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The farm size-productivity relationship has long been the subject of debate among development economists. Few studies address this issue for China, and those that do only with outdated data sets poorly representing the current situation after the past decade of rapid change, which includes the rapid development of land rental markets, village labor out-migration and use of farm machines. Meanwhile, many studies have researched this relationship for Indian, which is undergoing similar changes except for the development of active land rental markets. The purpose of this paper is to measure the farm size-productivity relationship under the situations of rapid transformation in China and India.

Based on the data of 325 Jiangxi and 400 Allahabad rice farmers in 2011, the survey covered multiple plots of each household in one/multiple growing season(s). The authors use the production function approach and the yield approach, and control for farmland quality, imperfect factor markets, and farm size measurement error, to identify the farm size-productivity relationship.

The regressions show that land yields increase with plot size both by season and over the year in China. This may be one of the reasons that farm sizes are growing in some areas. In India, however, the inverse farm size-productivity relationship is observed by the study, despite recent changes. Moreover, land yields increase with farm machine use in both China and India. This result contributes to the debate over whether mechanization improves yields or just expands the land frontier.

The paper empirically estimates the farm size-productivity relationship under rapid agrarian transformation in both China and India based on a unique data set collected by the authors in a detailed primary survey. The paper considers measurement error in the analysis, which adds values to this type of analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of temperature-based weather derivatives (WD) in reducing risk exposure for Chinese agriculture industry. Therefore, a put option with cumulated growing degree days as its underlying index is assumed to be bought by farmers as a risk management instrument to prevent income fluctuations from adverse temperature conditions.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of temperature-based WD in reducing risk exposure for Chinese agriculture industry. Therefore, a put option with cumulated growing degree days as its underlying index is assumed to be bought by farmers as a risk management instrument to prevent income fluctuations from adverse temperature conditions.

The results of the efficiency tests show that temperature-based put options are efficient in offsetting yield shortfalls for rice and wheat in China. The weather-yield models have a high prediction power in explaining yield variation by temperature.

The de-trending procedure for the weather-yield model should be improved to distinguish better between technology progress, human activities and influence of weather. Further, more advanced models could be used for the pricing.

The findings of the paper support the launch of WD as an efficient risk management tool for agriculture in China. Compared with traditional damage-based insurance, WD are more flexible, have lower transactions costs and avoid moral hazard or adverse selection.

The efficiency problem of WD has not been analyzed sufficiently worldwide and especially not for developing countries like China where a large proportion of the population works as farmers. This paper supports to fill this gap.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of two categories of agricultural technologies among beginning farmers (10 years or less of experience) operating in the specialty crops industry. A secondary goal is to characterize the beginning farmers' population in the specialty crops industry and compare them to more experienced farmers (more than 10 years of farming experience).

Using a series of regressions, this paper tests the hypothesis that beginning farmers are more likely to adopt agricultural technologies such as growing technologies (i.e. hydroponics and hoop houses) and value-added (VA) technologies (drying and cutting produce into customer-ready portions) relative to counterparts. Using a unique primary collected dataset of specialty crops farmers, the dependent variable for each model is the binary decision to adopt each agricultural technology, while the main variables of interest are the dummy variables beginning farmers and the interaction terms created between beginning farmers and land farmed, percent of land rented, crop diversification, local sales, and part-time farming.

Farmers' characterization suggests that, on average, beginning farmers are more likely to adopt growing technologies than more experienced farmers. However, after controlling for other determinants of adoption, there is no significantly difference between the two groups. Lastly, results suggest that beginning farmers are more likely to adopt VA technologies relative to experienced farmers.

While the adoption of agricultural innovations can lead to increases in economic and environmental resilience, little is known about beginning farmers adopting agricultural technologies, and studies are even less common for specialty crops operations. As the world population continues to grow rapidly, the demand for agricultural food products is expected to increase up to 100% between 2010 and 2050. This growth places additional stress on the limited access to land and water for agricultural production. Farm profitability can be boosted by increasing economies of scope through the use of growing technologies that increase yield or by adding value to specialty crops. The increasing global demand for food makes it imperative to understand what influences the adoption of agricultural technologies among beginning farmers growing food crops.

The geographical range of agricultural crops is shifting because of climate change. Reducing the potential negative impact of this shift requires efficient crop switching at farm level. Yet there are scant studies that examine how crop switching is currently taking place and what factors facilitate the process. Even these few existing studies often based their analysis on inadequately established causal link between climate change and switching decisions. This study aims to identify the specific switching decisions that are primarily motivated by climate change, and their determinants.

The study used a household survey on 190 households in Semien Shewa Zone in Ethiopia. Subjective rating of farmers was used to identify the relative importance of climate change in motivating the different types of switching decisions. A logit model is used to identify determinants of crop switching decisions primarily motivated by climate change.

Farmers in the study area are currently abandoning certain crops as a response to climate change. The adoption of new crops is, however, mainly attributed to price changes. Most farmers who abandoned at least one crop adopted mung bean mainly due to its price advantages. As expected, crop switching as an adaptation strategy is more prevalent particularly in drier and hotter agroecologies. The logit model showed that crop switching is strongly correlated with land size and agroecology.

This paper provides an in-depth examination of crop switching as an adaptation strategy to climate change. Crop switching is an adaptation strategy that is expected to substantially reduce the damage from climate change in agriculture. The findings are particularly relevant for adaptation planning in the context of smallholder agriculture.

The purpose of this paper is: to track the methods by which farmers access groundwater for irrigation in the North China Plain (NCP); to explore whether climate factors influence farmers’ decisions on the methods of groundwater access for irrigation; and to examine whether the amount of groundwater use for irrigation and crop yield systematically differ across groups of farmers using various methods of groundwater access, and how climate factors affect them.

Descriptive statistical analysis and econometric models are used on household survey data collected over several years and county-level climate data.

Over the past few decades, a significant share of farmers have switched the methods of groundwater access from collective tubewells to own tubewells or groundwater markets. Farmers who bought water from groundwater markets applied less water to wheat plots than those who had their own tubewells. However, wheat yield was not negatively affected. Both average climate conditions and long-term variations were found to be related to farmers’ choice of methods of groundwater access for irrigation. More frequent droughts and increasingly volatile temperatures both increased the likelihood of farmers gaining groundwater irrigation from markets.

The analysis results suggest farmers are using groundwater markets to help them adapt to climate change. Applying empirical analysis to identify the impact of the methods by which farmers access groundwater for irrigation on the amount of groundwater use and crop yield will help policy makers design reasonable adaptation policies for the NCP.

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of climate change, as manifested in both temperature and rainfall changes, on adaptive practices in a sample of wine firms operating in South Australia. Given that firms’ adaptation to the external environment can be advanced through effective internal learning systems, a further purpose was to explore the moderating effect of absorptive capacity.

The authors used a survey as well as secondary sources to collect data. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. To test the robustness of the results, alternative measures of temperature and rainfall changes were used.

By studying 207 wine firms, the analysis suggests that climate change is significantly and positively associated with adaptive practices. Further, as hypothesized, absorptive capacity positively moderates both relationships.

The use of a single industry in a specific location limits the generalizability of the results. Implications suggest that when the effects of climate change are considered the natural environment might be accorded salient stakeholder status. Further, when absorptive capacity is high, firms appear to adapt to climate change at a greater rate, suggesting that internal learning systems are important.

This is one the few studies in the business literature that considers the effects of actual physical changes in the natural environment on firm behaviour. Further, the paper is one of the few to incorporate natural stakeholder-based theory as a means of exploring climate change. The research paves the way for future studies of responses to such changes.

By the year 2,000 the world's population will total six billion persons. They will have to coexist on a planet where resources are limited, however ingenious man's use of them may be. Facing these facts, some planners are considering seriously the concept of triage, under which some sections of the earth, and the people living in them, are written off because it seems impossible to save them and still maintain a sustainable society for the rest of the planet. The triage concept is touted as the hardheaded ability to set priorities. However, we find this attitude morally repugnant, socially indefensible, politically dangerous, and economically irrational.

Examines the potential for excessive crop uptake of nutrients, soil mineralization, and response of livestock to the usage of Ogunpa Stream, Ibadan, Nigeria. A number of surface water and soil samples were collected from the Ogunpa and small irrigated farms near the stream for physico‐chemical examination. Results show that the stream is suitable for irrigated agriculture but not for aquaculture and livestock breeding especially in the middle reaches. The added nutrients accumulated in the cultivated layer of the soil. There was some evidence of migration of some elements down from the cultivated layer. The potential hazard for pollution caused by irrigating with the polluted water threatens crop and vegetables grown on adjacent farms as well as groundwater of the nearby area. This may seriously affect the consumers. It is recommended that residents around the stream become aware of how to reduce the pollution level.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how sustainability integrates the business strategy of Brazilian community supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives, and to understand the social, environmental and economic benefits to producers and consumers.

A case study was carried out through participant observation, using the techniques of ethnography, in addition to in-depth interviews and access to secondary data. Follow-up was carried out over two years and six months with two CSA initiatives.

The results indicated that the analyzed CSA activities address, in an integrated way, the social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability by promoting healthy diet, sustainable agriculture and social transformation to producers and consumers. Producers have their sales guaranteed due to previous consumers’ association; they also receive higher incomes, avoiding the rural exodus. In addition, their work conditions do not harm their health and the diversified production meets the consumption of their family group, increasing farmers’ autonomy. Regarding consumers, there is a strong emphasis on education for sustainability. It occurs primarily through face-to-face contact among participants, at times of basket withdrawal, follow-up visits to production and interaction events at farmers’ place. Exchanges of information, recipes, cooking classes, newsletters and internet interactions are also important. As these outputs, verified in a real situation, integrate the mission and the business proposal of these CSAs initiatives, it is possible to conclude that, in these analyzed situations, sustainability is incorporated into a business strategy. Sustainability is a structural component of the strategy, with practices in different levels of the business activity.

As an exploratory study, the findings cannot be extrapolated to broader populations. To improve generalization, it would be beneficial to broaden the sample and pursue comparative research between countries and regions. Also, studies should examine which incentive structures and programs would relate more to better outcomes in education for sustainability and behavior chances.

From a managerial point of view, this study contributes by presenting emerging businesses in Brazil, which incorporated sustainability in their strategy, contributing with the need pointed out by Robinson (2004) to provide innovative and creative solutions toward sustainability. It also presents some alternatives to achieve objectives of the 2030 Agenda, especially objective 2 (related to food security) and 12 (improve sustainable production and consumption systems). This study also contributes by elucidating alternatives to promote education for sustainable consumption, presenting cases where consumers reported a more sustainable behavior.

This study contributes to the literature by filling the gap pointed out by Arzu and Erkan (2010), Nakamba, Chan and Sharmina (2017), Rossi et al. (2017) and Searcy (2016) about addressing all three dimensions of sustainability in an integrated way, by analyzing CSA initiatives (a need indicated by Brown and Miller, 2008), especially evaluating empirical cases of sustainability insertion in the business strategy, as proposed by Claro, Claro and Amâncio (2008) and Franceschelli, Santoro and Candelo (2018). This study also responded to the need pointed out by Benites Lázaro and Gremaud (2016) to further understand the insertion of sustainability in the context of Latin America.

This paper aims to analyze farm-level technical inefficiency of rice farming in Assam, India, using a multiple-output generalized stochastic frontier framework.

Primary data for this study were collected in 2009-2010 from 310 farm-households in four non-contiguous districts of Dhubri, Morigaon, Dibrugarh and Cachar that are located in different agro-climatic regions of Assam. Based on a Cobb–Douglas production function for multiple rice varieties, the paper simultaneously estimates the generalized stochastic production frontier and examines effects of exogenous factors on farm-level technical inefficiency.

Results of this study show that the average technical inefficiency of farms is 8.5 per cent in the sample. Further, inefficiency is lower in the frequently flood prone areas, and availability of government support helps reduce such inefficiency as well. However, technical efficiency is higher for the Muslim farm-households, and it decreases with greater land fragmentation. The study also finds that the use of primitive technology like bullock reduces technical efficiency of rice farming.

This paper is based on a novel data set that has specially been collected to examine productivity and efficiency of rice cultivation in the flood plains of Assam that has not been studied before. Further, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one to model rice production as a multiple-output stochastic production frontier and analyze technical efficiency of rice production accordingly.