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Article
Publication date: 10 July 2024

Oluwafunmilayo Abimbola Shodipe, Bernice Sanusi, Felix Olajide Talabi and Omowale Adelabu

This paper aims to assess the role of radio programmes in agricultural development and enhancing the capacity of farmers in Oyo and Ogun states, situated in the South-West region…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess the role of radio programmes in agricultural development and enhancing the capacity of farmers in Oyo and Ogun states, situated in the South-West region of Nigeria. Specifically, this study investigated Farm Radio International (FRI) radio broadcast strategies, their effectiveness and how they enhance the farmers’ knowledge, skills and practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper opted for a qualitative research design, using both interviews and focus group discussions to gather data from FRI radio partners and farmers.

Findings

Findings indicated that radio is effective in influencing the practices of farmers and helping them adopt new knowledge, ideas and skills. FRI partners use rural radio forum broadcasting strategy. Also, findings indicated that the most effective broadcasting strategy to reach the farmers with agricultural information is rural radio forum.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for agricultural development organisations, providing a framework for monitoring and evaluating the impact of their communication interventions, helping ensure accountability and efficient use of funds.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to investigate the broadcasting strategies that are most effective in reaching farmers with agricultural information and the influence of agricultural radio programmes on their farming practices.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 February 2024

Xi Yu, Awudu Abdulai and Dongmei Li

This study aims to examine farmers' decision to use smartphone agricultural applications (SAAs) and how SAAs adoption impact their land transfer behaviors in terms of the current…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine farmers' decision to use smartphone agricultural applications (SAAs) and how SAAs adoption impact their land transfer behaviors in terms of the current land transfer-in area (LTA) and the future willingness to renew land transfer-in after it expires (WTR).

Design/methodology/approach

This study provides empirical evidence on the relationship between farmers' use of SAAs and land transfer choice, using a field survey data of 752 rural farm households in 2020 from Sichuan province of China. The endogenous switching models are employed to address potential self-selection bias associated with voluntary SAAs use and to quantitatively examine the impacts of SAAs use on land transfer choice.

Findings

The empirical results reveal that SAAs significantly improves the probability of transfer-in of more land by 39.10%. We find SAAs use has heterogeneous impacts on land transfer-in choice in the groups of agricultural technology, extension service, marketing and credit. Besides, we also find that SAAs use exerts highly positive and significant impact on farmers with less land area transfer-in. Moreover, SAAs can increase the probability of farmers' willingness to renew the land transfer-in by 30%.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to explore the quantitative relationship between the use of SAAs and farm households' land transfer choice. The findings of this work can provide policy-related insights to help government promote the development of digital applications in the agricultural sector.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2018

Zimin Liu, Dan Yang and Tao Wen

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of farmersagricultural production mode transformation, from the perspective of agricultural division of labor and cooperation…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of farmersagricultural production mode transformation, from the perspective of agricultural division of labor and cooperation, on their agricultural production efficiency including technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyzes the impact of the agricultural production mode’s transformation on farmersagricultural production efficiency, based on the classical theory of division of labor and specialization, transaction costs and cooperation. It uses 2013 survey data from 396 farms in 15 Chinese provinces to explore the contributing factors of agricultural production efficiency using a double selection model (DSM), which can correct the endogenous selection bias in farmers’ decisions.

Findings

Farmers that participate in agricultural division of labor and cooperation means transform their agricultural production from a traditional self-sufficient mode to one that is specialized and intensive. Agricultural division of labor measured by farmers’ participation in an agricultural division of labor in the production stages, or in agricultural products, and agricultural cooperation measured by farmers’ participation in farmers’ cooperatives significantly and positively influence their agricultural production efficiency after correcting farmers’ endogenous selection bias.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a unified framework to analyze the impact of farmersagricultural production mode transformation on their production efficiency. Further, it builds a DSM for an empirical analysis to avoid the endogenous biases in farmers’ self-selection behavior. This paper also provides ways for policy makers to improve farmersagricultural production efficiency from the modern agricultural production perspective.

Article
Publication date: 19 April 2022

Anjani Kumar, Smriti Verma, Sunil Saroj, Amit Mohan Prasad and Avinash Kishore

The Million Farmers School (MFS) program—also known as Kisan Pathshala was launched to impart training to the farmers by the government of the state of Uttar Pradesh (India) in…

Abstract

Purpose

The Million Farmers School (MFS) program—also known as Kisan Pathshala was launched to impart training to the farmers by the government of the state of Uttar Pradesh (India) in December 2017. This study estimates the impact of training on agricultural knowledge of the farmers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on household survey conducted in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India, during March–May 2019. The authors employed matching methods, the two-stage least square (2SLS)-residual and endogenous switching regression approaches to control for selection bias and endogeneity.

Findings

The results suggest that knowledge outcomes are significantly better among participants vis-à-vis non-participants. The results are robust to different model specifications. Further, the benefits are observed across different regions and social groups.

Research limitations/implications

The MFS program can go a long way in enhancing agricultural know-how and the farmers' economic well-being, bringing a transformative change in the agricultural landscape of UP.

Originality/value

This study is based on a field survey data and analyzes various aspects of the program's impact, design and implementation, and offers implementation advice for greater efficacy in future.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. 13 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2021

Payel Das and Deepika Pradip

Despite a lot of agricultural initiatives by the government in a regionally diversified country like India, agriculture is poor, and farmer suicide cases are rampant. This study…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite a lot of agricultural initiatives by the government in a regionally diversified country like India, agriculture is poor, and farmer suicide cases are rampant. This study aims to socially transform and bring behavioural change among the farmers of southern India through the usage of new media. The research has gauged the factors that affect new media accessibility and usability, hindrances in the process and change of farmer’s behaviour through online social marketing bringing social transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is action participatory in nature, and the data is triangulated by conducting a survey at the first level using the Delphi technique among 184 rural south Indian farmers who are smartphone users use new media, and at the next level, the farmers were requested to use WhatsApp for agricultural new sharing, and in the last stage, personal interview with entrepreneurs and farmers has been conducted to understand their new media adoption, e-learning and online social marketing.

Findings

New media is the best way to transform agricultural practices socially. It is a forum where all the farmers of the country can get together and address the issue of the agrarian crisis. Online social marketing (OSM) through WhatsApp is one of the best methods of behavioural change because different farmers can share their experiences and emotion for the crisis and give an appropriate solution to a problem. And, one of the most important features of OSM is it removes third parties from miscellaneous issues be it selling, buying or seeking and sharing information.

Research limitations/implications

Despite trying to cover different hindrances in the way of social marketing of agriculture, the study is not free without its limitations. Language was a barrier, and this study require a lot of time to perceive the changes and adoption. Also, due to time constraint, the authors have categorically clubbed innovators, early adopters and early majority in the same layer opinion leaders and adopters of innovation. These could be analyzed separately in five layers, as suggested by Rogers (1995).

Practical implications

From the managerial perspective, the government should extend services that teach the agriculturists, farmers the use of new media. The marketers and makers of apps and software can tap into this business for launching products for farmers. We need apps designed only for farmers, where agricultural and farming practitioners all over the country and globe can interact about their products, conditions of agriculture and give solution to issues arising in agriculture and farming.

Originality/value

The researchers posit that there are hardly any studies that provide strategies to the agricultural and farming sectors in a regionally diversified country like India. The study is one of its first kind to propose new media strategies to reach out to the farmers of different regions and segmentation for a behavioural change and adoption of new media for better and sustainable agriculture. It has gauged into the factors that affect new media accessibility and usability among farmers and simultaneously gave strategy for behavioural change.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 September 2016

Edwins Laban Moogi Gwako

This chapter examines how Maragoli women farmers’ plot-level crop control, individual, and household variables affect yields. This chapter contributes to a holistic understanding…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter examines how Maragoli women farmers’ plot-level crop control, individual, and household variables affect yields. This chapter contributes to a holistic understanding of the ramifications of quantitative and qualitative factors informing women farmers’ plot-level undertakings and yields as well as their innovative and creative strategies for optimizing output. It broadens the existing debate in the sub-Saharan African agricultural production literature by suggesting a composite measure of plot-level crop control as one factor influencing women farmers’ yields even in situations where land is owned by someone else. It also provides a rich discussion of the various and interlocking qualitative factors distorting women farmers’ incentive structures, efforts to increase plot-level yields and their strategies for minimizing the detrimental effects of the same.

Methodology/approach

A multimethod quantitative and qualitative ethnographic case study approach was used in this study.

Findings

This chapter demonstrates that women strategically bargained and invested more of their productive resources on the plots where they anticipated the greatest individual gains.

Practical implications

This chapter underscores women farmers’ ability to boost agricultural output when there are appropriate incentives for them to do so and suggests the theoretical and practical relevance of secure control and property rights over the products of the land not for the household (head), but for the cultivator. The chapter demonstrates and reaffirms that Africa women farmers respond appropriately to incentives and suggests that there is need for a customized, renewed, and sustained emphasis on women farmers’ empowerment and inclusion in all levels in the agricultural sector in order to actualize increased yields. Investing in women farmers and implementing policies that narrow existing gender disparities in African agricultural production systems is holistically beneficial.

Details

The Economics of Ecology, Exchange, and Adaptation: Anthropological Explorations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-227-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 February 2024

Zhuang Zhang and You Hua Chen

Numerical literature shows that agricultural insurance can affect pesticide investments, but few of them are devoted to explain how agricultural insurance affects farmers’…

Abstract

Purpose

Numerical literature shows that agricultural insurance can affect pesticide investments, but few of them are devoted to explain how agricultural insurance affects farmers’ selection on green or traditional pesticides. This paper aims to develop a theoretical model about how agricultural insurance influences on green pesticides selections and tests our conclusions by using the data from China land economic survey (CLES) from 2020 to 2021.

Design/methodology/approach

We employ probit model to capture the effects of agricultural insurance on green pesticides adoption.

Findings

We indicate that green pesticides have a stronger effect on stabilizing yield and increasing income than traditional pesticides, but there are still risks disturbing farmers’ decisions on green pesticides usage. By providing premium subsidies after the farmers are affected by natural risk, agricultural insurance improves the farmers’ expected income and encourages farmers to use green pesticides. Further, we further confirm these conclusions by considering different scenarios such as climate risks, farmers’ entrepreneurship and credit constraints. We find that the effects are more salient if croplands are under higher natural risks and, farmers are equipped with entrepreneurship and formal credit. This paper implies that the agricultural insurance decoupled with green technologies also have salient positive effects on agricultural pollution control.

Originality/value

The potential contributions of this paper can be outlined in three aspects in detail. Firstly, this paper aims to revel the effects of agricultural insurance on pesticide selection by structuring a general theoretical model. By using the CLES data from 2020 to 2021, we confirm that agricultural insurance increases the probability for adopting green pesticides. Secondly, this paper discusses the effects of farmers’ characteristics on the results and finds that if farmers have entrepreneurship, the effects of agricultural insurance on green pesticide usage will be more salient. Thirdly, it uncovers some practices in China, which will supply experiences for other developing countries. For example, this paper further demonstrates that “insurance + credit” plan the present Chinese government carried out will be an important measure for strengthening effects of agricultural insurance on green pesticides usage. Moreover, it shows that decouple agricultural policies will also guide farmers to use green technologies eventually if the technologies are reliable and farmers can afford.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 December 2023

N'Banan Ouattara, Xueping Xiong, Abdelrahman Ali, Dessalegn Anshiso Sedebo, Trazié Bertrand Athanase Youan Bi and Zié Ballo

This study examines the impact of agricultural credit on rice farmers' technical efficiency (TE) in Côte d'Ivoire by considering the heterogeneity among credit sources.

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the impact of agricultural credit on rice farmers' technical efficiency (TE) in Côte d'Ivoire by considering the heterogeneity among credit sources.

Design/methodology/approach

A multistage sampling technique was used to collect data from 588 randomly sampled rice farmers in seven rice areas of the country. The authors use the endogenous stochastic frontier production (ESFP) model to account for the endogeneity of access to agricultural credit.

Findings

On the one hand, agricultural credit has a significant and positive impact on rice farmers' TE. Rice farmers receiving agricultural credit have an average of 5% increase in their TE, confirming the positive impact of agricultural credit on TE. On the other hand, the study provides evidence that the impact of credit on rice production efficiency differs depending on the source of credit. Borrowing from agricultural cooperatives and paddy rice buyers/processors positively and significantly influences the TE, while borrowing from microfinance institutions (MFIs) negatively and significantly influences the TE. Moreover, borrowing from relatives/friends does not significantly influence TE.

Research limitations/implications

Future research can further explore the contribution of agricultural credit by including several agricultural productions and using panel data.

Originality/value

The study provides evidence that the impact of agricultural credit on agricultural production efficiency depends on the source of credit. This study contributes to the literature on the impact of agricultural credit and enlightens policymakers in the design of agricultural credit models in developing countries, particularly Côte d'Ivoire.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 October 2007

Joseph Welfare Irivwieri

This study aimed to find out the information needs of illiterate female farmers in Ethiope East local government area of Delta State, Nigeria. Agriculture is the mainstay of…

877

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to find out the information needs of illiterate female farmers in Ethiope East local government area of Delta State, Nigeria. Agriculture is the mainstay of people in the rural areas, and is mostly for subsistence living. To bring about improvement in practice requires finding out: at what stages of farming illiterate female farmers need agricultural information; through which channels they receive agricultural information; the problems they encounter when they need information; and how the problem can be solve.

Design/methodology/approach

The study sample consisted of 200 illiterate female farmers. Data was collected via structured questionnaire, which was read and translated to the illiterate female farmers in their local dialect, Urhobo.

Findings

Analysis of the data revealed that the illiterate female farmers do not have access to information because the agricultural extension services unit fails to visit them and provide the required agricultural information. Cassava is the major crop produced by illiterate female farmers in the Abraka and Agbon clans. Community/opinion leaders and children of farmers are the main sources of agricultural information for illiterate female farmers. Lack of funds to purchase radio/television so as to have access to programmes on better farming techniques was a major problem; as was the lack of a mobile library to visit the farmers and provide necessary agricultural information.

Originality/value

Highlights the problems of illiterate indigenous people accessing information on agriculture that if applied should lift them above subsistence level.

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 24 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2023

Tien Dung Nguyen, Hung Gia Hoang and Le Thi Hoa Sen

The paper aimed to examine the determinants of agricultural commercialisation of farmers and measured its commercialisation level in the highland of Vietnam.

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aimed to examine the determinants of agricultural commercialisation of farmers and measured its commercialisation level in the highland of Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample size of 360 was randomly chosen from a total population of 5,771 farmers, and a structured questionnaire was developed to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including linear regression analysis, were used to analyse the data.

Findings

The descriptive statistics showed that the average commercialisation level of farmers was 56.3%. The regression model result indicated that number of off-farm income sources, farmer's risk perception, farming practices, number of agricultural activities, motorbikes value, ethnicity, distance from the city centre, number of customers, non-traded inputs value, participation in training programmes, family size, farm size, mobile phones value, traded inputs value, land tenure, distance from the local market and education of household head significantly affected agricultural commercialisation of farmers.

Originality/value

Any development strategies that assist farmers in adopting commercial farming in the highland of developing countries should consider these determinants.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2022-0161

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 51 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

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