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Article
Publication date: 3 July 2009

Khaled Laoubi and Masahiro Yamao

The purpose of this paper is to propose the typology that links the characterization of the irrigated farms with their structural and functional aspects for the context of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose the typology that links the characterization of the irrigated farms with their structural and functional aspects for the context of sustainable irrigated agricultural development.

Design/methodology/approach

East Mitidja scheme is selected for this study. About 134 farms are selected from the irrigation scheme. Multiple correspondence and ascendant hierarchical classification are used as data mining tools to characterize the typology of irrigated farms.

Findings

The typology provides a way of understanding the diversity of farms with regard to their socio‐economic environment. It also helps to identify those farms that fall into broad categories of unsustainability. The latest implemented agricultural and irrigation policy has a differential effect on various types of farmers, favoring some and discouraging others. The socio‐economic constraints have prevented the implementation of various development programs. This situation leads to the unsustainable exploitation of the water and land resources and to the promotion of unsustainable irrigation scheme.

Practical implications

The findings and results may help decision makers to implement appropriate interventions in terms of resources, conditions and interests that are compatible with each identified class of farms.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to explore irrigated agriculture development issues in Algeria using multivariate methods. The typological method can help policymakers to identify priorities. It can also be used to predict how different farmers will likely respond to government programs and policies regarding irrigated agricultural development.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 36 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 November 2005

Norman Long and Bryan Roberts

The chapter identifies key components of the new patterns of farming and rural livelihoods emerging in Latin America in the twenty-first century. By the beginning of the…

Abstract

The chapter identifies key components of the new patterns of farming and rural livelihoods emerging in Latin America in the twenty-first century. By the beginning of the millennium, most rural areas of Latin America had become integrated into global agricultural commodity networks that curtail the opportunities for small-scale, family-based farming and result in two predominant types of production, the corporate large-scale enterprise suited to oils seeds and their derivatives, cattle or vegetables for processing and the smaller commercially oriented farm producing market garden products, fruits and wine. Both types of farms often form part of commodity networks organized by domestic intermediaries, large-scale supermarket chains, such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour, and foreign food marketers. In addition to the multiplication of external commercial linkages, high levels of urbanization have increasingly blurred the distinction between the rural and the urban. Off-farm work, including international labor migration, is now an important source of rural livelihoods. This context means that research needs to address the multiple interfaces that now connect the different types of rural inhabitants with a wide range of external actors.

Details

New Directions in the Sociology of Global Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-373-0

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

James M. Williamson

The paper examines the evolution of beginning farms’ income statement and balance sheet items over a 15-year period. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the diversity

Abstract

Purpose

The paper examines the evolution of beginning farms’ income statement and balance sheet items over a 15-year period. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the diversity of beginning farms from a financial point of view.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), the author constructs a synthetic panel of data consisting of age cohorts of beginning farmers and follow them over time. Baseline financial information for the farm income statement and balance sheet is examined in 1999 and again in 2014 for each cohort.

Findings

Overall, there is a marked contrast in the evolution in the income statement between beginning farmers who are under 45 years old and those over 45. The gross cash income of the youngest cohorts grows tremendously, as do their expenses, indicating rapid expansion in production on the part of the youngest cohorts. The change in the balance sheets of the cohorts also provides a glimpse into the changing roles of beginning famers over time. The youngest cohort of beginning farmers increase the current and non-current assets on their balance sheets by a substantial amount, more than doubling both. Furthermore, the youngest cohort is the only group to take on more current liabilities, indicating increased financing of the production expenses.

Practical implications

Differences in the evolution of financial profiles of beginning farms may predict differences in future output, and it could be a predictor of the farm’s operational goals or intentions, as well as predictor of future financial needs and challenges.

Originality/value

Knowing and understanding likely trajectories of beginning farmers may provide an opportunity to better tailor farm programs, outreach, and support to beginning farmers.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 77 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 March 2015

Claudia Job Schmitt

The chapter seeks to reflect on the dynamics of the reconstruction of family farming and peasant agriculture in agrarian reform settlements (“assentamentos”) in Brazil, exploring…

Abstract

The chapter seeks to reflect on the dynamics of the reconstruction of family farming and peasant agriculture in agrarian reform settlements (“assentamentos”) in Brazil, exploring the limits and potential of government food purchases from family farming, particularly the Food Acquisition Program (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos – PAA), in the creation of alternative paths of rural development. The work analyzes the different strategies through which farmers and their organizations mobilize public policy instruments and market connections, expanding their room for maneuver and agency capacity. Research was conducted in the Baixo Sul Territory of the state of Bahia, focusing the heterogeneous web of social organizations involved in the implementation of the Food Acquisition Program in this setting.

Details

Constructing a New Framework for Rural Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-622-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2023

Joko Mariyono

Rice agroecosystems must grow sustainably to meet the increasing demand for food. A fish-rice co-culture was introduced to conserve rice agroecosystems in farming communities…

Abstract

Purpose

Rice agroecosystems must grow sustainably to meet the increasing demand for food. A fish-rice co-culture was introduced to conserve rice agroecosystems in farming communities. This study aims to assess the technical, socio-economic and environmental outcomes as the pillars of sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach to assess a sustainable intensification programme's impact on sustainability. Data were collected using group discussions and self-assessment surveys. The study sites cover East Java and West Java provinces.

Findings

This study found that rice-fish co-culture improved the sustainability of the farming system. Farmers applied pest and disease management and partially substituted inorganic fertilisers with organic ones. The outcomes were apparent in the diversity of harvested products. Economically, the rice yield increased, the production costs decreased and the resultant increased income. Environmentally, the fish-rice co-culture was sound because of ecological inputs. The population of natural enemies of pests increased. Socially, fish-rice co-culture was acceptable to the community since there was no conflict with the local governments, local norms and religions and the existing farming practices of other crops.

Research limitations/implications

This study was based on five groups as case studies, such that the result might not represent the general condition.

Originality/value

The study's methodology was supported by valid economic theories and data directly gathered from farmers.

Details

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

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 20 October 2015

Mohammad Shamsuddoha

Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured…

Abstract

Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured supply chain practices, lack of awareness of the implications of the sustainability concept and failure to recycle poultry wastes. The current research thus attempts to develop an integrated supply chain model in the context of poultry industry in Bangladesh. The study considers both sustainability and supply chain issues in order to incorporate them in the poultry supply chain. By placing the forward and reverse supply chains in a single framework, existing problems can be resolved to gain economic, social and environmental benefits, which will be more sustainable than the present practices.

The theoretical underpinning of this research is ‘sustainability’ and the ‘supply chain processes’ in order to examine possible improvements in the poultry production process along with waste management. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and ‘design science’ methods with the support of system dynamics (SD) and the case study methods. Initially, a mental model is developed followed by the causal loop diagram based on in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation techniques. The causal model helps to understand the linkages between the associated variables for each issue. Finally, the causal loop diagram is transformed into a stock and flow (quantitative) model, which is a prerequisite for SD-based simulation modelling. A decision support system (DSS) is then developed to analyse the complex decision-making process along the supply chains.

The findings reveal that integration of the supply chain can bring economic, social and environmental sustainability along with a structured production process. It is also observed that the poultry industry can apply the model outcomes in the real-life practices with minor adjustments. This present research has both theoretical and practical implications. The proposed model’s unique characteristics in mitigating the existing problems are supported by the sustainability and supply chain theories. As for practical implications, the poultry industry in Bangladesh can follow the proposed supply chain structure (as par the research model) and test various policies via simulation prior to its application. Positive outcomes of the simulation study may provide enough confidence to implement the desired changes within the industry and their supply chain networks.

Details

Sustaining Competitive Advantage Via Business Intelligence, Knowledge Management, and System Dynamics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-707-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 March 2015

Paulo F. Petersen

Fighting the drought. Based on this idea, for almost two centuries now the Brazilian State has elaborated policies and programmes intended to stimulate rural development in the…

Abstract

Fighting the drought. Based on this idea, for almost two centuries now the Brazilian State has elaborated policies and programmes intended to stimulate rural development in the semiarid region of the country. It is this idea which has nourished the illusion that immense infrastructures need to be built to capture, store and transport large volumes of water in order to supply production activities in the region. Associated with this proposal is the attempt to reproduce the same pattern of development adopted in other Brazilian biomes, the main characteristic of which is the use of monoculture practices on large properties managed according to entrepreneurial modes of production. However the rich social experience promoted by rural worker organizations in the region has challenged this model by proposing living with the semiarid (Convivência com o Semiárido) as the guiding principle for alternative trajectories of development. Inspired by the experience of territorial development under way in the Agreste da Borborema region of Paraíba state, the chapter shows that the evolution of these new paths of development depends on revitalizing and mobilizing locally available resources, such as ecological potentials, social mechanisms for organizing labour and for producing and sharing knowledge, local forms of connecting food production to consumption and so on. The text concludes by emphasizing the need to design and implant institutional frameworks that enable a more balanced distribution of power between the State and civil society organizations, thereby allowing the latter to assume a more substantial role in identifying and managing endogenous resources that underpin self-centred development strategies.

Details

Constructing a New Framework for Rural Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-622-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 January 2020

Mark Appiah-Twumasi, Samuel A. Donkoh and Isaac Gershon Kodwo Ansah

The purpose of this paper is to explore smallholder agricultural financing in Ghana’s Northern region by identifying farmers’ preferred traditional and innovative financing…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore smallholder agricultural financing in Ghana’s Northern region by identifying farmers’ preferred traditional and innovative financing methods and estimating the determinants of use of innovative financing methods.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presented a list of documented traditional financing methods to farmers during in-depth interviews and employed descriptive statistics to summarize choice and amounts sourced from traditional methods. Two questions from the survey revealed a felt need for extra financing sources for credit-rationed farmers. Farmers with positive responses to either or both questions were classified as “users of innovative financing”. The authors then used a probit model to examine factors that influence decisions to use innovative financing method.

Findings

Farmers’ own savings, reinvesting past season’s profits and financing maize production with income from other commercial crops were the most popular traditional methods. The authors found complementary relations between formal and informal lending systems in the rural financial market. Smallholders also took farm and non-farm “by-day” jobs to raise income for farm investment and/or joined Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) specifically to take advantage of possible credit opportunities. These two latter methods were operationalized in this study as innovative agricultural financing. The results show that access to credit, social capital and market participation increased the likelihood of using innovative financing methods. Alternatively, farmer group membership, diversity in crop production and being a household head diminished the likelihood of innovative financing use.

Practical implications

The activities of VSLAs can be regulated and expanded to spread its benefits to more farmers. Also, creating avenues for dry season labour market participation in the region could enable farmers raise capital for farm investment.

Originality/value

This study explores existing practices and farmer innovations to agricultural financing and, by so doing, deviates from the vast literature focussing mainly on microcredit provisioning as the main model of smallholder agricultural financing in Africa.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 80 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 May 2013

Eladio Arnalte-Alegre and Dionisio Ortiz-Miranda

This chapter presents an overview of the ‘big’ data of Mediterranean agriculture, with a special focus on the four EU countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece), in order to…

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the ‘big’ data of Mediterranean agriculture, with a special focus on the four EU countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece), in order to provide a backdrop for the rest of cases analysed in the volume. In this regard, two thesis are discussed: the assumption that farming systems in the South have not followed the process of ‘productivist modernisation’ characterising post-war Northern European agricultural change, and that, precisely due to this reason, most holdings and regions from the South would have more possibilities to adapt to new approaches of multifunctional rural development.Thus, the chapter tackles both the static and dynamic structural traits of Southern agricultures and their differences with the North, as well as several aspects of the organisation of farming in the Mediterranean and other key components of productivist modernisation: farm intensification and specialisation. Later, the diffusion of multifunctional dynamics is addressed, in order to introduce some reflections about their meaning and scope in the Mediterranean regions. The chapter ends with a straightforward typology of Southern farming systems and a concluding section, which goes back to discuss the two initial theses.

Details

Agriculture in Mediterranean Europe: Between Old and New Paradigms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-597-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 December 2018

Sérgio Pedro

The contemporary production, distribution, and consumption of food is today interconnected at the global level in the form of a global food chain, constituted by the relations…

Abstract

The contemporary production, distribution, and consumption of food is today interconnected at the global level in the form of a global food chain, constituted by the relations between all the producers, distributors, and consumers of food in the World. A chain where the international trade law constitutes a conditioning element, which through the legal adoption of neoliberal ideals facilitates the strengthening of the agribusiness sector.

The present article aims to assess the environmental impact of the global food chain and engaging in the discussion of the adoption of more sustainable methodologies in the agriculture sector. By mobilizing the experience of participation in Civil Society Network for Food and Nutrition Security in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (REDSAN-CCPL), we will critically expose the causal link of the activities of transnational corporations of the agribusiness sector with its environmental and public health impacts, particularly with cases in Global South countries (countries of the Community of Countries of Portuguese Language, CCPL).

At the end, and, following closely the current discussion at the United Nations level for the creation of a Declaration of the Rights of Peasants, and the creation, in 2017, of a legal regime for family farming under the CCPL, we will present a defense for the legal recognition of family farming at the international level, as a legal and political strategy to preclude the negative environmental impacts of the agribusiness sector.

Details

Environmental Impacts of Transnational Corporations in the Global South
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-034-5

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 4000