Farm Fragmentation Research Articles

Farm fragmentation in Ireland.

Farm fragmentation refers to spatial disaggregation of farms into smaller, often highly separated parcels of land. This can create a number of problems; administrative, economic, environmental and epidemiological. Ireland has a high proportion of fragmented farms, although this an issue not unique to Ireland. From a epidemiological perspective, where a farm is heavily fragmented, there is uncertainty in assigning a location to where livestock have spent time on that farm. We explore techniques to quantify the extent and regional variation in fragmentation and the between-fragment distances of fragmented farms in Ireland with the aim of reducing this uncertainty. The findings, which have made available as an online resource, allow for more precision in spatial analyses of bovine populations and help enhance surveillance and field epidemiology.

Livelihood Diversification in Rainfed Areas of Telangana State: Evidence from Household Level Survey

Farmers in rainfed agriculture participate in both on-farm and off-farm activities to reduce risks from weather shocks, low farm fragmentation, low soil productivity, and frequent droughts and floods. Dependence on farm revenue alone proved difficult and risky. The study was conducted in 2022 to determine patterns and a livelihood diversification index at the household level for various farm sizes producing the chickpea crop. Primary data were acquired from 80 randomly selected farmer respondents in four mandals of Kamareddy district in Telangana State. Descriptive statistics were applied to characterize the sample households’ demographic, social, and economic factors. The livelihood diversification index was estimated using the Simpson diversity index at the household level. The data revealed that small and marginal farmers have very high diversification levels, while medium and large farmers have high diversification levels. The percentage share of on farm income stands highest for large farmers and lowest for marginal farmers and vice versa about non-farm activity. Regression analysis indicated education, farm size, total on-farm income, and net returns from pulse crops were significant determinants for diversification. The study further suggests that government support needs to focus on the provision of incentives for diversification at both on-farm and non-farm levels.

Effects of grazing platform stocking rate on productivity and profitability of pasture-based dairying in a fragmented farm scenario

The area adjacent to the milking parlor, accessible for grazing by lactating dairy cows (i.e., the grazing platform [GP]), can be limited on fragmented pasture-based dairy farms. Such farms, with a moderate overall farm stocking rate, typically have a much higher stocking rate of dairy cows on the grazing platform This study quantified the effects of farm fragmentation on milk and herbage production and profitability in a whole-farm systems-scale study over 3 years (2017-2019). Four systems, each with an overall farm stocking rate of 2.5 cows/ha but with different grazing platform stocking rates (GPSR), were examined. The proportions of the overall farm area within the GP were 100%, 83%, 71%, and 63% in each of the 4 systems, respectively. Hence, the 4 systems had GPSR of 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 cows/ha. The GP was used for grazing and silage (ensiled herbage) production, and the non-GP portion of each GPSR system was used solely for silage production. Concentrate supplementation per cow was the same across all GPSR systems; approximately 10% of the annual feed budget. All systems were compact spring-calving with 24 cows per system. We discovered a lower proportion of grazed herbage in the diet with higher GPSR. All silage produced on the non-GP areas was required to support higher GPSR on each of the systems. Annual herbage production and milk production per cow were not different between GPSR systems, resulting in similar milk production per hectare of the overall system area. The economic implications of different GPSR on fragmented farms were modeled in 2 scenarios: (1) quantifying the cost associated with different levels of farm area fragmentation; (2) investigating the optimum GPSR on pasture-based dairy farms, depending on variable criteria. A greater level of farm fragmentation lowered the profitability of pasture-based dairy production. Costs of production increased with higher GPSR and longer distances between GP and non-GP areas. At a fixed GP area, it was most profitable to increase GPSR up to 4 cows/ha on the GP when milk price was high, land rental price was low, and shorter distance existed between GP and non-GP areas.

PRODUCTION POTENTIAL OF THE VEGETABLE SECTOR IN POLAND AND SELECTED EU COUNTRIES

The aim of the research was to assess the production potential of the vegetable sector, as a factor of competitiveness, in Poland and selected EU countries. The evaluation of vegetable production was based on a comparative analysis of the level and changes in land area devoted to crops, yields, the number of farms and the average area of crops on the farm, the species structure of crops, the level of basic vegetable yields, and the resources of the factors of vegetable farm production from the FADN system. The research has shown that Poland’s high and growing position in vegetable production results mainly from the high acreage of crops, their partially complementary structure, and above all from relatively low labour costs compared to other surveyed EU countries. On the other hand, the improvement of effectiveness is not supported by the large fragmentation of Polish farms, although an increase in the average area of cultivation per farm was observed in the examined period. The research shows that in most of the analysed countries there was still a large fragmentation of vegetable farms. The analysis of vegetable farm inputs (on the basis of FADN data) in selected countries also shows that in the analysed period, a decrease in production factor resources was observed in Poland, Italy and France.

Investigating Farm Fragmentation as a Risk Factor for Bovine Tuberculosis in Cattle Herds: A Matched Case-Control Study from Northern Ireland.

Bovine tuberculosis remains a challenging endemic pathogen of cattle in many parts of the globe. Spatial clustering of Mycoacterium bovis molecular types in cattle suggests that local factors are the primary drivers of spread. Northern Ireland’s agricultural landscape is comprised of highly fragmented farms, distributed across spatially discontinuous land parcels, and these highly fragmented farms are thought to facilitate localised spread. We conducted a matched case control study to quantify the risks of bovine tuberculosis breakdown with farm area, farm fragmentation, fragment dispersal, and contact with neighbouring herds. Whilst our results show small but significant increases in breakdown risk associated with each factor, these relationships were strongly confounded with the number of contiguous neighbours with bovine tuberculosis. Our key finding was that every infected neighbour led to an increase in the odds of breakdown by 40% to 50%, and that highly fragmented farms were almost twice as likely to have a bTB positive neighbour compared to nonfragmented farms. Our results suggest that after controlling for herd size, herd type, spatial and temporal factors, farm fragmentation increasingly exposes herds to infection originating from first-order spatial neighbours. Given Northern Ireland’s particularly fragmented landscape, and reliance on short-term leases, our data support the hypothesis that between-herd contiguous spread is a particularly important component of the region’s bovine tuberculosis disease system.

IS THE STRUCTURE OF POLISH AGRICULTURE CHANGING? A COMPARISON BASED ON THE RESULTS OF RECENT GENERAL AGRICULTURAL CENSUSES

Structural changes in Polish agriculture are necessary. First of all, the scale is expected to increase and, hence, input efficiency. The aim of the research is to determine whether the concentration of resources and production in Polish agriculture is taking place and what is the direction. Data from two general agricultural censuses conducted by the Central Statistical Office in 2010 and 2020 were used. It was determined what main directions of changes were observed in Polish agriculture, as well as whether there is γ-convergence in terms of land resources and the production volume in area groups of farms. For each of the analyzed variables, the importance of farms with an area of more than 20 ha increased. In 2020, they accounted for 11% of the total number of farms. They owned 56% of land and were responsible for 60% of plant production and 70% of livestock production. The share of this group increased by 7 p.p. in land use, but in the sown area (except for cereals), it was an increase of 15 p.p., and in livestock production even up to 20 p.p. For the area groups of farms, a significant γ-type divergence in the use of agricultural land and in the production of cereals, potatoes and field vegetables was confirmed. In animal production, the γ-divergence was only observed in the production of sows and poultry. For other species, there has been a concentration of production, but the ranking of farm groups has not changed. In Poland, in the decade between the agricultural censuses (2010-2020), there was a significant, favorable concentration of agricultural production on farms with a larger area. These changes, however, may be too slow for a significant transformation of Polish agriculture and an increase in its competitiveness in the EU in upcoming decades. The strong fragmentation and low economic strength of farms are still the main limitations.

The Potential of Agricultural Biogas Production in Ukraine—Impact on GHG Emissions and Energy Production

Renewable energy production is gaining importance in the context of global climate changes. However, in some countries other aspects increasing the role of renewable energy production are also present. Such a country is Ukraine, which is not self-sufficient in energy supply and whose dependency on poorly diversified import of energy carriers regularly leads to political tensions and has socio-economic implications. Production of agricultural biogas seems to be a way to both slow down climatic changes and increase energy self-sufficiency by replacing or complementing conventional sources of energy. One of the most substantial barriers to agricultural biogas production is the low level of agricultural concentration and significant economies of scale in constructing biogas plants. The aim of the paper was thus to assess the potential of agricultural biogas production in Ukraine, including its impact on energy self-sufficiency, mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the economic performance of biogas plants. The results show that due to the prevailing fragmentation of farms, most manure cannot be processed in an economically viable way. However, in some regions utilization of technically available manure for agricultural biogas production could cover up to 11% of natural gas or up to 19% of electricity demand. While the theoretical potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions could reach 5% to 6.14%, the achievable technical potential varies between 2.3% and 2.8% of total emissions. The economic performance of agricultural biogas plants correlates closely with their size and bioenergy generation potential.

Area structure of farms in Poland against the background of other European Union countries

The purpose of the article is to find out which group of EU countires determined on the basis of the specific features of the area structure of their farms Poland belongs to. Two aspects of this structure were taken into account: the number of farms in particular size groups of farmland and the area of farmland they occupy. Poland’s situation was also presented in the regional context, taking into consideration the variety of agricultural activity. The research was based on data obtained from Eurostat and Statistics Poland for the year 2016. The following groups of farm area were considered: farmland under 2 hectares, 2–5 hectares, 5–10 hectares, 10–20 hectares, 20–50 hectares and 50 hectares and larger. Based on the fuzzy classification method, EU countries were classified into 4 groups according to the area structure of their farms. The results of the research demonstrated that Poland belongs to a group of countries with a high level of fragmentation of farms, jointly with Croatia, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Italy. Only 4 countries have a more fragmented farm structure: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Hungary. As regards the proportion of the area of farmland concentrated in large farms, it is unfavourable in Poland, also when compared to new EU member states, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. In Poland the largest farms, with an area of at least 50 hectares, account only for about 1/3 of the total farmland, which, except for Slovenia, is the lowest percentage in the entire EU.

THE DYNAMICS OF HORTICULTURAL FARM NUMBERS IN DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SIZE CLASSES AND CHANGES IN THEIR INCOME IN 2007-2017

The aim of this study is to determine changes in the structure of horticultural farms in EU countries in the years 2007-2017 and their incomes and determine the share of subsidies of the Common Agricultural Policy in the income of horticultural farms in studied groups. Horticultural farms from the European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network (EUFADN) of all EU countries were surveyed. A dynamic analysis of the structure of farm numbers in particular groups of economic size (ES6) was carried out, and then the average change in income and the share of subsidies in income within these groups in 2007 and 2017 were presented. As a result of the conducted research, changes in the number of horticultural farms in various groups of economic size were taken into account and the assumptions concerning the decreasing scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms were confirmed by a decrease in the number of the economically weakest groups and an increase in the number of medium and large farms. It was noted that, in the studied groups, the strongest income growths concerned farms with medium or high economic strength, which may mean that income had a significant impact on the process. Moreover, it results from the conducted research that existing institutional solutions additionally supported the tendency to reduce the scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms in the EU-12 due to the fact that the shares of subsidies were higher in groups with higher economic strength.

The Nexus Between Environmental Quality and Agricultural Sector Performance: Evidence from Cameroon

There is the growing belief that uncontrolled agricultural activities greatly reduce the quality of the environment wherein they are carried out, and in turn, this environmental degradation negatively affects agricultural sector performance as a whole. It is on the strength of this assertion that this paper examines the relationships between environmental quality (carbon dioxide emission) and agricultural sector performance (ASP) in Cameroon using the Vector Autoregressive modelling approach. Specifically, the paper attempts to determine whether environmental quality affects ASP or there is a reverse causation. Using time series data obtained from the 2018 version of the World Development Indicators from 1981 to 2016, the study reveals a negative and significant effect of the first lag of ASP on its current value while the first lag of environmental quality equally has a negative and significant influence on its current value in Cameroon over the study period. Further, there is a negative and significant effect of ASP on environmental degradation. The granger causality test shows that there is a bidirectional relationship between environmental quality and ASP in Cameroon. Finally agricultural labour negatively and significantly affects environmental degradation in Cameroon. From the findings of this study, it is recommended that the government should put in place policies that will promote agricultural produce transformation as well as preservation strategies. Also, farmers should practice farm fragmentation so as to reduce the chances of all the crops ripening at the same time. Afforestation policies should be fully implemented and agricultural development, extension and value chain strategies should be put in place. Restrictions and sanctions should be placed on initiators of bush fire and poor farming practices such as shifting cultivation and bush fallowing methods should be discouraged in favour of intensive farming through sensitization by agricultural extension services.

Land fragmentation index for drip-irrigated field systems in the Mediterranean: A case study from Ricote (Murcia, SE Spain)

Land fragmentation is widespread in traditional field systems of the Mediterranean region. A typical case for high fragmented properties is the Valley of Ricote. It is dominated by smallholder agriculture. To promote smart sustainable development in rural areas it is important to address the specific needs of these small agricultural producers; especially considering that agriculture is the most important consumer of water worldwide and that the great majority of farms are small production units extending over <2 ha. Indeed, high land fragmentation, resulting from traditional land inheritance and transmission systems, may cause loss of water and productive land, entropic governance and superfluous emissions. In particular, drip-irrigated systems suffer from higher costs for irrigation due to high land fragmentation.In this study, we develop a Fragmentation Index for Drip Irrigation and Distance Assessment (FIDIDA) using Geographic Information Systems. FIDIDA quantifies farms considering their transaction costs. Based on these costs, FIDIDA brings together mean plot size, degree of separation and degree of dispersion of land parcels on farm level. The index can be used to compare the individual fragmentation of farms or the land fragmentation between different study areas. The definition of FIDIDA aims at supporting the management of reasonable land fragmentation thresholds in the context of communities made of traditional small farms, while suggesting possible pathways for a gradual inversion of high land fragmentation trends through agreed plot fusion where necessary.

Technical efficiency of rice production in the delta of the Vu Gia Thu Bon river basin, Central Vietnam

In recent decades, Vietnam has experienced an incredible increase of total factor productivity (TFP) in rice production. This has allowed the country to rise to become one of the largest rice producers worldwide. Nevertheless, despite these achievements, there are strong signs of a TFP slowdown in Vietnam in recent years, raising concerns about the future development of rice production and appropriate policy measures. We have analyzed the technical efficiency of rice production in the delta of the Vu Gia Thu Bon river basin in Central Vietnam, considering the different rice seasons and the spatial distribution of efficiency scores. We applied stochastic frontier analyses with a simultaneous (one-step) estimation of the parameters of exogenous effects on technical efficiency (TE). We have shown that TE in this region is basically impacted by the scale of production, by fragmentation of the farm and also by the exposition to salinity intrusion risks. The latter factor has never been explicitly included in former technical efficiency studies of rice production in Vietnam. There is a pertinent need for policies targeting farm fragmentation and enlargement of the scale of rice production. The spatial distribution of TE shows that salinity intrusion and the inherent irrigation management problems caused to farmers is a serious negative impacting factor. Adaptation measures on water management in the basin, as well as related to the introduction of salinity resistant rice varieties should be addressed urgently in the region to increase efficiency in rice production.

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Landholdings and Farm Fragmentation in Peshawar City District, Pakistan

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Landholdings and Farm Fragmentation in Peshawar City District, Pakistan

THE IMPACT OF THE SELECTED INSTRUMENTS OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY ON CHANGES IN THE LAND RESOURCES OF THE SMALL FARMS FROM MAŁOPOLSKA PROVINCE

The aim of the study was to identify and evaluate the changes in land resources of small farms in the Małopolskie Province in the years 2004-2015 which were a result of using of selected CAP instruments. In the light of the results of the research, it should be noted that the examined CAP instruments had a relatively small impact on the size of land area. Less than one fifth of the respondents made changes in the land resources. Considering only farms that have increased their area it can be stated that the area of agricultural land of these farms increased by 3.7%. This situation is not favorable, especially in the situation of large agrarian fragmentation of farms in Małopolskie Province.

The description of parcel geometry and its application in terms of land consolidation planning

Land consolidation is the current issue occurring around the world. In the course of consolidation works the state of fragmentation of farms and its impact on their productivity is analyzed. Various methods of fragmentation assessing and variants of implementation of consolidation procedures are being developed. There are many factors of a different nature affecting the need for consolidation. One of the basic elements needed in these works is a quantitative description of flawed shape of plots based on the parameters of their spatial shape. GIS systems allow quick collection of spatial data of the plots or any other surface structures, including parcels. In this paper we focus only on the geometric shape of a parcel as a condition to carry out the consolidation. The paper proposes a methodology for obtaining parameters of the geometry of parcel description, which supports the process of decision-making in the field of land consolidation works. In this paper we proposed an algorithm to replace parcel with equivalent rectangle (ER). The presented solution enables quick processing of the large amounts of data. The results of algorithm use are shown on the example of the fragment of village in the Southern Poland.

Leadership as Important Factor for Agricultural Development in Albania

An important challenge for the development of the Albanian agriculture remains the small surface and farm fragmentation. A chance for enhance with a sustainable impact is the agriculture development based on the principles of collective action. The objective of the study is measurement of the importance of leadership perceived by farmers and farmers’ willingness to cooperate among main agricultural activities in Albania. The study will investigate farmers in two important agricultural sectors – vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production. Study measures the impact of leadership as a factor which increases farmers’ potential for collective action, illustrated by vegetable producers in greenhouses and apple producers. Results of the research show that leadership is an important factor for development of collective action in Albanian agriculture. The results are especially important for agricultural sectors of vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production, but they can also be useful for undeveloped agricultural regions. Promotion of leadership in farming communities will have benefits beyond agriculture by promoting good management and maintenance of common resources.

Leadership as Important Factor for Agricultural Development in Albania

An important challenge for the development of the Albanian agriculture remains the small surface and farm fragmentation. A chance for enhance with a sustainable impact is the agriculture development based on the principles of collective action. The objective of the study is measurement of the importance of leadership perceived by farmers and farmers’ willingness to cooperate among main agricultural activities in Albania. The study will investigate farmers in two important agricultural sectors – vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production. Study measures the impact of leadership as a factor which increases farmers’ potential for collective action, illustrated by vegetable producers in greenhouses and apple producers. Results of the research show that leadership is an important factor for development of collective action in Albanian agriculture. The results are especially important for agricultural sectors of vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production, but they can also be useful for undeveloped agricultural regions. Promotion of leadership in farming communities will have benefits beyond agriculture by promoting good management and maintenance of common resources.

Leadership as Important Factor for Agricultural Development in Albania

An important challenge for the development of the Albanian agriculture remains the small surface and farm fragmentation. A chance for enhance with a sustainable impact is the agriculture development based on the principles of collective action. The objective of the study is measurement of the importance of leadership perceived by farmers and farmers’ willingness to cooperate among main agricultural activities in Albania. The study will investigate farmers in two important agricultural sectors – vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production. Study measures the impact of leadership as a factor which increases farmers’ potential for collective action, illustrated by vegetable producers in greenhouses and apple producers. Results of the research show that leadership is an important factor for development of collective action in Albanian agriculture. The results are especially important for agricultural sectors of vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production, but they can also be useful for undeveloped agricultural regions. Promotion of leadership in farming communities will have benefits beyond agriculture by promoting good management and maintenance of common resources.

The impact of improved ‘water-use security’ on women’s reliance on agricultural incomes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Since women are the principal food producers in most rural areas, it is argued that enhancing their water-use security would improve agricultural incomes. This study provides empirical evidence of the effect of improved water-use security on women’s dependence on agricultural incomes. Cluster analysis was employed to classify women practising either irrigation or dryland farming in the Msinga rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, according to their dependence on agricultural incomes. The Binomial Logit model was then used to investigate the effect of improved water-use security on women’s dependence on agricultural incomes. The levels of water-use security and other dominant forms of capital assets were identified through principal components analysis (PCA). The logit results showed that higher levels of water-use security did not correspond with reliance on agricultural-based incomes. Factors such as the fragmentation of farms into smaller sizes through inheritance, poor institutional settings, and the lack of infrastructure were the main reasons why women with higher water-use security were not reliant on agricultural incomes. Other capital endowments, including social capital, access to information, agricultural production skills and land size increase women’s reliance on agricultural incomes. Women from larger households were also more likely to rely on agricultural incomes. On the other hand, dryland farmers were less likely to rely on agricultural income sources. It was concluded that high levels of water-use security can only make a positive contribution to women’s reliance on agricultural incomes when appropriate institutional and infrastructural resources exist.

THE IMPACT OF RDP 2007-2013 ON INTEGRATION OF POLISH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS BASED ON THE ACTION &amp;#8220;AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER GROUPS&amp;#8221;

Due to the considerable fragmentation of farms in order to improve competitiveness of the Polish agricultural sector it is crucial to enhance cooperation of farmers within producer groups. The paper analyses changes in farm integration processes in view of the implementation of the agricultural policy. It presents growth dynamics for the number of agricultural producer groups and their spatial distribution in Poland. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the introduced fi nancial support mechanisms on association of farmers in producer groups.