Small Landowners Research Articles

Value-chain analysis of custard apple (Annona squamosa), with suggestions to improve farmers’ incomes in Tay Ninh province

Value-chain analyses from the production to consumption stages of custard apple (Annona squamosa) are discussed in this paper. Limitations to small landholders’ income through processes of the value chain and ways of improving the chain are described. Value-chain methodology was applied on custard apple chain which include of actors in the Tay Ninh province in South-East (SE) Vietnam to assess limitations that occurred from the production to the consumption stage, then to develop strategies and make recommendations to enhance profitability for farmers in the chain. The key findings of the custard apple value-chain analysis are: (a) Farmers and collectors/ wholesalers play a very important role in the chain; however, the processing factory is the primary factor that influences the whole custard apple chain; (b) Information about the market and prices governs farmers’ benefits and income; (c) Cooperation and coordination among farmers are the best means to reduce risk and loss if the price were to depreciate; (d) Interaction between custard apple producers and processing enterprises is necessary for a sustainable consumption system; and (e) Small-scale farmers are dependent upon the price of custard apple to mitigate risks.

The Study on Women's Participation in Chinese Chives Cultivation in Imphal East District of Manipur

Women are the backbone of agriculture , in Manipur .Women participation in Chinese Chives cultivation become tradition and practiced in Imphal East , Manipur . Due to rich opportunities for enhancement of income and it suit both marginal and small scale land holder make creation of every women family employment round the year . The average female’s work forces contribution in Manipur is 43.43%. Almost all women in rural Manipur can be considered as a farmer in some sense . Women in Manipur work as agricultural labour or work as unpaid agricultural labour in the family agricultural farm.

Land Leasing in Kerala: Evidences from a Field Survey

This article, based on a primary survey in two villages of Wayanad district in Kerala, argues that the high incidence of landlessness, as well as the predominance of marginal and small landholdings, has maintained a high incidence of tenancy in Kerala. The tenancy market is dominated by farmers with smaller landholdings. The land is leased mainly for the cultivation of cash crops under cash rents. The land for leasing is supplied by those landed households who have withdrawn from agriculture due to better earnings from non-farm sector, difficulties in procuring labour for agricultural tasks and dwindling irrigation resources. The landless and marginal-small farming households predominantly form the pool of lessees who lease land for two important reasons. First, the growing opportunities in the non-farm sector have been uneven in nature in the sense that they have absorbed only a section of rural labour, leaving many others to remain in cultivation and augment their family income through the leasing of land. Second, lease cultivation, in spite of high fluctuations in the prices and production of crops, is generally profitable for lessees in normal years and when the prices are on an upswing. Given the role of land leasing in providing economic support to rural poor households, the state government should revisit the legal ban of land leasing on Kerala.

Supply Chain Management of Apple Production and Marketing in Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh

Present study was conducted to assess the impact of Supply chain Management of Apple Production and study the existing status of Apple production and marketing in Kinnaur district of Himchal Pradesh, India using data for the period 2021–2022. To identify the objectives of the study, a sample of 200 respondents was interviewed through structured interview schedule. The orchard area was 79.26% in Kinnaur, in which irrigated and un-irrigated land was 32.71 and 67.29%. 44% of the sampled respondents were in the category of marginal land holdings, small land holdings were possessed by 46.00%, medium were possessed by 9.00% and large land holdings only 1.00% of sampled household in study area. The various input supply chains identified in apple production in the study area are Channel-I, Channel- II, Channel- III. . Out of all three channels, the channel III is found to be efficient with modified market efficiency of 47.3%. The producer share for consumer’s rupees is 81.81% with net marketing margin was 180 with price spread value of 380. The total cost for production of apple on one hectare of land holdings was observed to be ` 51258 on overall basis. 77.00% of the respondents were aware about the constraints in supply chain apple producers were not so aware about the effective supply chain management and it can be reduced by the efficient supply chain management.

The moral economy of land: from land reform to ownership society, 1880–2018

Abstract This article offers a comparative-historical perspective on the moral economy of land. We reconstruct the moral economy of the popular land reform movement that opposed the illegitimate income streams of rentiers and speculators in the early 20th century, tracing the movement’s legacy through a long-run analysis of political party platforms since 1880 in the USA, the UK, Germany and Sweden. We find that the land reformers’ conceptualization of land as a moral good was a key topic in early 20th-century party politics. Parties across the political spectrum called for wide-ranging interventions in unregulated land markets. But despite the movement’s relative success, the new ideal of the ownership society soon gained ground as an alternative to the more radical politics of land decommodification. We find growing multipartisan support for small property owners over time, culminating in the rise of a new moral conceptualization of land as capital. With the recent comeback of the land question, both rural and urban, we conclude that an understanding of historical land reform debates should inform future research toward a much-needed sociology of land.

Capacity development of farmer group in using affordable micro-irrigation for small-scale farming in marginal land

Timely water availability and the use of traditional, less efficient irrigation methods are among the main constraints affecting the productivity of small-scale farming in many developing countries. Climate change, population growth, lack of skills and resources and less community resilience to respond are negatively affecting food security in many lower-income countries. Therefore, the use of small-scale efficient irrigation methods can be instrumental in improving local productivity and community resilience to climate change. Addressing these issues, this study is focused on developing a low-cost micro-irrigation technology and improving the skills of small landholder farming communities on the effective use of this system in the marginal lands of Indonesia. A series of capacity development activities were conducted during the project period, including focused group discussion (FGD), soil and water sampling, and design and construction of low-cost micro-irrigation systems. Moreover, following the principle of seeing is believing and learning by doing, a demonstration plot on the use of high-efficiency micro-irrigation was also established for on-hand training and troubleshooting. The result revealed a tremendous improvement in local awareness and adoption of the micro-irrigation system by the local community. Hence the capacity building strategy adopted emerged successful in achieving improved local awareness and adoption and thus can be recommended for future programs in other areas of developing countries.

Adoption of rainwater harvesting as a sustainable approach to improving the climate resilience of small landholders in Kenya

AbstractThe African Water Vision 2025 emphasized the disadvantages of the rural population in the context of water supply infrastructure, water management, and access. The vision extolled the virtues of providing improved decentralized governance and localized actions to deliver on this agenda. Furthermore, policies and investment should support climate resilience, by strengthening the security and availability of adequate water quality and quantity in rural communities, for example, by mainstreaming the adoption of rainwater harvesting systems. This is reflected in the government policy alignment towards enabling a devolution of responsibilities to regional and local political structures, while addressing concerns linked with water availability, climate change, and its impact on a country's water resources in Kenya. Despite efforts through different strategic plans and policies, there is a perceived gap between the general understanding of the importance of the RWH system at the national level and actions at the operational level in the counties. An absence of formal policy frameworks and coordination of investments has resulted in insufficient adoption and implementation of RWH systems in Kenya to date. This is despite the fact that in some counties, RWH systems are considered a key solution for increasing climate resilience and suggestions for improvement have been formulated by the affected communities. This analysis shows that RWH systems strengthen the resilience of rural populations but are dependent on a well‐formulated governmental structure, which could be improved by refining national policies and investment in RWH systems.

Conservation Agriculture: A Long-term Approach towards Sustainability

With the application of intensive agricultural techniques, conventional agriculture has been successful in meeting production goals but has also led to the depletion of natural resources. Sustainability in the management of the natural resource base is necessary for ongoing and expanded agricultural output to provide food security for future generations. Over a long period, the traditional tillage practice has led to the destruction of the natural resource base of the land. As a result of its inherent connection to the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of soil, it has led to a significant loss of soil and SOM, which is a crucial component of soil quality. Therefore, a suitable cropping system and land use must be implemented and adopted to ensure food security on a sustainable basis. These measures should be based on principles to prevent land degradation, protect the natural resource base, and improve food and nutritional security through crop diversification and optimal rotation. The one sustainable cropping method that may reverse soil erosion, increase crop output, and improve the socioeconomic status of small landholder farmers is conservation agriculture (CA). Conservation agriculture (CA) is the integrated management of the available natural resources such as soil, water, flora, and fauna, with certain outside inputs to maximize the effectiveness of natural resource utilization. To fulfill the objective of sustainable crop production, an alternative approach known as conservation agriculture has emerged. It represents a significant advance in the direction of sustainable agriculture. This article reviews the emerging concerns due to the continuous adoption of conventional agriculture systems, contrasting features between conventional and conservation agriculture systems, and various principles and practices in conservation agriculture. It also highlights the benefits and limitations of CA and various challenges in the adoption of CA.

Large-scale land acquisitions exacerbate local farmland inequalities in Tanzania

Land inequality stalls economic development, entrenches poverty, and is associated with environmental degradation. Yet, rigorous assessments of land-use interventions attend to inequality only rarely. A land inequality lens is especially important to understand how recent large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) affect smallholder and indigenous communities across as much as 100 million hectares around the world. This paper studies inequalities in land assets, specifically landholdings and farm size, to derive insights into the distributional outcomes of LSLAs. Using a household survey covering four pairs of land acquisition and control sites in Tanzania, we use a quasi-experimental design to characterize changes in land inequality and subsequent impacts on well-being. We find convincing evidence that LSLAs in Tanzania lead to both reduced landholdings and greater farmland inequality among smallholders. Households in proximity to LSLAs are associated with 21.1% (P = 0.02) smaller landholdings while evidence, although insignificant, is suggestive that farm sizes are also declining. Aggregate estimates, however, hide that households in the bottom quartiles of farm size suffer the brunt of landlessness and land loss induced by LSLAs that combine to generate greater farmland inequality. Additional analyses find that land inequality is not offset by improvements in other livelihood dimensions, rather farm size decreases among households near LSLAs are associated with no income improvements, lower wealth, increased poverty, and higher food insecurity. The results demonstrate that without explicit consideration of distributional outcomes, land-use policies can systematically reinforce existing inequalities.

Using land inequality to inform restoration strategies for the Brazilian dry forest

Forest and landscape restoration aims not only to restore ecosystems but to improve people's livelihoods. However, mapping of restoration often neglects key socioeconomic aspects such as land-access inequalities. In this article, we quantify and describe the distribution of vegetation deficits (areas that demand mandatory restoration) across small and large rural properties across 1,204 municipalities of the Brazilian Caatinga biome. We mapped 313,537 ha of vegetation deficit, i.e. areas previously cleared that will need to be restored for legal compliance. This vegetation deficit is almost equally shared between 141,144 smallholders and only 2,986 in large properties. Around half of this vegetation deficit is spatially clumped mainly in the East and along the main river basin of the region dominated by rich large-holders. On the other hand, spatially scattered and poor small landowners hold around another half of the vegetation deficit across several municipalities. Because of such an unequal distribution of native vegetation deficit, we propose three different restoration strategies to account for land-access inequalities and socioeconomic differences at the municipality level. This is one of the first studies to clearly address land inequality and socioeconomic profile of landowners to inform adapted restoration strategies. Restoration planning that ignores land concentration and socioeconomic contexts may reproduce inequalities known to be one of the main causes of ecosystem degradation across Global South countries.

Factors Militating against Adoption of Solar Water Pump Sets in the Selected Area of Chhattisgarh, India

In the agricultural sector, the highest electricity use goes to irrigation pump sets. Solar pump sets are a renewable source of energy that can replace existing diesel- and electricity-based pump sets. The Sour Sujala Yojna was launched by the Prime Minister to provide solar-powered irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price. 56362 solar water pump sets were installed from 2016 to 2019 in Chhattisgarh state. In the study area, sample farmers were facing two major problems: the solar pump was not working during cloudy days, and second "low farm income". Rank 3 was "small land holdings," and through the solar pump irrigation, less area was covered, ranking 4. There is a maintenance problem that is minor or negligible. To solve the problem, a battery charge system with a solar pump should be added. and the water tank was fixed and stored above 20 meters. A solar pump is a renewable source of energy. So it does not affect nature. It is the best source of irrigation for future energy savings.

Effect of Cooperative Membership on Performance of Farmers: Evidence of Cereal Farmers from Plain Region (Terai) of Nepal

Developing cooperatives is one of the important approaches to improve the farmer’s performance. In this paper we used the data collected from western plain of Nepal and applied an endogenous switch regression model in order to study the relationship of farmers’ membership in cooperative with benefit cost ratio of rice and wheat production. The findings show high benefit cost ratio for cooperative farmers in both rice and wheat. The findings also reveal higher amount of inputs use among the cooperative farmers as compared to the non-cooperative farmers. The disaggregation based on land area shows that farmers with small landholdings are more benefited from cooperative however cooperative membership evidence is more in farmers with higher land holdings. Our findings highlight that smallholdersshould be provided with assistance to be involved in cooperatives for higher benefit from cereal farming.

Economic Analysis of Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation as an Agribusiness Enterprise in India

"With a great deal of constraints such as heavy dependence on weather, small and fragmented land holdings, depleting resource, demand shift etc. faced by traditional Indian agriculture, farmers are shifting towards allied enterprises. Mushroom is one such enterprise which provides remunerative and nutritive produce with less-land and investment requirements. Hence, the present study assessed the economic performance of the Shiitake mushroom production in terms of cost & return analysis, viability analysis and BEP assessment using primary data. The overall net returns were ` 235/ bag/ cycle of Shiitake with rate of return on capital of 1.93 showing the economic viability of the enterprise. It was also found that larger units of Shiitake mushroom were more viable and economically sound as compared to smaller and medium units. Since lesser land and other resources are required for Shiitake mushroom with higher returns and good nutritive value, such mushrooms ought to be promoted for adoption at large scale to alleviate poverty and nutritional insecurity of vulnerable Indian population."

Development support of agricultural cooperation in Ukraine by public institutions

Problem statement. It is important to encourage entrepreneurial activity in various areas for the development of rural areas. One of the means of boosting local economic development is to promote the formation and development of agricultural cooperatives. Analysis of recent research and publications. In order to create effective conditions for the development of agricultural cooperatives, scientists and experts suggested the following ways: informational support of the agricultural cooperative movement by the state; easing tax pressure; strengthening cooperation between agricultural cooperatives and higher education institutions; using international experience of cooperation between commodity producers; development of advisory and consulting services in the field of functioning of agricultural cooperatives, etc. Under the conditions of war and in the post-war period, the proposals given by FAO specialists are relevant, in particular: to include small landowners and cooperatives, especially those located in the affected areas, in sustainable production chains. In general, a wide range of experts and scientists considered the topic of the activities of agricultural cooperatives in Ukraine. At the same time, the practice of cooperatives functioning in Ukraine and changes in legislation require reasonable proposals to support the development of agricultural cooperation. Highlighting the previously unsolved parts of the general problem. Opportunities detection for support from various public institutions and improving legislation are important areas of research regarding the further development of agricultural cooperation in Ukraine. Presentation of the main material. In November 2020, the updated law of Ukraine “On agricultural cooperation” came into force. The new law defines that members of an agricultural cooperative can choose whether to be a profitable organization or to work with no purpose of making a profit. The generated profit can be reinvested in promising business initiatives. The additional opportunities that producers receive through participation in agricultural cooperatives are primarily related to facilitating the product’s sale. One of the advantages is the possibility of joint financing by participants of agricultural cooperatives of product storage processes. Various public institutions can contribute to agricultural cooperation development in accordance with their capabilities. Thus, experts suggest that the Agricultural Exchange consider the possibility of accreditation of agricultural cooperatives under a simplified system and provide them with holidays to pay the exchange fee. There is a positive experience of assistance in the formation and development of agricultural cooperatives by advisory services. Agricultural cooperatives receive additional opportunities to access material and financial resources thanks to international technical assistance. The result of such assistance is not only an increase in revenues to local budgets from the operation of business entities but also the creation of new jobs and the unification of people living in territorial communities. It will be advisable to identify in the territorial community a person, responsible for consulting and training on agricultural cooperation in the context of expanding the powers of local self-government bodies. An example of cooperation between public organizations, experts, and local governments is their participation in the EU4Business International Technical Assistance Program: Competitiveness and Internationalization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in 2021–2022. It is also planned to conduct a series of training on the development of entrepreneurship, including agricultural cooperation at the following program stages. Conclusions and prospects for further research. Since local self-government bodies and public organizations are the closest to entrepreneurship, their activity and communication with the population of rural areas can contribute to the expansion of the development of agricultural cooperation. Expert consulting services in the field of agricultural cooperation development can be provided by educational institutions, advisory services, various public organizations, and other public institutions. Further research should be directed to the dissemination of the territorial communities' experience where agricultural cooperatives are successfully functioning.

A Study on Agriculture Information Seeking Behavior of Farmer’s through Mobile of West Champaran District, Bihar, India

This study explores the information-seeking behavior of farmers in West champaran District, Bihar, specifically through mobile devices. The research was conducted with 120 randomly selected respondents from 18 blocks in the district. The study found that the majority of farmers were young, with middle school education, belonging to the OBC category. Most lived in single-family systems, had families with 7 to 15 members, and small land holdings. Agriculture farming was their main occupation, with an annual income of Rs. 1-2 lakh. Medium levels of knowledge, seeking behavior, and interview schedule assessment were observed regarding information and communication technology tools. Constraints faced by farmers included lack of knowledge about agricultural advisory services on mobile phones, smart phone proficiency, details about advisory sources, linguistic barriers, lack of literacy, and call drop problems. Significant associations were found between certain variables (age, caste, land holding, annual family income, family type, family size, social participation, mass media exposure, and extension contact) and the information-seeking behavior of farmers. This study provides insights into the information-seeking behavior of farmers through mobile devices in West Champaran District, Bihar. It emphasizes the need to address constraints and improve access to agricultural information for farmers in the region.

The Effect of Land Tenure Institutional Factors on Small Landholders’ Sustainable Land Management Investment: Evidence from the Highlands of Ethiopia

Sustainable Land Management (SLM) is one of the key policy responses being implemented to curb land degradation in the highlands of Ethiopia. However, there is scant evidence to what extent Land Tenure Institutional Factors (LTIFs) influence small landholders’ on-farm investment in SLM. The overall objective of this study is, therefore, to understand the extent to which LTIFs influence on-farm SLM investment in the highlands of Ethiopia through unbundling tenure security (de jure, de facto, and perceived) across a bundle of rights. Survey data were collected between April and May 2021 from 2296 smallholder households and 6692 parcels of 19 highland woredas (districts) in three regional states (Amhara, Oromia, and SNNP) in Ethiopia. A probit regression model was used to estimate the average marginal effects of LTIFs quantitatively and supported by an in-depth qualitative analysis. The results revealed that 10 out of 16 LTIF-related variables have significantly influenced households’ on-farm investment in SLM with average marginal effect ranging from a minimum of 3% (tree tenure security risks) to a maximum of 14% (possession of land certificates), at 95% confidence interval, compared to a mean probability of 45%. The results also revealed that some of the households’ socio-economic and demographic factors and parcel-specific variables have significantly influenced on-farm SLM investment. These imply two policy issues. Firstly, it strengthens the notion that security of tenure may be a necessary condition, but not a sufficient, factor to incentivize smallholders’ on-farm SLM investment. Secondly, an in-depth analysis of the security of tenure categories across a bundle of rights is necessary to help formulate context-specific SLM policy and strategy incentivizing smallholders’ on-farm SLM investment.

Perception of the Respondents towards Activities of Farmer Producer Organization in Jalore District of Rajasthan, India

The study was conducted in the Jalore district of Rajasthan to determine the perception of respondents towards activities of farmer producer organizations on both its beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Six villages under the Ahore block were chosen randomly, and a total of 120 respondents (60 beneficiaries and 60 non-beneficiaries) were selected randomly for the study. Data was collected using a pre-structured interview schedule through personnel interviews, and the results were analysed using appropriate statistical methods. The study found that middle-aged individuals were the largest group among both beneficiaries (53.33%) and non-beneficiaries (65.00%). The majority of respondents had medium landholdings, with (53.33%) being beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries (46.67%) having small landholdings. High-income individuals were the largest group among beneficiaries (63.34%), while low-income individuals were the largest group among non-beneficiaries (45.00%). The perception of farmers towards activities of FPO on its beneficiaries was found to be at a medium level (48.34%), while in the case of non-beneficiaries, it was low i.e. (46.66%). The study also found that age, education, land holding, annual income, extension contact, social participation, Mass media exposure, risk preference, and economic motivation were positively and significantly correlated with the perception of farmers towards activities of FPO on both its beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries.

Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Social Media as a Source of Information among Farmers of District Kota, Rajasthan

The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge and attitude of farmers regarding social media in the Kota district of Rajasthan, during the year 2021-22. The study used purposive sampling to select one Block, namely Khairabad and simple random sampling to select four villages from the block. In total four villages were selected for the study, and a total sample of 120 social media users was chosen using proportionate simple random sampling technique. The study revealed that the maximum respondent was middle-aged (42.5%), while farmers (50.8%) had small land holdings. The maximum number of respondents having a medium level of economic motivation, and social media exposure, and about fifty-three percent (52.5%) of the respondents have medium level of knowledge about social media. The majority of the farmers (65.8%) have maximum knowledge about social media are very useful but sometimes it helps in spreading wrong information, while less than fifty percent (49.2%) the of farmer have a medium-level attitude regarding social media. Age, Occupation, Educational qualification, Farm power, and Economic motivation are positively and significantly correlated at 0.01% level of probability and Family size, Landholding, social media exposure is positively and Family size, Landholding, social media exposure is significantly at 0.05% level with the knowledge toward use of social media. On the other hand, all the independent variables were significantly and positively correlated with attitude level at 0.01% and 0.05%.

The Effect of Policy and Technological Innovations of Land Tenure on Small Landholders’ Credit-Worthiness: Evidence from Ethiopia

Since the early 2000s, Ethiopia has been implementing one of the largest land certification and digitalization programs in Africa, underpinned by technological and policy innovations. The reform indicates a promising avenue for increasing the collateralization of land use rights for smallholder households who have been credit constrained. However, there is scant evidence to what extent these reforms have influenced access to credit. To help generate new insights and fill this gap, the study employed administrative data generated from 11 districts’ digital land registers, survey data from 2296 households in 19 districts, key informant interviews, and policy and legal framework review. Descriptive and inferential statistics complemented by qualitative explanations are employed to analyze the results of the study. The results revealed that accessibility of information from the digital rural land registers increased the credit-worthiness of small landholders and reduced transaction costs and risks. The reform related to collateralization of land use rights also incentivizes financial institutions to establish new loan products for small landholders. The study concludes that while the two-stage land certification programs allow smallholders to possess documented land rights, their credit-worthiness may likely remain negligible without further technological and policy innovations. This implies two policy issues: the need to reform secured transaction laws and digitalizing registries for higher land rights trade ability.

Determinants of Female Workforce Participation in Agriculture of Uttar Pradesh, India

Most of the rural female workforce is engaged in the agriculture sector and unequally distributed in various operations. The gender inequality in workforce participation in agriculture sector is easily visible. There is a high participation of women in some specific tasks and some others are recognized as male dominated work. According to NSSO 68th round data (2012) , the participation of women in various agricultural activities is only 17% in Uttar Pradesh, India. The diverse socio-economic status of rural Uttar Pradesh affects participation in different ways. The female participation as agricultural laborer is high in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and it is comparatively low in General and Other Backward Caste (OBC). Participation ratio is having an increasing trend from 15-29 to 30-44 years age groups, and later it is having a declining trend to older age groups. Female participation is increasing from small to medium-sized households, after which it has declined sharply here. Almost half (46%) of the women participation in agricultural is coming from households which derive at least half of their income from own farming. Education level and female participation are inversely associated. Female participation is found highest in families with marginal size of land holdings (74.61%), followed by small land holdings (12.66%) and medium land holdings. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been used to identify the key determinants of female participation in various operations. It is found that household type, education level and size of land are the most important among many other factors. This study is useful for offering suggestions to make the participation of women easier and more effective.