Zambia

ABSTRACT Using local provincial authorities, the government of Zambia has demonstrated renewed interest in cooperatives as a means of reaching smallholder farmers in rural areas. There exists, however, the problem of high heterogeneity within cooperatives regarding members’ commitment, with many passive members holding only formal membership and having a minimal understanding of the cooperative's principles and benefits. The main objective of this study was to analyse how varying levels of members’ commitment determine their economic benefits. We selected a total of 215 rice farmers (72 active and 143 passive members) from two rice-dominant districts and used the propensity score matching technique and endogenous treatment regression model for the analysis. The study results show that educational level, distance to the cooperative, members’ perception about trust and acceptance, and value of the investment in the cooperative have a considerable influence on member commitment. The results further indicate that actively committed members of the cooperative achieve much more economic benefits than passive members.

CFD Prediction of Performance of Wind Turbines Integrated in the Existing Civil Infrastructure

Power generation from wind energy is almost entirely performed in rural locations or at sea, and very little attention has been given to the use of wind turbines in urban locations. Since the re-emergence of wind turbines, the majority of their applications are in large commercial wind farms in rural areas or out at sea, and there is an increasing focus on the use of wind turbines within an urban environment possibly using existing structures, such as bridges and viaducts. There are very few existing buildings which have been designed from the ground-up to include wind turbines in the structure. In order to estimate the wind resources and the performance of a turbine at a particular site, a CFD model is designed and CFD calculations are performed. In order to simplify the modelling of a wind turbine actuator, disc theory is applied. Actuator disc theory is used, as it allows the aerodynamic behaviour of a wind turbine to be analyzed by just considering the energy extraction process without a specific wind turbine design. The power output of wind turbines installed beneath an already existing civil infrastructure is determined and analyzed.

AKSELERASI INDUSTRIALISASI PERDESAAN INOVATIF DAN KELEMBAGAAN PERTANIAN MEWUJUDKAN KESEJAHTERAAN PETANI

The relatively weak competitiveness of agricultural-based processed products is the reason why Indonesia is known as an importer of manufactured food, because it is still an exporter of agricultural-based raw materials. The comparative advantage of primary products only relies on the abundance of natural resources and uneducated TK so that they are still dominated by raw products. In the era of globalization, free trade demands highly competitive processed products, to be able to meet the high quality requirements and global market competition. Using a qualitative descriptive method, this paper aims to comprehensively describe the importance of increasing quality and competitive processed food products, supported by institutional development related to processed products. The technology development program and investment through the development and improvement of the performance of the agricultural-based processing industry in rural areas is predicted to be able to become the "engine" of strong economic progress. As a solution for efficiency, effectiveness, continuity and continuity of the process of procuring raw materials, labor and financing (capital) for processed products, if the processing industry is around the raw materials produced (agriculture in rural areas). Development of the role of industrialization to increase the added value of products, including diverting primary agricultural products (raw materials) into processed products as an effort to reduce imports. The role of the institution functions in line with the development programs implemented to be able to drive rural industrialization, create jobs and increase income in rural areas.

Agrovoltaics: Step towards sustainable energy-food combination

The global growth of renewable energy has been given importance targeting global energy needs while replacing fossil fuels. Large areas of land have been a major hurdle to this global target. Keeping in view the concern of the growing population and threats to food security, APV, which is a synergistic combination of photovoltaics and crop cultivation is being advocated. APV can lead to decentralized off-grid electrification of rural agricultural areas along with providing economic benefit to farming activities. However, the incorporation of APV in conjunction with its practicability as well as the impact on crop production needs to be thoroughly investigated. This paper is designed to focus on an elaborate overview of APV, with a comprehensive detailing of the design aspects and performance indicators of APV. APV can be a beneficial alternative to achieve more sustainable energy-food as well as at the same time a step towards conserving land resources.

Effects of haze pollution on pesticide use by rice farmers: fresh evidence from rural areas of China.

Recently, severe haze pollution has not only threatened human health and food security, but also seems to have aggravated the unscientific use of pesticides by rice farmers in rural areas of China. Using original data on haze pollution across China, combined with rural household survey data collected from 2014 to 2018, we conducted a detailed empirical study on the effects of haze pollution on pesticide use by rice farmers based on the theory of risk aversion. The empirical results revealed that haze pollution with higher levels of PM2.5 positively impacted the use of chemical pesticides in rice cultivation. More precisely, with each 100% increase in PM2.5 concentrations, the use of pesticide per mu increased by 7.9%, and the average pesticide cost per mu increased by 2.3%. The results were robust to a series of tests that addressed potential endogeneity concerns, including omitted variable bias, measurement error, and reverse causality. We then examined the heterogeneous effects of haze pollution increases on the use of chemical pesticides and found that for rice farmers without rice insurance, haze pollution has a stronger effect on pesticide use and a weaker effect on pesticide cost. However, for rice farmers with more experience in rice cultivation and small-scale rice planting, the effect of haze pollution on pesticide use and cost is relatively small. Our findings provide important policy implications for pesticide risk management in rural areas of developing countries.

Place attachment and agricultural land conversion for sustainable agriculture in Indonesia

The relationship between place attachments and agricultural land conversion for developing countries had not been studied in many studies. This study aimed to provide empirical evidence of the psychological relationship between place attachment and agricultural land conversion, in contributing to sustainable agriculture in rural areas. The method used was the calculation of the place attachment index, while examining the relationship between latent and dependent variables implemented in Structural Equation Model (SEM), applied in AMOS Software. The result of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) calculation demonstrated the relationship between place attachment and agricultural land conversion. The attitude towards land development also had a weight of 0.657, which is substantially optimistic. Also, the weight value indicated that the place attachment relationship positively impacted the desire to maintain land, as maintenance decision was higher when the place attachment was high. That was accompanied by a 31.6% value of R2, meaning that the place attachment influenced 31.6% of the variance in the decision to preserve land.

ANALYSIS OF OPINIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF FARMERS ON AGRICULTURAL LAND MARKET: A CASE STUDY FOR TURKEY

Due to the ecological and economic crises experienced in recent years, farmers can migrate from rural areas and the sales of agricultural lands can increase. Measures should be taken to keep farmers in rural areas. The purpose of this study is to determine the opinions and expectations of farmers in Aydin province of Turkey on agricultural land market. The data of the study was collected from 73 farmers with a survey by using proportional sampling. In the analysis of data, first the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers were examined, then the farmer's opinions and expectations on agricultural land market were revealed. Data was interpreted by calculating the average and percentage. The five-point Likert scale was used in the analysis of opinions and expectations. The average age of the farmers is 54.97, average education period is 7.68 years. The average land size is 7.30 hectares. The most important factors affecting the price of an agricultural land are land size, soil structure, fertility, road-transportation status, land registry and cadastre status and location. The issues that farmers consider the most in land purchasing are government supports, economic conditions, location of the land in the same village and reasonable land price. However, they state that when they have to sell, they can sell it in cash and they will not be interested in what purpose the purchaser will use.

Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Phthalate Esters in Soil and Food Grains from the Balkan Peninsula: Implication on DNA Adduct Formation by Aristolochic Acid I and Balkan Endemic Nephropathy.

Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is a chronic tubulointerstitial nephropathy affecting residents of rural farming areas in many Balkan countries. Although it is generally believed that BEN is an environmental disease caused by multiple geochemical factors with much attention on aristolochic acids (AAs), its etiology remains controversial. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that environmental contamination and subsequent food contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalate esters are AA toxicity factors and important to BEN development. We identified significantly higher concentrations of phenanthrene, anthracene, diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) in both maize and wheat grain samples collected from endemic villages than from nonendemic villages. Other PAHs and phthalate esters were also detected at higher concentrations in the soil samples from endemic villages. Subsequent genotoxicity testing of cultured human kidney cells showed an alarming phenomenon that phenanthrene, DEP, BBP, and DBP can interact synergistically with AAs to form elevated levels of AA-DNA adducts, which are associated with both the nephrotoxicity and carcinogenicity of AAs, further increasing their disease risks. This study provides direct evidence that prolonged coexposure to these environmental contaminants via dietary intake may lead to greater toxicity and accelerated development of BEN.