Non-farm Work Research Articles

Farm households' flood adaptation practices, resilience and food security in the Upper East region, Ghana

This study employs the multinomial endogenous treatment effect model to examine the effect of flood adaptation strategies on farm households' food security in the Upper East region, Ghana. In addition, an ordered probit model was used to analyse the determinants of household's recovery from flood shocks. Farmers adopt on-farm and non-farm activities as adaptation strategies. Estimation results indicate that farmers that employ on-farm and non-farm strategies had their food security situation improved and recovered faster from flood shocks. Age, education, access to extension, credit, farm size and information on flood occurrence drive the farmer's decision to adopt on-farm practices. Marital status, education, farm size and information on flood occurrence significantly influenced adaptation decisions related to non-farm activities. Other factors that influence household's recovery period from flood events were age, education, FBO and perceived severity of flood. Programs and policies that promote extension contacts, increase awareness on flood occurrences and provide non-farm work opportunities can be beneficial to reduce the adverse effects of floods.

English

Crop yield enhancing technologies such as inorganic fertilizers present opportunities for improving smallholder farmers’ crop yields, food security and incomes. This study examines maize productivity response to Ghana’s fertilizer subsidy policy focusing on yield differences between participants and non-participants in the Tempane District in Ghana among smallholder farmers. An Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model is employed to simultaneously examine the determinants of participation and its impact on maize productivity. The results show that education, nativity and media access are factors influencing the probability of fertilizer subsidy participation. The study reveals that participation in subsidized fertilizer policy is positively and significantly associated with maize productivity. Other factors such as fertilizer use rate, improved seeds and age enhance maize yield whilst non-farm work engagement negatively influences maize yield. These findings suggest that the impact of subsidized fertilizer on maize productivity can be enhanced with proper targeting and farmer education through field demonstrations. Key words: Subsidized fertilizer, maize yield, endogenous switching regression, Northern Ghana.

Does Social Relation or Economic Interest Affect the Choice Behavior of Land Lease Agreement in China? Evidence from the Largest Wheat−Producing Henan Province

As China is transferring from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, the land market becomes more active. With the rapid transition from an agricultural society to an industrialized society, both economic and social factors could influence the choice of land lease agreement. This paper investigates the choice behavior of land lease agreement based on the household data collected from the largest wheat-producing province in China, Henan province. The results provide strong evidence that economic interest plays a key role in the choice of land lease agreement. Meanwhile, the paper has also found that social relations still affect the choice of land lease agreement. To speed up the transfer of land use rights and scale of operation, this study proposes: reducing the land dependence of rural households; improving agricultural machinery and achieving farming mechanization; creating more non-farm work opportunities for rural laborers; promoting the citizenization of rural households; respecting farmers’ choice of contracts; and attaching importance to the role of social relations in farmland transfer.

Effects of rainfall deviations on non-farm labour market participation and time allocation in northern Ghana

ABSTRACT This article analyses the effects of rainfall deviations on households’ non-farm decisions and time allocations in northern Ghana, drawing on a sample of 500 farm households. Using the double hurdle approach, the article shows that rainfall deviations affected decisions to participate in non-farm work, but not the hours allocated to non-farm work. Age and membership of farmer-based organisations were important factors in non-farm decisions, while educational level and the number of adults in the household determined the time allocated to non-farm work. It is recommended that policies on non-farm work for rural farm households in northern Ghana should take climate variables into consideration.

Study on the Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Adoption of Agricultural Machinery

In the context of south Asia, There is enough support for suitable agricultural machinery for small farmers. These kind of agricultural machineries can improve the return of investment in land and labor, although large capital investments are still required that can impede ownership. The growing demand for machinery has resulted in comparatively more developed rental marketplaces for irrigation, tillage and other post-harvest procedures. Numerous small businesses are therefore accepting access to farm machinery that would otherwise be incredibly expensive to buy through service fee arrangements, although there is still room for expansion. In order to facilitate the advancement and investment of such machinery more effectively, it is necessary to better understand the associated factors with the purchase of agricultural machinery and the provision of services. Firstly, current paper reviews country’s policy structure which enabled the existence of such machinery markets. It then uses stratified random sample of 305 wheat producing households for the survey from six districts, identifying variables associated with the adoption of the most common smallholder agricultural machinery e irrigation pumps, threshers, and power tillers. Results of multinomial probit model show that education of farmer, member of farmer’ organization, livestock ownership, farm size and being part of non-farm work activities all were significantly positive in the adoption of farm machinery. Findings also suggest that institutions and policy making authorities not only need to focus on short projects to encourage adoption of machinery, also there must be a continuous attention to improve physical and civilian infrastructure & services, and ensuring the availability of credit to create an favorable conditions where agricultural machinery is most likely to be used. Keywords: Agricultural machinery, Investment, Productivity, Efficiency. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-3-07 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

Enhancing food security through diet quality: The role of nonfarm work in rural India

AbstractIndia has achieved food security at the macro level. However, at the micro level, the country still struggles with extensive problems of food nutrition insecurity. In this paper, we assess the impact of nonfarm income and nonfarm work status (casual and full‐time nonfarm work) of operator, spouses, and couples on the diet quality of smallholder households in India. We find that nonfarm income decreases the likelihood of farming household being in the poor‐diet quality group by 31% and the medium‐diet quality group by 3%. Full‐time nonfarm work by operators and spouses decreases the likelihood of farming households being in the poor‐diet quality group by 3% and 9%, respectively. Finally, national programs like public food distribution programs increase the probability of rural farming households in the poor‐diet quality group. Findings from this study underscore the importance of nonfarm income and full‐time nonfarm work in improving diet quality of rural Indian households.

Does Selective Mechanisation Make up for Labour Shortages in Rural Myanmar?

In Myanmar’s rural areas, a high proportion of the landless population is traditionally linked with landholders as farm labour. More recently, however, these linkages seem to be unravelling due to the emergence of new industries and increased urbanisation creating new opportunities outside of the agricultural sector. While agricultural development schemes encourage intensified agricultural production and mechanization, labour shortages increasingly arise at peak cropping periods. Landholders respond with farm mechanization that reduces labour requirement. Based on household surveys and focus group discussions in the Ayeyarwady Delta (AD) and Central Dry Zone (CDZ) regions of Myanmar, this paper examines the extent of labour shortages in crop production and the efficiency of farm mechanization in response to labour shortfalls. Data show that only a small percentage of landless households in either region rely on agricultural labour alone. Instead we can observe a shift towards more diverse livelihood portfolios and non-farm work. This trend further amplifies labour shortages and leads to production loss. Most farm machines, however, substitute animal power but cannot replace human labour sufficiently to make up for the shortages. Moreover, landholders suffer from the inadequate quality of farm machines and high maintenance cost. The paper highlights farm labour shortage as a result of non-farm development and argues that farm mechanisation projects are ineffective without concomitant infrastructure and services development.

Pathways from payments for ecosystem services program to socioeconomic outcomes

Payment for ecosystem services (PES) is a widely accepted policy tool for achieving environmental conservation and socioeconomic development goals. However, the mechanisms through which PES programs affect socioeconomic outcomes remain elusive. Here, we use a framework which integrates links between PES programs, livelihood activities, and socioeconomic outcomes, to determine how China’s Grain-to-Green Program (GTGP) has affected the incomes of participating households in the Yanhe watershed of the Loess Plateau. The results show that although the total effect of the GTGP on household income is not statistically significant, there are still two significant pathways. Through the analysis we found that implementation of the GTGP significantly increased the participations in local non-farm jobs, which leads to increased household incomes. Based on our findings, we suggest several ways of improving the socioeconomic outcomes of the GTGP through increasing non-farm work benefit of participating households, maximizing the positive effect of economic forest, and reducing the reliance of households on income from crop production. Our study provides a template for revealing the underlying pathways to socioeconomic outcomes of PES programs – crucial knowledge if we are to design and implement better PES programs and achieve the desired environmental conservation and poverty reduction goals.

Socio‐economic differentiation from a class‐analytic perspective: The case of smallholder tree‐crop farmers in Limpopo, South Africa

AbstractSouth African agrarian policy aims to integrate smallholder tree‐crop farmers into high‐end value chains with growth and employment potential, generally neglecting socio‐economic differentiation amongst them. This paper aims to analyse socio‐economic differentiation amongst tree‐crop farmers in Vhembe District, Limpopo, using a class‐based analysis based on livelihood diversification and accumulation. Cluster analysis of survey data and semi‐structured interviews reveals that most tree‐crop farmers engage in petty commodity production, internally differentiated by their combination of income sources and livelihood strategies. Farmers' ability to engage in accumulation and upward class mobility is generally severely constrained by limited access to capital. Agricultural diversification offers livelihood potential but limited possibility for accumulation, whereas salaried nonfarm work offers more promising prospects for accumulation but limited livelihood opportunities. A minority demonstrated characteristics of small‐scale capitalist farmers, internally differentiated by their reliance on salaried employment or agricultural production. The findings challenge the notion of an undifferentiated class of market‐oriented smallholders.

Narratives and the New Farmer in Cape Breton:“It’s Who We Are”

Can small, diversified farms thrive, or even survive, in Canada’s current agricultural milieu? Can they stand against the highly industrialized operations encouraged by Canadian policy, international trade, and capital interests? This study suggests that there is reason for optimism. Well-known visionaries, Canadian and worldwide, note a “new trajectory” in the context of the looming failure of current systems in agriculture, based on concerns for the environment and on the relationship between producers and consumers. Approaches to small, diversified farming operations come under several headings: economical, post-productive, civic. But it is the concrete experiences of individuals, families, and communities that truly give weight to the potential for sustainable food production. This research on Cape Breton Island farming—where self-sufficiency in food production is a strong tradition—presents a range of farming “styles” (as defined by Jan Douwe van der Ploeg) that are related to land acquisition, innovative marketing, support services, decisions about farm size and products, and the benefits of non-farm work as a farm subsidy. Interview narratives give voice to the actions of Cape Breton Island farmers who work within an “isolation paradox” as a way forward for their small farms.

Fuel choices for cooking in China: Analysis based on multinomial logit model

Ensuring household access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all the people is one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). China has achieved 100% electricity access, while the traditional solid fuels such as firewood are still widely used in its rural area. This paper, using a long-term and large micro dataset and multinomial logit model, investigates quantitatively the determinants of cooking fuel choice in rural China. The results show that in addition to the previous knowledge on household income, occupation is crucial to the cooking fuel transition. In average, if the head of household changes its occupation from farm to non-farm, the possibility of using firewood would reduce by around 14–21%. The impact of income is slightly small. A 10% increase in income may result in 0.5% of possibility of firewood use. These conclusions are robust after considering the possible energy ladders using ordered logit regressions (OLR) and generalized OLR. After controlling other factors such as income and occupation, we have not found concrete evidence on the influences of education and gender of the household head and household member numbers. To accelerate the fuel transition, in addition to increase the household income, the government should pay attention to create more non-farm work opportunities for the rural.

Farm injury resulting in hospital admission: a review of farm work and non-farm work-related injury

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTIONOccupational health on farms is important because farms are not only workplaces where agriculture workers are vulnerable to high injury and fatality rates, they are also homes where families and visitors undertake a variety of activities that can result in injury. AIMTo profile and describe injuries requiring hospital admission that occurred on farms, both for injuries related to farming activities and injuries unrelated to farm work in the Midland region of New Zealand. METHODSA review of anonymised prospectively collected Midland trauma registry data from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2018 was undertaken. Cases include unintentional injuries occurring on a farm. Non-major injuries are included to better quantify the trauma burden. RESULTSIn total, 2303 hospital admissions met the study criteria. Non-major injury accounted for 93.1% of events and 45.0% of injuries occurred during farming activities. Five people died in hospital; all injured while undertaking farm work. Males made up 84.8% of farm work and 70.9% of non-farm work injuries. Horse riding had the highest number of injuries, with off-road motorcycles, livestock, falls and quad bike injuries comprising the most common injury activities and mechanisms. Farming-related major injuries commonly involved quad bikes, non-traffic vehicles and motorcycles. Farmers in the Districts of Waitomo, Rotorua, Waipa and Taupō had the highest standardised hospitalisation rates. DISCUSSIONThe nature of farms and farming exposes people to different risks from the risks people in urban areas are exposed to. Injury prevention efforts should remain on work-related farming injuries, but also encompass the high number of injuries that are not related to farm work but happening on farms.

Family structure, education and women’s employment in rural India

This paper investigates if residing in a joint family affects non-farm employment for married women in rural India. Our estimates based on a longitudinal survey of over 27,000 women conducted in 2005 and 2012, and using the conditional logistic regression and instrumental variable approach suggest that living in a joint family lowers married women’s participation non-farm work by around 12% points. The adverse impact is higher for younger women, for those from families with higher social status, and for those residing in Northern India. We present evidence to suggest that women with higher education are not constrained from cultural and traditional norms since education raises women’s decision-making power in a joint family. An increased education level is likely to raise women’s earning capacity as well as the quality of jobs which may help in lowering family pressure against work. Public policies that encourage higher education, improve job accessibility along with affordable childcare, will raise non-farm employment, which has increasingly been the main source of new jobs, for women living in a rural India.

Sustainable land management practices, off-farm work participation and vulnerability among farmers in Ghana: Is there a nexus?

Addressing issues of agricultural sustainability and vulnerability to poverty under climate change are major challenges to development in the 21st century. Accounting for the trade-off and synergies between off-farm work participation and sustainable land management on one hand, and vulnerability to poverty on the other hand, will therefore be useful to policy. In this study, we use recent farm household data from Ghana to examine the effect of off-farm work participation on intensity of adoption of sustainable land management (SLM) practices and impact of off-farm work participation on vulnerability to poverty. We employed a bivariate Tobit model to examine the determinants of SLM adoption intensity, and endogenous switching probit model to assess the impact of off-farm work participation on vulnerability to poverty. The results reveal that participation in off-farm is positively and significantly associated with adoption intensity of bunds, and organic manure. The results also show that off-farm work participation significantly reduces household vulnerability to poverty by 13%. Based on these findings, we conclude that rural development through non-farm work opportunities can lead to positive synergies between sustainable agricultural production, off-farm employment and poverty alleviation.

Emerging Challenges of Rural Labour Market: Insights from Indian Villages

This article has examined the labour market behaviour of rural India, with the objective to assess the changes taking place in the structure of the workforce and attempts to identify the factors affecting the changes in rural labour supply. In particular, this article tries to address the inconsistency between absolute declines in labour force, particularly rural females at national level, with the micro-level evidences of feminisation in farm work through the estimation of labour supply function. Empirical findings indicate an increasing trend in female participation, particularly aged in rural India. The significant positive association of occupation dummy with male labour supply and negative association with female labour supply, in one way, explains the greater participation of male workers in non-farm work and higher concentration of females in farm activities. Therefore, attention needs to be paid to promote initiatives such as youth entrepreneurship in agriculture to retain youth in farming, encourage innovations in designing appropriate location-specific machineries and tools which are female-friendly, and also organise capacity-building programmes for skill augmentation focusing rural female workers. JEL: J21, J43, J42, J16

Interactions of social, natural, and technological subsystems and synergy between development and adaptation to floods around Poyang Lake

ABSTRACTRural populations in the developing world face great challenges in climate adaptation and human development. Broader development and climate adaptation can potentially enhance each other, and their positive synergies are essential to improve human well-being in less developed rural areas. Such synergies are, however, commonly lacking across developing countries. This paper examines the relationship between climate adaptation and broader development and finds a positive synergy in the Poyang Lake Region (PLR) – an important rice producing area in China that is vulnerable to flood hazards. We further examine household decision-making and link household decisions to rice cropping patterns interpreted from satellite images to explain the micro- to macro- mechanisms that lead to this synergy. The analysis shows that both the broader development context (national economic development and agricultural policy) and specific risk management (levees) are important for creating the positive synergy. Moreover, it is the right interactions of the social, natural, and technological subsystems that enable rural households to make different land-use and livelihood choices in a way that improves rural livelihoods and reduces flood impacts on rural livelihoods. The diverse household choices then collectively lead to preservation of rice production, despite the negative influence from increasing nonfarm work, and decreased flood impacts on agriculture.

More farmers, less farming? Understanding the truncated agrarian transition in Thailand

Drawing on rural field research in three provinces of Northeast Thailand, the paper seeks to understand the ways in which life course, generational, era-defining and developmental change intersect, and why rural smallholders and smallholdings continue to persist notwithstanding deep structural change. We outline the creative ways that households and their members have sought to address the scissor effects of declining land holdings, rising needs, reduced relative returns to agriculture, and often precarious non-farm work. We posit, drawing on this work from Thailand, that while Asia’s ‘truncated agrarian transition’ goes some way to explaining the current empirical fact of persistent smallholders, we raise doubts whether the rural development agenda of modernisation, marketisation and rural exit will have the traction that governments and some scholars anticipate. A focus on production obscures how rural livelihoods also embody acts of consumption, care, reproduction and redistribution. Our study finds that the current experience of occupational multiplicity where households’ livelihoods comprise farm and non-farm, commoditised and quasi-subsistence, in situ and ex situ, production and care, and reproduction and redistribution will likely also persist, if non-farm occupations remains classically precarious and social safety nets thinly woven. The paper contributes to debates over agrarian and rural livelihood transitions in Asia, and sheds explanatory light on why the farm-size transition has not taken hold.

Determinants of Non-Farm Work Participation in Rural Ghana: Gender Differences for Self-Managed Business and Wage Labor

Determinants of Non-Farm Work Participation in Rural Ghana: Gender Differences for Self-Managed Business and Wage Labor

Determinants of non-farm employment and non-farm earnings in Ecuador: Cristian Vasco and Grace Natalie Tamayo

This article analyses the determinants of both participation in non-farm employment and nonfarm earnings in Ecuador. Using the Dubin-McFadden two-step estimation method, the results show that women are more likely than men to engage in non-farm self-employment but earn significantly less than men employed in the non-farm sector. Non-farm wage employment is a common choice among more educated individuals in landless households, while farm wage employment seems to be the only source of employment for uneducated landless people. Participation in non-farm work is more likely in areas located near medium-sized cities with dynamic economies. Finally, there are regional differences in employment patterns which appear to be associated with both the availability and the quality of land. This information is relevant in relation both to rural population growth and to the continuous process of land fragmentation in rural Ecuador.

Community attitudes toward ecotourism development and environmental conservation in nature reserve: a case of Fujian Wuyishan National Nature Reserve, China

Using social exchange theory, this study investigated residents’ attitudes toward the preliminary stage of tourism development in nature reserves in Wuyishan National Nature Reserve of China, and the socio-economic and negative effects of residents’ attitude toward the tourist industry. Results of the questionnaire survey indicated that local people perceived they could benefit from the economic activities related to tourism, and were supportive of the conservation of natural resources and local culture, sustainable community development, and community participation in ecotourism planning and management. This study also revealed that the variables of age, gender, education level, household income, family size, non-farm work arrangements, and the distance to tourism attractions, have significant association with respondents’ attitudes toward ecotourism development, or negative impacts of the tourist industry. Respondents who are male, or have a higher household income, are more supportive of tourism development inside the reserve. Younger and more highly educated community members are more likely to support learning more about natural and cultural resources and landscapes. Respondents who have a higher household income, or live far from the village center, are more concerned about the negative environmental impacts of tourism development.