Small-scale Economic Activities Research Articles

THE IMPLICATION OF MOVEMENT CONTROL ORDER (MCO) TOWARD THE SMALL-SCALE FOOD AND BEVERAGE ACTIVITIES IN JOHOR, MALAYSIA

The implementation of a movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic has widely affected the majority of small-scale economic activities, including the food and beverage (F&B) sector. This paper aims to analyse the impact of MCO implementation on small-scale F&B activities in Majlis Bandaraya Iskandar Puteri (MBIP), Johor, Malaysia. Descriptive and inferential analyses were employed to analyse the impact of MCO implementation via a questionnaire sampling of 60 small-scale F&B operators across the case study. The research found that the movement restrictions had a massive influence on the economy of most of the businesses, particularly on their income generations. The MCO also obstructed a smooth economic recovery of any business, including the small-scale F&B activities, despite the various initiatives being addressed to minimise the economic impact of pandemic and sustain the business activities and income generations. Hence, a planning approach should be taken to manage the chain impact of a health crisis, such as movement restrictions, in reducing the economic impacts of small-scale F&B activities.

The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic towards the Resilience of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world dramatically. The unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic has widely impacted on Malaysia’s economy, especially towards the small-scale economic activities related to the small medium enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, this paper aims to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic towards the resilience of SMEs in Johor, Malaysia. The research methodology employed a quantitative method through a survey method via questionnaire sampling of 60 owners involved in SMEs operators across the case study. The research finding indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic had a massive influence on the economy of the majority of SMEs operators, especially on their income generations which average losses in revenue of more than 50 percent during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to 2019. This resulted from the shutdown of their business activities to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Other findings highlighted that the government’s initiatives to address the economic impact of SMEs yet insufficient to sustain business activities and income generations for instance access to financing facilities, product marketing opportunities and others. Therefore, required immediate initiatives should be made by all the stakeholders to reduce the economic impacts among the SMEs.

Can Neo-Rural Initiatives Bolster Community Resilience in Depopulated Coupled Human and Natural System?: Insights From Stakeholder Perceptions in Central Spain

Preindustrial era agro-sylvopastoral land uses have influenced structure, function and disturbance in Mediterranean type mountainous landscapes for millennia. In this study we analyze through semi-structured interviews, stakeholder perceptions of coupled human and natural system (CHANS) community resilience in one such landscape; the municipality of Puebla de la Sierra, Madrid. The municipality is part of the Biosphere Reserve of the Sierra del Rincon and the Natura 2000 network and as such is subject to various conservationist regulations emanating from multiple levels of governance. In the preindustrial past most municipal lands formed an oak “dehesa” or open forest CHANS that made biomass extraction through pollarding compatible with pastoralism and shifting agriculture. After a period of rapid land-use change in the early 20th century—marked by the state led plantation of coniferous forests, the final decades of the last century were characterized by rural abandonment and the collapse of traditional forms of land use as well as the gradual transformation of the municipality into an eco-touristic, exurban destination for Madrid residents. More recently, the municipality has experienced an influx of neo-rural settlers in the area wishing to connect traditional knowledge and management with modern agro-environmental practices. In our study, we identify two limiting factors to community resilience in Puebla de la Sierra; governance and financing. The current governance model is perceived by respondents to be contrary to their reality and needs, which translates into environmental, urban and health regulations that, in their views, penalizes agroecological and small-scale economic activities. In addition, respondents believe there is a dearth of material and financial resources to initiate these transformative local actions which further weakens community resilience. Stakeholders however also identified other factors that reinforce community resilience such as a collective willingness to revive key traditional ecosystem management practices such as pollarding, the networks of trust existing between the people participating in these new initiatives and the capacity for deliberating between different visions of future development pathways amongst local stakeholders.

THE PEATLAND RESTORATION AGENCY’S ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION PROGRAM IN ACHIEVING THE TRANSBOUNDARY HAZE-FREE ASEAN 2020 IN RIAU PROVINCE

This study analyses the implementation of good governance principles for the economic revitalization program under the supervision of Riau Province’s Badan Restorasi Gambut (Peatland Restoration Agency). One of the aims of this program is to support the haze-free ASEAN 2020 roadmap. Riau province is an area prone to forest fire disasters. Its peatland area, which is larger than Malaysia’s total peatlands, have a very high potential for damage due to forest fires. To mitigate the damages, BRG initiated the 3R program: Rewetting, Revegetation, and Revitalization. What makes this topic interesting is BRG emphasizes the aspects of economic empowerment of local communities to prevent further forest and peatland damages. To assess the implementation of BRG’s program, our research team conducted several interviews with representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NGOs, academics, farmers, and villages’ facilitators who assisted local communities that received the BRG’s assistance packages. Our study shows that BRG’s economic revitalization program had succeeded in creating small scale economic activities such as honey industry, pineapple farming, and catfish farming. However, the ineffective coordination and communication between BRG and the local communities had prevented them from constructing an effective method to prevent future forest fires.

Economic ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION PROGRAM in ACHIEVING THE HAZE-FREE ASEAN TARGET 2020 by THE RIAU PROVINCE’S PEATLAND RESTORATION AGENCY

This study analyses the implementation of good governance principles for the economic revitalization program under Riau Province’s Badan Restorasi Gambut (Peatland Restoration Agency) supervision. One of the aims of this program is to support the haze-free ASEAN 2020 roadmap. Riau province is an area prone to forest fire disasters. Its peatland area, which is twice as large as Malaysia’s peatland, have a very high potential for damage due to forest fires. To mitigate the damages, BRG initiated the 3R program: Rewetting, Revegetation, and Revitalization. What makes this topic interesting is BRG emphasizes the aspects of economic empowerment of local communities to prevent further forest and peatland damages. To assess the implementation of BRG’s program, our research team conducted several interviews with representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NGOs, academics, farmers, and villages’ facilitators who assisted local communities that received the BRG’s assistance packages. Our study shows that BRG’s economic revitalization program had succeeded in creating small scale economic activities such as honey industry, pineapple farming, and catfish farming. However, the ineffective coordination and communication between BRG and the local communities had prevented them from constructing an effective method to prevent future forest fires.

Pemanfaatan Mesin Penggiling Ikan dan Mesin Pendingin Dalam Usaha Home Industry di Oesapa Kupang Nusa Tenggara Timur

Management and processing of marine and fishery products are one of the ways to improve the welfare and socio-economy of the community. The province of East Nusa Tenggara is one of the regions in Indonesia that has enormous marine fishery potential. The potential for fisheries comes from capture fisheries and aquaculture reaching 72 thousand tons with a production value of 1.8 trillion Rupiah, and the second-largest seaweed producer after South Sulawesi with seaweed production of 2.9 trillion Rupiah. This potential needs to be developed to support economic growth and improve the welfare of people who have jobs in the fisheries sector, such as the development of value-added fishery products through fishery industrial activities. This activity aims to examine the added value of marine and fishery products on a home scale industry and its implications for society. This community service activity is carried out on Oesapa Beach by targeting coastal communities. Activities are carried out by providing training and presentation of material regarding the use of fish grinding machines and cold storage to properly and safely support small-scale economic activities. This activity was well appreciated by the community and had a positive impact in efforts to increase the selling power of marine and fishery products.

Institution reinforcement of mosque in social economic empowerment of small traders community

Historically, mosque is the center for human civilization with various activities covering social, economy, and culture. However, its function have been shifted and specialized into a place of worship. This paper aims to describe the contribution of the great mosque of Attaqwa Pancor in social economic empowerment, particularly small businesses in Pancor, East Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB). The Data are collected through observation, interview, and document study. The result of the analysis shows that mosque involvement in the small-scale economic activities has brought them to be free from the difficulty of capital access and dependence. In the first stage, that is the period of 2019 to August 2020, through Mawar Emas program, total of 80 small-traders in Pancor village was helped to be free from debt problems. The great mosque of Attaqwa which is supported by Indonesia Sharia Economic Community (Masyarakat Ekonomi Syariah, MES) were successfully distributing the total amount of 80 million rupiahs for the small business purposes. The existence of the Attaqwa mosque proves and affirms that religious institutions can contribute to the social economic development. Considering the strategic position, this paper suggests the need for institutional reinforcement of mosque to restore its broad role in addition to religious issues.JEL Classification: A13; O15; Z12

Transformation of Rural Life on the Example of Farms in the South of Russia

The possibilities of small-scale economic activities, which include peasant (farm) farms, in the preservation and development of rural areas of the country, in solving the problems of employment and income of rural residents require a deep interdisciplinary analysis in order to develop effective support measures in the future. Farmers are a significant subject of socio-economic processes in modern Russian rural areas and the implementation of state food security programs. Most of their farms are multi-industry, they are engaged in grain growing, animal husbandry, vegetable growing, beekeeping, etc. In order to understand what processes are taking place in farms, what factors constrain and what, on the contrary, contribute to their development, how the farming way of life adapts to the conditions of constantly changing socio – economic reality, how farmers are integrated into the activities of rural societies, it is important to use various research practices to study the various aspects of farms in different regions of the country. This article uses sociological information obtained from rural residents of such large agricultural regions as the Republic of Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Volgograd regions, and Stavropol territory.

Feminist Perspectives on Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment

Abstract This article examines microfinance as a development strategy designed to empower women and reduce poverty in the Global South. The discussion draws from feminism and development to critically analyze these lending programs in the context of persistent gender inequities and economic marginalization of women. Scholars, policymakers, and practitioners have different perspectives on the effectiveness of microfinance programs. Proponents of microfinance argue that these economic interventions assist in the development of small-scale economic activities, improve gender dynamics in households and communities, and empower women. In contrast, critics describe microfinance as an extension of neoliberal capitalism that exploits rather than empowers participants by increasing their debt burden and other forms of exploitation. The analysis addresses sociospatial and economic aspects of microfinance programs by examining the different approaches as reported in the empirical studies of microfinance programs that target women in the Global South. The discussion focuses on how microfinance impacts and is related to the following dimensions of women’s empowerment: economic empowerment and poverty reduction; investment and consumption; and decision-making and self-esteem. We argue that microfinance programs are embedded in and influence diverse aspects of these economic interventions in the development process. The conclusion summarizes how agency and change associated with these programs offer the potential for women’s empowerment at various scales and within diverse contexts of development.

Back to the drawing board: assessing siting guidelines for sand dams in Kenya

Sand dams have become popular in many parts of the arid world as a relatively cheap and effective water harvesting technology. Kenya is one of the countries with the highest number of such dams, with semi-arid Kitui County having become a major hub in recent decades. These sand dams are used for water storage in the beds of Kitui’s seasonal rivers. The water is used for households and small-scale economic activities. Generally, sand dams are evaluated as very successful, but this paper shows that such success is not guaranteed. Field research conducted in Kitui County in October 2016 suggests that from 116 sand dams surveyed, about half did not have any water during the time of the assessment. This study assesses how various environmental factors affect sand dams’ ability to supply water for community use during dry periods in Tiva River catchment in Kitui County. Most of the assessed environmental factors did not show consistent patterns to draw inferences on how they affect sand dams’ ability to supply water, with the exception of rainfall amount, water indicating vegetation percentage of clay in a soil and stream orders. More overarching factors like agro-ecological zones and stream order do show a pattern of influence on dams’ performance. These results have global significance due to the widespread use or plans to use of sand dams worldwide. There is a clear need to build a better understanding of sand dams performance to define more reliable sand dams’ site identification criteria.

Maintaining small-scale production space in the city: the case of Brussels construction companies (1965-2016)

While productive activities are high on the academic and political agenda of the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR), small-scale production space is still rapidly disappearing. Based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, this article sketches a historical comparative perspective on the spatial organization of small and medium-sized construction companies in the BCR. It shows that in both 1965 and 2016 construction companies have a scattered distribution pattern over the Region's built-up area, that they follow the Region's built-up expansions and that they have a strong path dependence. The interviewed entrepreneurs, mainly focused on renovation, are locally anchored and work mainly with local customers, employees and suppliers. Although the construction companies' central location and local anchoring offer an important added value to the BCR, their presence is under pressure and, due to their small-scale organization, they often stay invisible to the authorities. In order to continue to guarantee small-scale economic activities such as the construction sector in the city, this article argues for a spatial policy that provides affordable and centrally located production space.

Meia-água: producing space and kinship in an irregular housing subdivision in Rio de Janeiro

As owners of a land plot, the poor families living in Rio de Janeiro’s loteamentos perifericos (“peripheral housing subdivisions”) have evolved their own unique ways of using their land, often with scant regard for building regulations. This is the case of the meia-agua, a rectangular single-story backyard construction with a mono-pitched roof. At first sight, it seems people build meia-aguas simply as a means to lower construction costs, but in doing so, they offer an insight into the socio-spatial hierarchies and kinship dynamics that shape the production of space. Thus, as the family move from the meia-agua at the rear to the true house at the front of the plot, the former may be abandoned completely, turned into a workshop for small-scale economic activities, or provide a means to divide the land. People would also allow their married children and ageing parents to build or occupy meia-aguas, so that they can take care of one another without compromising each other’s privacy. In this case, the land plot has a centripetal effect on the “configuration of houses”.

Best practices for the use and exchange of invertebrate biological control genetic resources relevant for food and agriculture

The Nagoya Protocol is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity that provides a framework for the effective implementation of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including invertebrate biological control agents. The Protocol came into force on 12 October 2014, and requires signatories and countries acceding to the Protocol to develop a legal framework to ensure access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing and compliance. The biological control community of practice needs to comply with access and benefit sharing regulations arising under the Protocol. The IOBC Global Commission on Biological Control and Access and Benefit Sharing has prepared this best practices guide for the use and exchange of invertebrate biological control genetic resources for the biological control community of practice to demonstrate due diligence in responding to access and benefit sharing requirements, and to reassure the international community that biological control is a very successful and environmentally safe pest management method based on the use of biological diversity. We propose that components of best practice include: collaborations to facilitate information exchange about what invertebrate biological control agents are available and where they may be obtained; knowledge sharing through freely available databases that document successes (and failures); cooperative research to develop capacity in source countries; and transfer of production technology to provide opportunities for small-scale economic activity. We also provide a model concept agreement that can be used for scientific research and non-commercial release into nature where access and benefit sharing regulations exist, and a model policy for provision of invertebrate biological control agents to other parties where access and benefit sharing regulations are not restrictive or do not exist.

Microfinance and women's empowerment: an ethnographic inquiry

ABSTRACTWithin the last two decades microfinance has been widely adopted as one of the best development strategies to reduce poverty and empower women in many developing countries. Drawing on ethnographic research undertaken in Ethiopia, this article elucidates the complexities of microfinance processes, and argues that current microfinance practice does not facilitate the participation of women in decision-making over the use and management of loans as well as the income they generate from running small enterprises. The article illustrates that women are engaged in running small-scale economic activities at home that produce low returns, and they have limited access to lucrative markets. It also demonstrates that due to a discriminatory household division of labour, women are overworked in their households and in their enterprises. Through engaging in a mode of representation (ethnography) that allows specific critical voices to be heard, the article contributes toward tempering the current enthusiasm for the widely expanding microfinance industry.

Outdoor-sleeping and other night-time activities in northern Ghana: implications for residual transmission and malaria prevention.

BackgroundDespite targeted indoor residual spraying (IRS) over a six-year period and free mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), malaria rates in northern Ghana remain high. Outdoor sleeping and other night-time social, cultural and economic activities that increase exposure to infective mosquito bites are possible contributors. This study was designed to document these phenomena through direct observation, and to explore the context in which they occur.MethodsDuring the late dry season months of February and March 2014, study team members carried out continuous household observations from dusk to dawn in one village in Ghana’s Northern Region and one in Upper West Region. In-depth interviews with health workers and community residents helped supplement observational findings.ResultsStudy team members completed observations of 182 individuals across 24 households, 12 households per site. Between the two sites, they interviewed 14 health workers, six community health volunteers and 28 community residents. In early evening, nearly all study participants were observed to be outdoors and active. From 18.00-23.00 hours, socializing, night school, household chores, and small-scale economic activities were common. All-night funerals, held outdoors and attended by large numbers of community members, were commonly reported and observed. Outdoor sleeping was frequently documented at both study sites, with 42% of the study population sleeping outdoors at some time during the night. While interviewees mentioned bed net use as important to malaria prevention, observed use was low for both indoor and outdoor sleeping. Net access within households was 65%, but only 17% of those with access used a net at any time during the night. Participants cited heat as the primary barrier and reported higher net use during the rainy season.DiscussionOutdoor sleeping and other night-time activities were extensive, and could significantly increase malaria risk. These findings suggest that indoor-oriented control measures such as ITNs and IRS are insufficient to eliminate malaria in this setting, especially given the low net use observed. Development and evaluation of complementary outdoor control strategies should be prioritized. A research agenda is proposed to quantify the relative risk of outdoor night-time activities and test potential vector control interventions that might reduce that risk.

Measured as Poor versus Feeling Poor: Comparing Money-metric and Subjective Poverty Rates in South Africa

In this study, we compare subjective and money-metric measures of poverty in South Africa using data collected in the 2008/09 Living Conditions Survey (LCS). In addition to collecting detailed information on expenditure, the LCS asked respondents to provide an assessment of the economic status of their household, ranging from “very poor” to “wealthy”. We find considerable overlap between per-capita expenditure measures of poverty status and subjective poverty status among households. However, we also identify a number of significant characteristics that distinguish households where poverty measures do not overlap, including household size, the share of children and the elderly in the household, home ownership and housing type, access to piped water and electricity, and access to farming land. These characteristics suggest both that expenditure measures are not able to capture the multidimensional nature of economic well-being and that the level of expenditure in the household is underestimated. This underestimation may arise partly because poverty measures based on per-capita expenditure do not recognize scale economies in the household, and also because the value of small-scale economic activities can be difficult to measure, as in the case of subsistence farming.

Bringing ‘invisible’ side activities to light. A case study of rural female entrepreneurs in the Veenkoloniën, the Netherlands

Over the past 20 years, rural areas in Western societies have transformed from a production to a consumption space. Much research on rural diversification and revitalization has focused on farmers and their wives. However, it is useful to examine side activities run by non-farm women which have slowly emerged in the last few years. In view of discussions about rural decline, the value of such activities should be looked at in a new light. Although these activities may not significantly reverse unemployment figures, they have the potential to provide the social and emotional ‘glue’ to motivate a household to remain in declining areas as small-scale economic activities contribute to a better quality of life and a higher level of well-being. In this article we draw on the personal stories of women who undertake side activities in the Veenkoloniën, the Netherlands. We explore the factors that enable these women to start a side activity and the related organizational and emotional struggles they face while running such activities within the perimeter of their home. We further highlight the importance of side activities for the empowerment of women in rural households.

Disclosing the loan officer’s role in microfinance development

The exclusion of the poor in developing countries requires radical enterprising solutions. Hence, microfinance was originally developed to intermediate through tailored double-bottom line initiatives, which would first supply more appropriate credit and, then other ‘financial services’, in an essentially participatory, ‘bottom-up’ way. This would support local, small-scale economic activity while enhancing well-being and social/gender justice. However, frontline local officers, originally recruited into microfinance institutions to help ‘empower’ the poor towards this end, have in practice been found to adopt unexpectedly different roles. Using original data from Zambia this article examines how this occurred in a frontier field situation. Here loan officers performed multiple, ambiguous and changeable roles while their home institution at first sought to decouple, and then prioritized its own immediate survival over their other founding aspirations. Where they acted more like ‘loan repayment agents’ and ‘debt collectors’ than genuinely participative ‘facilitators’ supporting the poor, further, unintended consequences resulted. Any further decoupling and retreat from committed double-bottom line working could bear heavily upon the further/future development prospects of microfinance.

Empowering rural women through a community development approach in Nepal

This paper explores a community development strategy to empower rural women through educational and small-scale household economic activities. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were used to assess the impact of a community development project launched in a remote hill district of Nepal. Focusing on two project components, the paper concludes that a functional literacy programme is a good start, which has revealed its dynamism with practical extensions in a post-literacy period. On the other hand, group savings and credit programmes provide the driving force to help illiterate rural women start small-scale economic activities that are effective in absorbing the female workforce in these communities. Community development programmes should be ready to meet changing needs of the target population to make them truly self-reliant after the completion of the project.

Recruiting outside board members in the small family business: an ideological challenge

The focus of this paper is to explore how contrasting ideologies influence the selection process of outside directors in the small family business. Small family businesses donot just represent smallscale economic activity but they are the outcome of entrepreneurial ambition and family involvement. This means that willpower and emotional commitment blend with calculative considerations. As emotional as well as cognitive constructs the family, management and entrepreneurship each represent an ideology: paternalism, managerialism and entrepreneurialism. The proposed ideological framework is positioned against alternative approaches to the study of board selection processes. Two sets of data are presented. A piloting survey of 12 family businesses is used to substantiate the theoretical assumption that entrepreneurial firms avoid having outside directors and managerial firms welcome outside directors, leaving paternalistically-run family businesses ambivalent. Repeated in-depth interviews in two family businesses, one founder-managed and entrepreneurial, the other established and traditional, reveal how the professionalization of the board enforces managerialism, challenging thus far dominating ideologies, entrepreneurialism and paternalism. The outcome of this ideological contest, if properly orchestrated, is an energized and more competitive family business.