Total Export Earnings Research Articles

Промените във валутния курс и експортният сектор: нови емпирични доказателства от Нигерия

The impact of exchange rate movements on the export sector in Nigeria is examined in this study through the use of time series data and the classical linear regression model (CLRM) estimation technique. The variables employed in this study are exchange rate, agric. output, manufacturing output, total export earnings, government capital expenditure, foreign direct investment and broad money supply (M2). From the result, it becomes apparent that exchange rate movements play a significant role in the performance of the export sector in Nigeria. More specifically, the findings show that exchange rate, manufacturing output, agric. output, government capital expenditure and foreign direct investment are positively related to export earnings while the broad money supply (M2) is negatively related. It is therefore recommended that the apex bank should keep a close watch on exchange rate developments in order to enhance exchange rate stability, which will in turn contribute to the development of the export sector in Nigeria.

An Analysis of Quality Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices in Bangladesh Ready-Made Garments Sector

Bangladesh Ready-Made Garments (RMG) had grown significantly over the last decades in every term but unfortunately quality of locally produced goods is still an issue. According to BGMEA report (2014) RMG consists around 40% manufacturing as well as 50% of the total workforce and 78% of total export earnings generated from this sector. Most of the employees in RMG are women, around 90%, where 4.2 million people are working in this sector. However, the potential growth and prospect in the Bangladesh RMG sector is huge. And for using these opportunities it should focus on the proper implementation of HR policies to emphasis quality performance. In recent knowledge-based economic condition, human resource is the most crucial resource as organizational effectiveness and efficiency is largely depends on the utilization capacity of this resource, especially in the case of Ready-made Garments industry in Bangladesh. Yet, the realities for RMG organizations are that their people remain undervalued, under-trained, and underutilized. Due to improper HR practices, labor unrest rate in RMG is high, and the employee productivity rate is lower than its competitors. As RMG is the rising sector for further investment, now a day a much concern is needed to improve and sustain garments companies growth. Human Resource Management requires much more concern in the Bangladesh RMG sector. In this aspect, literature proved that HR practices didn’t get much attention, which need to be measured and analyzed in the aspect of Bangladesh RMG sectors quality performance improvement as in RMG sector human resources is the main advantage for industrial growth and sustainable competitive advantage in business. So this study is required to lift up this expectation to fulfill this research gap

UNWTO World Tourism Barometer and Statistical Annex, May 2019

International arrivals grew 4% in the first quarter of 2019 International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) grew 4% in January-March 2019 compared to the same period last year, below the 6% average growth of the past two years.Growth was led by the Middle East (+8%) and Asia and the Pacific (+6%). Europe and Africa (both +4%) and the Americas (+3%) also recorded an increase in arrivals in this first quarter of 2019.Confidence in global tourism performance has started to pick up again after slowing down at the end of 2018, according to the latest UNWTO Confidence Index survey. The Panel’s outlook for the current May-August period is more optimistic than in the past three periods and more than half of respondents are expecting a better performance in the coming four months. Total exports from international tourism reach USD 1.7 trillion in 2018 Total export earnings from international tourism reached USD 1.7 trillion in 2018, or almost USD 5 billion a day on average. International tourism (travel and passenger transport) accounts for 29% of the world’s services exports and 7% of overall exports of goods and services. For the seventh year in a row, growth in tourism exports (+4%) was higher than growth in merchandise exports (+3%) in 2018.

Review on Post-harvest and Green Bean Coffee Processing in Ethiopia

Coffee (Coffea Arabica L.) is the major source of currency for Ethiopia and contributes more than 35% of the total export earnings. It is originated in Ethiopia. Coffee belongs to the family Rubiacea and the genus Coffea. The two main species of Coffee cultivated on a world scale are Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) and Robusta Coffee (Coffea canaphora L.), which account for about 98-99% of the world Coffee production. Even if the high production potential and economic importance of Coffee production and productivity of crop is still limited due to post-harvest handling and processing problems. Coffee processing is aimed to lower the water content of fresh cherries to a level which allows the preservation of beans (about 11-12 %), removing all the covering which surround the beans and preparing the beans according to market requirements. Unintentional or intentional harvesting of cherries at several stages of maturation may have adverse impacts on coffee quality if these materials are processed together. Cherries at different stages of maturation should be separated and processed using different techniques in order to retain as much quality as possible. Cherries must undergo dry, semi-dry or wet processing as soon as possible after harvesting. The storage of fresh cherries in bags, heaps, hoppers or silos should not last more than eight hours. Otherwise unwanted fermentation will generate the dreaded “stinker” beans, which appear when the temperature before pulping exceeds 40-42°C. Even if the temperature does not rise to the point of creating stinkers, uncontrolled fermentation may have other negative impacts on the cup. Coffee cherries should not be kept in plastic bags. The damp airtight atmosphere that develops inside plastic bags favors unwanted fermentation that damages coffee quality. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to review on post-harvest and green bean coffee processing in Ethiopian. Keywords: Green Coffee, Post harvest, Processing DOI : 10.7176/JNSR/9-9-05 Publication date :May 31 st 2019

Asymmetric effects of oil revenue shocks on government spending composition and productive sectors: new evidence from Nigeria

AbstractOil revenue plays an important role in meeting government obligations in Nigeria. It accounts for almost 90 per cent of the total export earnings and government spending. Given the high relevance of oil in Nigeria, this paper examines the asymmetric effects of oil revenue shocks on government spending and the real sectors from 1970 to 2017. We find no long‐run equilibrium relationships among oil revenue and the variables of interest. However, when we allow for non‐linear relationship, cointegration is found to exist only for negative oil revenue and the variable of interest. Both the asymmetric variance decomposition and the generalised asymmetric impulse response function show positive responses of agricultural output and capital expenditure to negative oil revenue shocks while only manufacturing output and recurrent expenditure respond negatively. We recommend that the government should not depend solely on oil exports as the major source of revenue but also create incentive in the non‐oil sectors for complementary revenue generation.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Driven Innovation & Opportunities for Sustainable International Business

In this world, there is no alternative to sustainable development and ready-made garments industry, and Bangladesh is no exception to that. Corporate social responsibility practices (CSR) in developing countries are not very popular yet, and this is true for Bangladesh as well. This paper will demonstrate how corporate social responsibility activities can be pursued as a core business strategy (CSR-Driven) in companies, especially in the ready-made garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh. RMG is contributing more than 75% of total export earnings for Bangladesh, but the sector is undergoing very critical moments for a number of incidents including Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions lately. This is the prime time to shift the focus of the industry to redefine the business model of the ready-made garments companies to retain the customers and attract new business opportunities internationally including CSR-driven innovation strategy in the company’s core business strategy. Case study method has been applied to carry out the research to show that CSR-driven innovative strategy will not only help to find the new solutions to business to respond compliance requirements of international buyers but also find innovative strategies for the companies to create win-win situation including all the stakeholders. To outline and justify the importance of CSR-driven strategies and explain the benefits of it, Echotex Limited and New Look Fashion’s innovative strategy will be introduced and examined that changed their history of business capturing new markets globally.

A Review on Cross-Border Livestock Trade Across Dry Land Borders of Ethiopia: The Trends and Implications

This review paper is aimed at, reviewing trade routes and border marketing centers, trends and implications of cross-border livestock trade (CBLT) along borderlands of Ethiopia. Traded across different corridors of borderland, Ethiopia’s CBLT were traditionally, destined to middle east countries, were the Eastern trade corridor with Somalia involves massive border crossing livestock trade and stand first in terms of traded volume and values. Nonetheless, a significant proportion of CBLT along Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti corridors were also carried out across northwestern, southern and northeastern parts of the country respectively. Livestock sector in Ethiopia, supporting more than 65% of the population and contributes more than 12–15% of total export earnings of the country. However, in recent year, the evidences show that, the trends of official livestock export were declining while, informal export is exponentially increasing. The role of CBLT, on the livelihoods of herders and economy of the country were loomed in the forms of its short- or long-term impacts. In short term, it improves the livelihoods of herders and/or traders through; assisting food security in supplying foods item to the food deficit areas, raising incomes to herders/traders through selling their animals at border crossing/international markets and creates employment opportunity for traders, trekkers or brokers. Whereas, in long term impacts, CBLT have significantly, damaged the economy of our country in several ways. Consequently, Ethiopia have been losing its multi-millions (ETB) of taxes revenue from trade and the devised irrelevant policies and strategies due to the missed livestock trade data (informal) from national statistics led to undermining of sector’s economic contributions. In conclusion, any intervention(s) to the CBLT in Ethiopia virtually, requires valuation of its long- and short-term implications to the livelihoods of herders and economies of the country.

Effect of Total Solar Radiation and Rainfall on Yield of Different Tea (Camellia sinensis [L.] O. Kuntze) Clones at Two Sites in Kenya

Tea cultivation is the leading cash crop in Kenya, making significant contribution to the economy. It is the single largest export commodity, accounting for about 26% of the country’s total export earnings. In 2017, the country got US$ 1.23 billion in foreign exchange earnings. However, tea production is affected by weather changes. Majority of research reporting the effects of weather on tea yields in Africa have mostly been carried out at single sites. This study investigated contribution of total solar radiation and rainfall to tea (Camellia sinensis) yields at two sites in Kenya. A split-plot layout study was conducted at two sites differing in altitude and climatic conditions in Kenya: Kangaita (0o30'S, 37o16'E, 2100 m.a.s.l.) and Kipkebe (0o17'S, 35o3'E, 1740 m.a.s.l.). Timbilil (0o22'S, 35o21'E, 2200 m.a.s.l.) was used as a reference site. Four tea clones of commercial and scientific interest in Kenya (AHP SC 31/37, EPK TN14-3, TRFK 301/5 and TRFK 31/8) were studied. Low radiation intensities at Timbilil in 2007 corresponded with low made tea yields at Kangaita (2.1 t ha-1 y-1) and Kipkebe (2.6 t ha-1 y-1) compared to 2008 (4.4 t ha-1 y-1 and 3.2 t ha-1 y-1) and 2009 (3.1 t ha-1 y-1 and 3.0 t ha-1 y-1) respectively when higher total radiation intensities were recorded. Statistical analysis done using two-way ANOVA (P = 0.05) for split plot design showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.53) between total solar radiation, rainfall and mean made tea yield. Higher radiation and rainfall intensities yielded higher tea outputs.

Evaluation of present and future wastewater impacts of textile dyeing industries in Bangladesh

The textile sector has been an important part of Bangladesh’s (BD) economy over the past few decades. In Bangladesh, the textile sector currently has an export value of nearly 28 billion USD per year which contributes about 82% of the country’s total export earnings. It is projected that the annual ready-made garment (RMG) export value will be about 50 billion USD per year by 2021. However, the growth of Bangladeshi RMG sector is associated with different environmental issues, mostly caused by wastewater generated by textile industries. Textile industries consume high volumes of water per unit fabric for processing, which cause depletion of ground water levels at a high rate. In addition, in many cases textile effluents are discharged into rivers or wetlands without proper treatment. Untreated textile effluent can contaminate groundwater and waterbodies, reduce dissolved oxygen in water and affect aquatic ecosystems which may indirectly cause climate change. Improving conventional technology, adopting cleaner production (CP) options, the reusing and recycling of treated water may reduce water consumption, effluent volume and water stresses, and may help preserving aquatic ecosystems. However, additional investments, lack of technological knowhow, and awareness are factors limiting the adoption of cleaner production options. In order to take effective measures for future improvement it is important to develop a nationwide wastewater impact tracking system. In this study, a material balance approach has been developed to characterize the trend of pollution impacts (2011–2021) associated with the textile dyeing industries of Bangladesh. It is estimated that in 2016 textile industries in Bangladesh produced about 1.80 million metric tons of fabric, which generated around 217 million m3 of wastewater (2016) containing a wide range of pollutants. It is projected that wastewater production will reach 349 million m3 by 2021 if the textile industries continue using conventional dyeing practices. Gradual adoption of improved technology and cleaner production options could reduce wastewater volume by around 23% by 2021. This projection will help policy makers to take necessary mitigation measures for treatment and pollution management. This analysis will also provide a baseline scenario and open new opportunities for textile engineers and environmentalists to develop innovative technologies for textile dyeing and effluent treatment.

Saving Africa: The GMO Cold War and the Battle for Africa

The situation in Africa is dire … On average, agriculture accounts for 70% of full-time employment … , 33% of national income, and 40% of total export earnings … . Yet its performance in recent decades has been one of the worst in the world. (K. Otsuka, D. F. Larson, & P. B. R. Hazell, An Overview , in An African Green Revolution: Finding Ways to Boost Productivity on Small Farms 1, 2 (K. Otsuka & D. F. Larson eds, Springer 2013).) Africa’s food crisis calls out for answers … . One new technical option is the development of new crop varieties through genetic engineering techniques. (R. Paarlberg, Are Genetically Modified (GM) Crops a Commercial Risk for Africa? 2 Int’l J. Tech. & Global. 81, 81–82 (2006).) Africa poses a conundrum. On the one hand, it has the largest percentage of undeveloped arable land in the world and deploys the largest percentage of labour in agricultural production. Yet, on the other hand, its agricultural productivity is about one third of the world ’ s average; it is a net food importer; and it suffers from the highest level of hunger in the world. Proponents of genetically modified organisms (GMO) crops have opened a new front of the GMO cold war in Africa by crusading for the adoption of GMO in Africa as a solution to increasing its agricultural production and alleviating hunger. Opponents of GMO crops have responded by vociferously opposing the adoption of GMO in Africa. Africa is torn between these opposing forces. This article examines the ongoing GMO cold war and how it is playing out in Africa. The article finds that there is a stalemate: there is minimal adoption of GMO in Africa and yet its food deficit and attendant consequences is escalating.

Roles and Efforts of the Irrigation Sector in Myanmar Agricultural Practice

AbstractAgriculture has always been the dominant sector in the economy of Myanmar. The agricultural sector contributes 22.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) (2014–2015), 20% of total export earnings and employs more than 61.2% of the labour force. At present, the country produces enough food to supply its people and export the surplus production. The total land area of Myanmar is 67.7 Mha (million hectares), and the cultivable land is 26% of the total area, i.e. 17.7 Mha, of which only about 12.0 Mha is net sown area. Also, Myanmar is rich in water resources potential, of which surface water is about 108 000 Mm3 of water volume per annum while groundwater potential is about 49 500 Mm3 in 8 river basins in the country. As a part of water resources utilization in the agricultural sector, 581 irrigation dams have been completed, further increasing the irrigable area of 2.78 Mha by the end of March 2016. Because of the traditional irrigation practice of plot‐to‐plot irrigation, water productivity (WP) is only 40%. In order to improve WP as well as environmental conservation, farmer participation is of vital importance for improving agricultural productivity and poverty alleviation by enhancing irrigation and drainage schemes in agricultural sector development. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluating the Quality of Coffee Product on Marketing Performance of Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) Hawassa Branch

Ethiopia is the birthplace and is the largest producer of Arabica coffee in Sub-Saharan Africa countries and it is ranked the fifth largest coffee producer in the world next to Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia by contributing about 7 to 10% of total world coffee production. Coffee is the most important to the Ethiopian economy with about 15 million peoples has been directly or indirectly deriving their livelihoods from coffee product. Coffee is still Ethiopia’s number one export item. It accounts for 45 to 50% of Ethiopia’s total export earnings. A marketing system that coordinates better, that links faster, and that protects the interests of both sides of the trade. It is time for a marketing system that is transparent, efficient, and innovative, that will take Ethiopian agriculture into the new Millennium. Ethiopia, once a commercial trading hub in antiquity linking markets of East and West, can again claim a place in the global market arena. Coffee is the main cash and export crop in Southern Ethiopia as well as in the whole Ethiopia. ECX Hawassa branch is one of the 19th branches of, which carry out a new method of exchange and a safer one for all who trade on products. Though different researchers describe different factors on how and what impacts put on the quality of coffee products, however, no one describe clearly what factors are put effects on the Ethiopian, perhaps especially , the Hawassa branch ECX coffee quality product and market performance. The researcher, therefore, set objectives and planned schedule to investigate and in turn solve this vague issue as well as motivated to identify what and how factor particularly put effect on this issues. The researcher had designed and had used suitable and different methodologies and passed through it. The researcher used the responses of respondents sampled from 60 coffee suppliers which were sampled from 150 total suppliers. The researcher, finally come up with the result, of Less quality coffee and the decreasing the market performance which are mainly associated with poor adoption of improved technology, oldness of coffee trees and poor pruning and recycling system, climate, harvesting process like sorting , roasting ,shipping were among the major problems. Adoption of improved technologies is one of the most promising ways to increase productivity and production in Ethiopia. the researcher, at last, provides different set of recommendations in how and when as well as by whom and for whom should have to be done at chapter five and he dedicatedly advised that the concerned body had to have applied so as to end up with the problems observed in coffee production, control the factors, and in turn provide good quality of coffee products as well as good market performance in the ECX Hawassa branch in particular and the country at general.

Integrating horticulture into the tourism supply chain

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that the global value of tourism will be US$ 10.8 trillion by 2018. Tourism has become a crucial contributor to the GDP with the total export earnings of many countries’ being a major source of employment. With definitions acknowledged for nature-based or ecotourism the author establishes horticultural tourism as a niche market in green tourism and describes the benefits and potential of the green assets, such as public parks and recreation facilities, historic and heritage gardens, national and international horticultural events, rural farm visits, community gardens and farmers markets, all of which have as yet untapped tourism potential in many countries. Horticultural tourism initiatives require the effective integration of these horticultural assets, products and services in the tourism supply chain. The objective of the paper is to provide a definition of horticultural tourism and discuss the successful methods being used in countries to integrate horticultural products and services into the tourism supply chain as well as discuss the challenges and research opportunities facing this dynamic sector of the industry and the need for it to move towards a more sustainable operating base. Evidence suggests that in most developed and developing countries it is possible to establish a viable supply chain that stretches from the producer/service manager of the asset to the tourism and hospitality industry. However, the challenges that need to be addressed include a better understanding of the tourism supply chain, an acknowledgement that all stakeholders have to be involved and there is active government assistance to achieve significant horticulture-tourism integration. Horticultural tourism will continue to grow in both developed and developing countries provided it is founded on the principles and practices associated with sustainable development, with minimal impact on the environment, promotes health and active living, and is supportive of local culture and economy.

The Extractives Dependence Index ([formula omitted

Persistent dependence on the extraction of oil, gas and minerals for export earnings and fiscal revenues poses concern for the sustainability of growth in resource-rich countries. Understanding the degree of dependence on these non-renewable resources and where the dependence originates from is helpful in crafting the right policies for diversification. To measure and monitor such dependence on resource extraction, we develop what we call the Extractives Dependence Index (EDI). The EDI is a composite index made up of three indicators: 1) the share of export earnings from extractives in total export earnings; 2) the share of revenue from extractives in total fiscal revenue; and 3) the extractive industry value added in GDP. We adjust each of these indicators to capture the productive capabilities in each country to determine the presence of alternative sources of export and tax revenues as well as industrial capacity for diversification, which are important for reducing dependence on extractive resources. The EDI ranks 81 countries in terms of their dependence on oil, gas and mineral extraction.

Application of Biohydrometallurgy to Copper Mining in Zambia: Prospects and Opportunities

The consumption of copper worldwide has grown fast since 2000; the mining industry is increasingly faced with the necessity to process low grade ores and waste tailings, from current mining operations. The economic extraction of copper from low-grade ores requires low-cost processing methods such as biohydrometallurgy. This study looks at a general panorama of copper mining in Zambia and discusses biohydrometallurgy as a novel and economically viable process for copper extraction. It also presents future prospects of this technology in Zambia. Since early 1930s, the copper mining industry has been the economic and social pillar of Zambia with about 80% contribution to the total export earnings and about 13% Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mineralisation in the Zambian Copperbelt is dominantly sulphide, comprising of chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite among others with grades of the ore deposits generally in the range of 3 - 4% copper and 0.1 - 0.2% cobalt. Huge low grade copper deposits (~0.67% Cu) which are dominantly sulphides (chalcopyrite) were recently discovered in Lumwana area in the North-western Zambia and are currently being exploited. Reports show that more than one billion tons of ore (c.2.7% Cu) has so far been mined from the mines on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia and conservative estimates suggest that a further two billion tons await exploitation. This provides considerable opportunities for further exploration and mining in Zambia. However, there is currently no commercial copper processing plants in operation on a large-scale in Zambia via biohydrometallurgical process. In order for Zambian mining industry to considerably improve recoveries at inherently lower capital cost, there is need to focus effort on research in this innovative technology and its application.

English

"Agriculture is an important part of Ethiopia’s economy constituting a significant proportion of it’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and total export earnings. The method of agricultural production in Ethiopia has led to increased deforestation and degradation. In order to reverse the trend, government of Ethiopia together with its development partners are in search of strategies to address the situation. Among others, Agroforestry has been considered as a potential strategy that can reduce the increasing deforestation and degradation; whilst at the same time can enhance food production and increased the income of small holder farmers. Khat (Catha edulis), an indigenous shrub species offers the potential to be intercropped with other food crops in an Despite its potential, limited attention has been given to it  in terms of assessing its potential and profitability. The aim of this article is to assess the competitiveness of khat production and commercialization as a complementary source of income for farmers in the West Shewa and East Wollega zones in Ethiopia. Three focus group discussions (FGD) with khat producers were conducted in 3 villages to obtain data for the analysis. This was supplemented with key informant interviews with traders in order to obtain further information about its production and marketing. Porters’ five forces was adopted as the conceptual framework for analysis. The results indicate that demand for khat exceeds its current supply and farmers have power to determine the price. However, there is high level of competition among traders in sourcing from the farmers leading to price competition among traders. The agro ecological suitability for khat production in the area indicates that more farmers can produce it if the awareness of its market potential is created. The study concludes that khat can be promoted as a profitable crop for agroforestry practices in Ethiopia. Key words: Agroforestry, market analysis, competitiveness, Porter’s five forces, neglected species, market analysis.

Oil Revenues and Export Earnings Instability: The Evidence from Iran

As a member of OPEC, Iran is a nation that is dependent on petrodollars. More specifically, roughly 80 percent of total export earnings in Iran are generated from oil revenue. This in fact is one of the attributes of many developing countries in that their exports are concentrated in either one or a small number of primary products that contribute to the bulk of their foreign exchange revenues. Export instability occurs because export earnings tend to fluctuate annually to a greater extent for developing countries than for advanced countries. The factors that give rise to export instability can be classified as price variability and a high degree of commodity concentration. To date, no study has examined the impact of export instability in the highly oil-dependent Iran. This study develops a model and employs a forty-year annual time series data set to estimate the impact of commodity concentration and price variability in Iran. The estimation results obtained from the time-series model developed in this study does not support the conventional argument, regarding the positive correlation between commodity concentration and export instability. It also shows that fluctuations in petroleum export revenues have significant impact on total export earnings instability in Iran.

An Analysis on the Factors Affecting Rice Production Efficiency in Myanmar

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)I. INTRODUCTIONMyanmar is a typical agriculture country, and possesses moderately natural resources which have underpinned the agricultural production. According to the published data in 2012, agricultural sector contributed 13.7% of total export earnings, shared GDP accounted for 37.8%, and employed 61.2% of the labor force in Myanmar (Department of Agricultural Planning, 2012). Due to the various agro-ecological conditions and large land area of Myanmar, several agricultural products have been produced abundantly. Among them, rice is the major crop for both economy and food security of the country. Therefore, efficient rice production would give more income and export revenue for the country because paddy production alone accounted about 35% of the total crop area in Myanmar. It would in turn allow Myanmar to make an essential step for construction of a developed country through reducing poverty, improving food security for all farms, fostering a more dynamic rural sector and making agriculture as a dynamic contributor to the national economy. Surely, all of these outcomes will be achieved only after framing and executing more effective policies at the sectorial and national levels.Dapice et al.(2011) pointed out that the long-term trend in per capita rice production was reduced, which needs to reform and revitalization of agriculture required significant changes in policy through the stimulation of non-farm sectors so that they could absorb labor leaving agriculture. When looking back the history, Myanmar stood as major rice exporter in the world, but this role became dull due to various reasons in the recent days. Still, rice is the most important crop for Myanmar agriculture which dominates the largest and most productive part of the country economy. Myanmar still has great potential to increase rice production in various aspects such as land reclamations, effective mechanization and inputs, and good infrastructure development for both rural and urban areas.There were several recent studies that focused on the estimation and explanation of agricultural efficiency in most of the Asian developing countries, e.g. in India (Battese and Coelli, 1992, Battese and Coelli, 1995), Thailand (Krasachat, 2004; Kiatpathomchai, 2008), Indonesia (Souires and Tabor, 1991: Brazdik, 2006), Pakistan (Shafiq and Rehman, 2000; Javed et al., 2008), Bangladesh (Rahman, 2003; Rahman, 2011), the Philippines (Villano and Fleming, 2004), and Vietnam (Tran et al., 1993; Huy, 2009; Khai and Yabe, 2011). All of these studies pointed out substantial inefficiency and the possible potentials to improve the agricultural productivity. However, there has been limited empirical attention on identifying the factors affecting improvement of rice production efficiency of Myanmar. There are many economic questions related to production efficiency of Myanmar rice farms which are still needed to be answered.Myanmar is still lag behind in modern agricultural production, especially in the application of farm mechanization. The use of modern agricultural mechanical tools in rice production will raise productivity, reduce the processing time, and bring about the economy of scale. Mechanization not only increases land and labor productivity, but reduce the need for human and animal labor. At present, agricultural production is more or less traditional in Myanmar. Modernization and development of agricultural sector require the efficient use of farm mechanization tools. Thus, this study also investigates the role of farm mechanization in efficient rice production in Myanmar.Myanmar has been exploring the use of farm machinery for crop cultivation instead of traditional cattle and manpower. However, the effort has not been entirely successful due to the lack of skills and experience. Continuous increases in the productivity and cropping intensity need the efficient utilization of machinery in farming from land preparation to harvesting and post harvesting activities. …

INITIATIVES OF CASHEW DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) belongs to the family Anacardiaceae, considered to be native of Brazil and is now found in many tropical areas. Cashew is grown in India, Brazil, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mozambique, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other tropical Asian and African countries. Presently, it is grown in more than 28 countries in the world. The major cashew producing states in India are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andra Pradesh, Orissa, Goa and West Bengal and interior tracts of Chattisgarh, A&N Islands, Gujarath, Jharkhand and North Eastern regions. At present in India, among the various agri-horticultural commodities involved in the global trade, cashew has attained a prominent place by providing significant contribution to Indian exchequer ranking among the ten top agriculture exports contributing nearly 0.35% of the total export earnings of the country. Cashew occupies an area of 9.45 lakh ha with production of 6.53 lakh MT of raw nut as on 2010-11 with an average productivity of 720 kg/ha. The detailed Indian and global scenario on area, production and productivity, export and import, cashew processing, development initiatives, constraints and opportunities in cashew production will be presented in this paper.

Relative Scale Efficiency & Benchmarking Top Ten Selected Indian States of Textile Industry

Indian Textile & Clothing industry has been the backbone of Indian Economy ever since Indian Economy gained global recognition and has been passing through many phases of ups and downs during ancient, medieval and modern days. With its 4% approximate contribution towards Indian National Income, Second largest employment (around 42 million direct employment) generation and more than 15% in Indian Industrial Production and in total export earnings as well, it has been the focal centre of Government policy and attention. However, in terms of capacity utilization and inefficient operation, it has remained the point of concern for policy makers and economists. Present paper is an attempt to trace the magnitude of relative scale inefficiency, input and output slacks of Top Ten Indian States in the field of Textile and clothing Industry. The level of relative scale efficiency and benchmarking of major contributing Indian States in textile industry is attempted by using Input-Oriented CRS Model of DEA with carefully selected set of Inputs and Outputs under different models. And various states are considered as Decision Making Units (DMUs) to calculate Scale efficiency. The study explores the feasibility of and is an attempt on developing decision rationalization model in the benefit of Textile Industry in India.