Nonfarm Development Research Articles

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.

The Napa County Agricultural Preserve: Fifty Years as a Foundation of America’s Premier Wine Region

In 1968, Napa County, California, created an agricultural preserve of 23,000 acres zoned for agriculture, wineries, and houses with a large minimum lot size of twenty acres. Over time, the agricultural preserve was expanded to 32,000 acres and the zoning tightened to a forty-acre minimum lot size. Concerns about nonfarm development and marketing activities at wineries compelled county voters to pass three referenda that limited population growth in the countryside and required a countywide vote for any zoning changes in the agricultural preserve. Thanks in part to the agricultural preserve, Napa County became America’s most famous wine-producing region.

Preserving Large Farming Landscapes: The Case of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Preserving large farming landscapes is one of the main goals of farmland preservation programs. Other goals include protecting highly productive soils, maintaining and enhancing the local farming economy, and promoting locally produced fresh food. Farmland preservation programs take time, however, because of the hefty funding require­ments and the detailed process of preserving farmland through the acquisition of conservation easements by purchase or donation. The standard measures of dollars spent and farmland acres preserved do not give an accurate picture of the spatial outcomes of preservation and preservation effectiveness. Three other measures better reflect the spatial effectiveness of farmland preservation: acreage and percentage of preserved farm parcels located in agricultural zones, number and acreage of preserved farm parcels in large contiguous blocks, and number and acreage of preserved farm parcels along growth boundaries. Scattered pre­served farms and preserved farms not located in agricultural zones are likely to face more nonfarm development nearby as well as problems with non­farm neighbors. The farmland preservation effort in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, provides an important case study of the pattern of farmland preservation over time. Other counties and land trusts can employ geographic information systems (GIS) methods in this study to monitor and evalu­ate the progress of their farmland preservation efforts.

Promoting rural non-farm self-employment through the private sector participations: An overview of Bangladesh experience

Proshika is one of the largest national NGOs in Bangladesh working with the landless and poor farmers. The organization's strategy for human development is structured around organizing its clients into groups and providing them with training, technical assistance, credit, input supply and marketing support. Nearly half the population of Bangladesh is women. They are considered a disadvantaged group as the majority of them are illiterate and have low social status because of many social and religious taboos. Due to a lack of employment opportunities in this male-dominated society, women have no source of income and often suffer from malnutrition. Because of this, women were given special attention for development through Proshika's programmes. The very word “PROSHIKA” is an acronym of three Bangla words (for training, education and action) and this encapsulates the organization's development ethos. Finally, a strategy for non-farm development must recognize the links between non-farm activities and agriculture.

Smallholders’ land access in Sub-Saharan Africa: A new landscape?

While scholars long recognized the importance of land markets as a key driver of rural non-farm development and transformation in rural areas, evidence on the extent of their operation and the nature of participants remains limited. We use household data from 6 countries to show that there is great potential for such markets to increase productivity and equalize factor ratios. While rental markets transfer land to land-poor and labor-rich producers, their operation and thus impact may be constrained by policy restrictions. Their functioning may also be constrained by ill-defined or insecure rights that may arise from failure to fully compensate existing rights in cases of expropriation, a failure to implement more broadly land policies or to do so in a gender sensitive manner. Methodological and substantive conclusions are derived.

Exurban Farmers' Perceptions of Land Use Policy Effectiveness: Implications for the Next Generation of Policy Development

Many local governments have enacted land use policies to address farmland loss and farm viability by protecting large blocks of farmland from residential growth. While the rate of suburban sprawl has slowed since the burst of the housing bubble in 2008, these policies remain the dominant approach to agricultural land use policy. Given the importance of exurban agricultural production, the growing diversity of exurban farms, and the increasing interest in local food systems by the public, it is time to revisit land use policy. Little is known about how farmers perceive land use policy environments, and whether diverse types of farmers have distinctive views on policy effectiveness. Therefore in this study we document land use policy environments of eight U.S. exurban counties. With farmer survey results we examine factors associated with farmers' perceptions of policy effectiveness. We find that the overall policy environment and differences in farmer and farm characteristics explain less variation in views of effectiveness than do farmers' perceptions of local community support, pressure from global markets, intensity of nonfarm development, and overall optimism about the future of agriculture. Farmers who market directly to consumers are particularly pessimistic about land use policies, as these policies were likely not designed with small farms in mind. Results suggest that next-generation policy efforts to encourage the sustainability of exurban farming could be more effective by creating stronger ties between farm and nonfarm populations, adopting flexible policies that recognize the different ways in which farmers adapt to urbanization, and ensuring that the voices of diverse exurban farmers are included in a participatory policy-making process.

Farm Adaptation at the Rural-Urban Interface

Abstract Despite population growth and development at the rural-urban interface (RUI), agriculture continues to persist there. This resilience is partially a reflection of land use policies and market support programs designed to protect farm and ranch land that is vulnerable to nonfarm development. Studies examining the RUI primarily focus on the diversity of production and markets and do not discuss the diversity of operators. As the farmland protection and food systems movements continue to refine policy objectives and decide how to allocate scarce resources, it is critical to have up-to-date statistics on the health and vitality of agriculture at the RUI. Using the 2007 Census of Agriculture statistics, we examine (1) the spatial distribution by county of high-value production and marketing practices assumed to play a role in the persistence and vitality of agriculture at the RUI; and (2) the demographic characteristics of farmers in these counties. We find that only some types of high-value production and marketing systems are more prevalent in metropolitan regions, including horses, nursery-greenhouse, and direct sales, while organic production, recreation sales, CSA farms, and value-added farms are more likely to be concentrated in nonmetropolitan counties. We also find that farmers at the RUI are extremely diverse and that a substantial number of beginning and women farmers are found in nonmetropolitan counties, along with a small but notable number of African American, Hispanic and Native American farmers.

The politics of marginality in Wallowa County, Oregon: Contesting the production of landscapes of consumption

The state of Oregon’s (USA) land use planning framework has long been characterized by tensions between state and local authority, between traditionally-defined “urban” and “rural” concerns, and between the competing interests of various landowners. An examination of Wallowa County, Oregon’s implementation of House Bill 3326, a 2001 law giving counties the power to define certain agricultural lands as “marginal,” and therefore exempt from restrictions on subdivision and development, illustrates the ways in which these tensions become magnified as rural communities attempt to govern private land use in the context of rural restructuring. Implementation of HB3326 highlighted the tensions between landowners interested in capitalizing on development opportunities afforded by HB3326, neighboring producers concerned about interference from future amenity migrants, and existing amenity migrants with interests in protecting their rural idyll. Contestations over nonfarm development took place in the context of a strong agricultural community identity, concerns about the effects of economic restructuring on producers, and local resistance to the rural gentrification process. The process of defining marginality came to encompass not only technical issues of land productivity, but also broader community contestations over the continuation of traditional land uses and the legitimacy of various actors to govern private land.

Questioning pathways out of poverty: Indonesia as an illustrative case for the World Bank's transforming countries

The World Development Report 2008 uses Indonesia as an illustrative case for what it calls ‘transforming countries’. The main argument of this paper is that the three pathways out of poverty (commercially-oriented entrepreneurial smallholder farming; rural non-farm enterprise development, and out-migration) prescribed by the Report should be theoretically and empirically questioned because of the possibility of a reverse consequence: the perpetuation of poverty in Indonesia.

Urban Proximity, Agricultural Potential and Rural Non-farm Employment: Evidence from Bangladesh

Summary This paper presents empirical evidence on the relative importance of farm and urban linkages for rural non-farm employment in Bangladesh. The results suggest that people are more likely to be employed in well-paid wage employment and self-employment in the non-farm sector if they are closer to urban centers. Those who are further away from such centers are even less likely to be in well-paying non-farm jobs if they are living in areas with greater agricultural potential. The empirical results highlight the need for improved connectivity of regions with higher agricultural potential to urban centers for non-farm development in Bangladesh.

Key Constraints for Rural Non-Farm Activity in Tanzania: Combining Investment Climate and Household Surveys

We use a survey of small rural enterprises from Tanzania to identify subjective as well as objective obstacles to expansion and productivity of the country's rural non-farm sector. Our results suggest that infrastructure constraints significantly reduce participation in the sector and investment and productivity by existing enterprises. Such constraints are particularly harmful for small enterprises, suggesting that policies to improve delivery of key public services can provide a basis for rural non-farm development, with possible knock-on effects on poverty reduction.

Sri Lanka’s Rural Non-Farm Economy: Removing Constraints to Pro-Poor Growth

Summary We use a survey of rural enterprises from Sri Lanka to explore characteristics of the informal non-farm sector and identify obstacles to its expansion and productivity. Value added in this sector amounts to 80% of agricultural GDP participating households’ incomes are significantly higher than those of households who do not participate. Barriers to entry are low and the impact of non-farm development on inequality modest, implying a large potential contribution to growth and poverty reduction. Infrastructure constraints negatively affect new startups, investment in, and productivity of existing enterprises, with small enterprises being particularly affected.

Rural Industrialization in China and India: Role of Policies and Institutions

Summary The dynamic rural nonfarm sector in China has been a major contributor to the country’s remarkable growth, while in India the growth in output and employment in this sector has been rather stagnant. This paper argues that the observed patterns in the rural nonfarm development are the results of institutional differences between the two countries, especially in their political systems, ownership structure, and credit institutions. A review of the strengths and weaknesses of the rural nonfarm economy in China and India highlights the potentials and challenges of growth in the sector.

Rural Nonfarm Development in China and India: The Role of Policies and Institutions

The dynamic rural nonfarm sector in China has been a major contributor to the country's remarkable growth, while in India the growth in output and employment in this sector has been rather stagnant. The paper argues that the observed patterns in the rural nonfarm development are the results of institutional differences between the two countries, especially in their political systems, ownership structure, and credit institutions. A review of the strengths and weaknesses of the rural nonfarm economy in China and India highlights the potentials and challenges of growth in the sector.

Development Pathways and Land Management in Uganda: Causes and Implications

This paper investigates the patterns and determinants of change in livelihood strategies (“development pathways”), land management practices, resource and human welfare conditions in Uganda since 1990, based upon a community-level survey conducted in 107 villages. The pattern of agricultural development since 1990 involved increasing specialization and commercialization of economic activities, consistent with local comparative advantages and market liberalization. Six dominant development pathways emerged, all but one of which involved increasing specialization in already dominant activities: expansion of cereal production, expansion of banana and coffee production, non-farm development, expansion of horticultural production, expansion of cotton, and stable coffee production. Of these, expansion of banana and coffee production was most strongly associated with adoption of resource-conserving practices and improvements in resource conditions and welfare. Other strategies are needed for areas not suited for this pathway. Other factors also influenced land management and resource and welfare outcomes. Road development was associated with improvements in many welfare and some natural resource conditions, except forest and wetland availability. Irrigation was found to reduce pressure to expand cultivated area at the expense of forest and wetlands, and is associated with improvement in some welfare and resource indicators. Government and non-governmental organization programs were found to contribute to improvements in several resource and welfare indicators, though there were some mixed results. Such programs may cause declines in one area by focusing on improvements in another area. Thus, trade-offs appear to be inherent in many efforts to improve agriculture or protect resources. Population growth had an insignificant impact on most indicators of change, though there is some evidence of population-induced agricultural intensification. The findings support neither the pessimism of some neo-Malthusian observers or the optimism of some neo-Boserupian observers regarding the impacts of population growth.

Rural Nonfarm Employment and Income Diversification in Colombia

Using data for rural households from Colombia we find that off-farm employment contributes a significant share (45% on average) to household income but that the importance of off-farm income and returns to household labor vary over the income distribution. Analysis reveals significant gains from specialization but—for households able to specialize—no systematic differences in returns to labor between farm and nonfarm sources. We conclude that, in Colombia, there is no conflict between development of the farm and the nonfarm sector but that, to maximize gains from nonfarm development and reduce the scope for undesirable distributional consequences, policies enabling households to specialize might be called for.

Rural Policy in the New Century

This article outlines the evolution of U.S. rural policy and identifies some likely policy gaps if current trends continue. During the 1930s, the New Deal stabilized agricultural prices and provided greater access to electricity, telephones, and transportation facilities for rural people. Rural nonfarm development was built on natural resources and low cost manufacturing, which became less viable in a global economy. Competitiveness in the new economy requires greater development of human resources and information infrastructures. Rural areas have closed their education gaps with central cities, but not with suburban populations or world class standards. Rural workforce development also lags, although emerging high performance companies demand skilled workers. Information infrastructures improve the quality of life and promote high value-added rural development. Two likely policy gaps are inadequate human resource development and the lack of a coherent rural policy which responds to unique rural conditions. Such a policy would be in the national interest.

Rural non-farm development: a trade-theoretic view

A key component of rural development is the growth of production linkages between the farm and non-farm sectors. The growth of these linkages contributes to the development of agricultural clusters and to the increased articulation of the rural economy. This articulation process is modelled using a specific factors model with differentiated intermediate inputs or producer services produced under monopolistic competition. The implications of labour force growth, agricultural pricing policy, and import substitution industrialization policy on rural non-farm development are explored. The results suggest that agricultural clusters and the (dis)articulation of the farm and non-farm sectors are important aspects of rural development.

Conflicts arise on the urban fringe

The frequent expansion of urban edges presents a challenge for California agriculture as the state's rich farmland base is consumed by nonfarm development. Some issues of conflict emerge as a part of the struggle for limited resources while others are related to the proximity of urban development and agriculture. Other conflicts reflect the urban resident's and farmer's different perspectives on the purpose or value of farmland. Local governments need to establish firm urban-growth boundaries, create buffers between agriculture and urban land uses, and zone to eliminate incompatible land uses in agricultural areas. For its part, the agricultural community needs to educate the urban public to help them understand why particular farm management practices are necessary.

Dairy Farm Survival in a Metropolitan Area: Dutchess County, New York, 1984–19901

Abstract The effect of nonfarm development on dairy farm survival in New York's highly developed lower Hudson Valley is analyzed. The major hypothesis is that significant losses of dairy farms during this period are the result of urban development pressures. Contrary to this hypothesis, however, the bivariate and multivariate analyses of data from a mail survey of all commercial dairy operators in Dutchess County as of 1984 and industry survivors, exiters, and new entrants through 1990 demonstrate that nonfarm development has a negligible effect on dairy farm survival; rather, survival is significantly affected by age of operator and by family disruption. Thus, demographic and family process factors are found to be more powerful determinants of dairy farm survival in this particular metropolitan context.