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The purpose of this paper is to explain the factors affecting crop insurance purchases by farmers in Inner Mongolia, China.

A survey of farmers in Inner Mongolia, China, is undertaken. Selected variables are used to explain crop insurance purchases, and a probit regression model is used for the analysis.

Results show that a number of variables explain crop insurance purchases by farmers in Inner Mongolia. Of the eight variables in the model, seven are statistically significant. The eight variables used to explain crop insurance purchases are: knowledge of crop insurance, previous purchases of crop insurance, trust of the crop insurance company, amount of risk taken on by the farmer, importance of low crop insurance premium, government as the main information source for crop insurance, role of head of village, and number of family members working in the city.

A possible limitation of the study is that data includes only one geographic area, Inner Mongolia, China, and so results may not always fully generalize to all regions of China, for all situations.

Crop insurance has been recently expanded in China, and the information from this study should be useful for insurance companies and government policy makers that are attempting to increase the adoption rate of crop insurance in China.

Crop insurance may be a useful approach for stabilizing the agricultural sector, and for increasing agricultural production and food security in China.

This is the first study to quantitatively model the factors affecting crop insurance purchases by farmers in Inner Mongolia, China.

The purpose of this paper is to present a procedure to estimate the total irrigation water requirement for a command area of 2,500 hectares in an arid environment under various crops and soil types using GIS for data storage, analysis and visualization of results.

Bani Al‐Harith agricultural area in Sana'a basin, Yemen was chosen for the study. ArcView GIS was used to plan for suitable crops and estimate the irrigation water requirements based on the farmer's preference and soil types. Using the available soil maps, the soil characteristics such as salinity, texture and suitable crop types were overlaid to produce the crop blocks map. The water balance equation was used to produce the crop water requirement map considering the crop coefficient for different crop stages. The total water demand for each irrigation block was calculated by summing the three components, namely percolation loss through the soil, maximum evapotranspiration of the crop and leaching requirement (LR) to maintain an acceptable salinity level.

The case study is an example of using GIS as an effective tool in irrigation planning. GIS facilities to acquire, store, analyze and display spatial data were used to produce the soil class map, soil profile map, crop map and water requirement map. The profile EC_e values for the chosen crops is within the crop salinity tolerance for 100 percent yield except for blocks 4 and 5 where grape and coffee respectively are suggested to be grown. The profile EC_e values are 18.37 dS/m in block 4 and 3.27 to 7.88 dS/m in block 5. The tolerance threshold of 100 percent yield for grape is 1.5 dS/m and for coffee is 3 to 6 dS/m. The salinity of the irrigation water was 2.08 dS/m. From the crop blocks map, the salinity tolerance level for 100 percent yield of onion for block 1 is 1.2 dS/m, tomato for block 2 is 2.5 dS/m, alfalfa for block 3 is 2 dS/m, grape for block 4 is 1.5/ dS/m, and the salinity tolerance level for 100 percent yield of coffee for block 5 is 5 dS/m. Leaching requirements were obtained by taking EC_w value of 2.08 and EC_e of 1.2, 2.5, 2, 1.5 and 5 for onion, tomato, alfalfa, grape and coffee respectively. The peak total water requirement occurred in May and was found to be 5,595 m³/ha, or 560 mm. The design irrigation water requirement for every block is shown in a map for easy visualization and manipulation to produce the best combination of soils, crops and water use.

This method of determining the total irrigation water requirement is dependent on the selected irrigation system and crops whether shallow‐rooted, deep‐rooted or tree crops. The use of water in agriculture should be judicious, precise and sustainable. Application of GIS can be a useful tool in irrigation management since it provides rapid access to underlying information of crop suitability. The designer can try out various combinations of crops, to suit the soils and available water.

This methodology is useful for training irrigation engineers and water resource planners on the use of GIS technique to plan irrigation projects in arid areas.

This technique has never been applied to the study area.

This paper aims to test the impact of remittances receipt on agricultural productivity. The paper empirically assesses whether heterogeneity in economic activity of farming households affects the effects of remittances on productivity of tradable and nontradable crop farming households in Ghana.

The authors employ propensity score matching (PSM) methods to address potential endogeneity issues that could arise from the estimation due to selection bias. This paper uses the seventh round of Ghana living standard survey dataset for Ghana.

The authors find that, the involvement of farming households in other economic activities alters the impact of remittances on crop yield. This differential impact also varies according whether the crop is tradeable or not.

Policy can reduce the cost of sending remittances and include financial literacy modules in the farmer training modules to increase farmers' knowledge on investment of remittance in agricultural production.

The authors distinguish the paper from others by controlling for crop types (particularly tradeable or otherwise and gestation period), farming of a second or more crops and engagement of smallholder farmers in nonfarm economic activities.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain if practising healthy lifestyles improves the technical efficiency of farms in Kwara state, Nigeria. In theory, all deviations from the optimum level of output are due to random effects and inefficiency of producers in which their health plays a key part and is dependent on the kind of lifestyle practiced whether healthy or unhealthy.

Cross-sectional data were employed through a three-staged sampling technique to pick 320 arable crop farmers across the state using a well-defined questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, healthy lifestyles index (HLI), stochastic production frontier (SPF) and propensity score matching (PSM).

First, the analysis showed that about one-third of the sampled arable crop farmers practised healthy lifestyles. Second, the average technical efficiency of arable crop production for farmers who practised a healthy lifestyle was 0.893, and the level of technical inefficiency of the farms was determined by health-related lifestyle status, number of day's illness and educational level. Third, technical efficiency was improved by 0.00431067 for farms whose farmers practised a healthy lifestyle.

Rather than seeing that technical efficiencies of farms are attributed to farm characteristics, inputs used and socioeconomic characteristics alone, the findings suggest that technical inefficiencies of arable crop farmers were also due to the kind of lifestyle practised, which was evidenced in the increased efficiency for farmers who practised healthy lifestyle.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0353

Federally subsidized crop insurance aims to mitigate farm risks of crop producers. A body of literature has examined informational problems under this program. However, few studies empirically link crop insurance participation with farm financial performance. Most use county-level aggregates to argue that crop insurance participation is associated with increased farm financial debt. Using farm-level data, this study provides empirical evidence of crop insurance's effects on farm financial risk.

The impact of crop insurance on farm financial risks is assessed using farm-level data from Kansas. The sample consists of at least 1,600 farms each year from 2002 to 2015. Financial risks are measured using the probability of falling into the critical zone of five different financial ratios. The study uses two matching estimators to estimate the causal effects of crop insurance participation on farm financial risks. Several alternative empirical approaches account for unobserved heterogeneity and potential endogeneity.

Crop insurance participation has reduced the farm's likelihood of being in the critical liquidity risk by 8%. This result is robust across matching estimators and alternative specifications to account for unobserved heterogeneity and potential endogeneity.

This is one of the few studies to examine whether crop insurance reduces farm financial risks. This study provides empirical evidence of the extent to which crop insurance enrollment impacts farm financial risks. Findings suggest that crop insurance is critical to maintaining the financial well-being of crop producers, and significantly reduces the likelihood of producers being in a critical liquidity risk.

The nexus between sustainable agri-food production and food security outcomes of farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is attracting policy attention. This study analyzes the effects of crop diversity on the incidence of food scarcity, dietary diversity, and the sale and consumption of own crops.

The study uses panel data collected in 2015 and 2018 on a randomly selected sample of 2553 households from 49 villages in northern Ghana. The study employed a fixed effects modeling approach in the empirical analysis.

The study finds that crop diversity is positively associated with better dietary diversity, reduced hunger, lower food expenditure, and higher consumption of own produce. The results show positive effects of crop diversity on the total harvested output and sale of agricultural production. Whilst sales improved sustainable food and nutrition security by providing purchasing power to buy nutritional inputs in the market, consumption of own produce rather improved food availability by reducing food scarcity and malnutrition.

Crop diversity is one of the pathways for promoting sustainable agri-food production systems to ensure the food and nutritional security of vulnerable populations and promote biodiversity to achieve environmental goals in sub-Saharan Africa. Crop diversity reduces food expenditure and raises rural incomes through improved outputs and sales, which empowers farm households to diversify their dietary options to be able to overcome incidences of hunger and malnutrition in periods of food scarcity.

The present study improves the understanding of sustainable agri-food production through crop diversity and its implications on food and nutrition security outcomes. The panel data and fixed effects modelling approach address the endogeneity problem between crop diversity and household tastes and preferences.

This paper aims to examine the compensation practices and the valuation methods valuers apply in the context of the current legal framework for expropriation to assess compensation for farms impacted by mining in Ghana.

Compensation reports and archival materials were examined to identify the issues related to the valuation methods, compensation practices and expropriation procedures in the mining sector. Interviews were then conducted with 35 farmers and farmers' representatives, officials of mining companies, representatives of the Land Valuation Division of the Lands Commission and valuers/researchers on the issues identified through the document analysis.

The results reveal that the lack of express standards for assessing compensation for mining-impacted crops has occasioned variations in the valuation methods and the standard crop population for compensation. The study further reveals the impacts of exchange rate distortions on crop compensation values.

The study empirically substantiates the arguments for a revised compensation regime in Ghana's mining sector. Valuers, mining companies and policymakers' awareness of this research will impact farm compensation valuation practices in the future.

The adequacy of compensation for mining-impacted farmers remains a topical issue, especially in African countries. This research contributes to the literature and reveals the socio-economic impacts of the current compensation regime on the livelihoods of expropriated farmers.

This paper is the first to analyse the valuation methods, the compensation values and the key parameters valuers apply in assessing compensation for mining-impacted crops in Ghana.

Crop suitability analysis is vital for identifying a piece of land’s potential for sustainable crop production and aids in the formulation of an effective agricultural management plan. This study aims to conduct crop suitability analysis of prominent Kharif (rice and maize) and Rabi (potato and wheat) crops in Sirajganj district, a flood-prone area of Bangladesh, and recommend a suitable cropping pattern to mitigate the detrimental effects of flooding.

Various factors such as soil drainage, soil depth, soil moisture, soil texture, soil permeability, soil pH, erosion hazard, nutrient status and flooding risk were considered for this study. For all four crops, the weights of each factor were determined using the analytical hierarchy process approach, and the scores of each subfactor were assigned on the basis of favorable circumstances of crop cultivation. Using the weighted overlay analysis in the ArcGIS 10.3 environment, the crop suitability maps were generated and were divided into four suitable classes. Geographic information system integration of crop suitability for all the crops determined the suitable cropping pattern of the study area in Kharif and Rabi seasons.

A vast portion of the study area covering 64.80% of the total land is suitable for cultivating either rice or maize in Kharif season followed by either potato or wheat in Rabi season. Other suitable cropping pattern for Kharif and Rabi seasons found in the study area are rice-wheat, rice-wheat/potato, rice/maize-wheat and rice/maize-potato, which covers a little portion of the study area.

This research validates the suitable location of crop cultivation on the basis of flooding occurrences in the locality.

Constrained input use and lower productivity of rural establishments may be associated with restricted or concentrated access to financial resources, especially in developing countries. Meanwhile, agricultural activity entails risks associated with the volatility of net cash flows and external events, which may discourage riskier but higher return investments (e.g. technology). As rural credit can alleviate the former, and rural insurance may help alleviate the latter, the combination of both policies might endorse each other. The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of rural credit and rural insurance policies with respect to productivity and crop area, in São Paulo state, Brazil, using farmer's microdata from two surveys realized in 2007/08 and 2016/17.

This study uses propensity score matching and the entropy balance approaches in a complementary way. This study compared three policy treatments – rural credit, rural insurance and both policies combined, against establishments that received neither one. The analysis considered sugarcane, grain and grape crops separately and employed farmer's microdata. Moreover, the analysis was stratified into two categories: establishments owned by family farmers and those that did not.

Rural credit policy is related to higher productivity and larger cultivated area for grains and only to larger area for grape crops in the last analyzed period (2016/17). Rural insurance, as a unique policy or combined with credit, is related to higher productivity and cultivated areas, for all analyzed crops, only in the second period (2016/17), as the policy became more accessible to farmers. Heterogeneity regarding crops and farmers might influence the effectiveness of these policies. Despite rural insurance being related to a better performance regarding the outcome variables, it still reaches a small share of farmers, especially when combined with credit.

Many studies about the effectiveness of rural credit in Brazil have been conducted throughout the years, while there have been fewer studies regarding rural insurance since it became an important policy in the mid-2000s. However, few studies have conducted an analysis comparing its individual and interactive influences, with such level of disaggregation, on a farm-level database, considering the heterogeneity of the data and the different categories of farmers.

This paper presents the systematic process framework to develop the suitable crop insurance for each agriculture farming region which has individual differences of associated crop, climate condition, including applicable technology to be implemented in crop insurance practice. This paper also studies the adoption of new insurance scheme to assess the willingness to join crop insurance program.

Crop insurance development has been performed through IDDI conceptual framework to illustrate the specific crop insurance diagram. Area-yield insurance as a type of index-based insurance advantages on reducing basis risk, adverse selection and moral hazard. This paper therefore aims to develop area-yield crop insurance, at a provincial level, focusing on rice insurance scheme for the protection of flood. The diagram demonstrates the structure of area-yield rice insurance associates with selected machine learning algorithm to evaluate indemnity payment and premium assessment applicable for Jasmine 105 rice farming in Ubon Ratchathani province. Technology acceptance model (TAM) is used for new insurance adoption testing.

The framework produces the visibly informative structure of crop insurance. Random Forest is the algorithm that gives high accuracy for specific collected data for rice farming in Ubon Ratchathani province to evaluate the rice production to calculate an indemnity payment. TAM shows that the level of adoption is high.

This paper originates the framework to generate the viable crop insurance that suitable to individual farming and contributes the idea of technology implementation in the new service of crop insurance scheme.