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This chapter aims to estimate the impact of the use of an innovative cultivation method on the social, economic and environmental aspects in the French region Aix-en-Provence, by using the survey data for 200 heterogeneous vegetable producers (organic and conventional). It distinguishes three types of producers in the French region Aix-en-Provence. First, conventional producers (n = 100) who used a high level of mechanization, better access to water, high yield, high labor costs. Second, certified organic producers (n = 70) who used organic technologies such as biotechnology and rotation, low yield, high organic product price compared to conventional products, a family workforce and high transport. Third, noncertified organic producers (n = 30) have used the same technologies as certified organic producers, while they sell their products at the same price as conventional products. Labor is the member of the family. These noncertified farms are marked by high operating and transport costs and low yield compared to conventional producers or certified organic producers. The results show that this cultivation method has a positive effect on the environmental aspect, however a negative one on the social and economic aspect.

This study aims to explore the smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change and its adaptation options (changing crop variety; improved crop and livestock; soil and water conservation [SWC]; and irrigation practices) and drought indices in the Dire Dawa Administration Zone, Eastern Ethiopia.

A cross-sectional household survey was used. A structured interview schedule for respondent households for key informants and focus group discussions were used. This study used both descriptive statistics and an econometric model. The model was used to compute the determinants of climate adaptation options in the study area. Drought characterization was carried out by DrinC software.

The results revealed households adapted to selected adaptation options. The model results confirmed that education level, farm size, tropical livestock units (TLUs) and access to agricultural extension services have positive and significant impacts on changing crop variety by 0.0014%, 0.045%, 0.032% and 0.035%, respectively. The likelihood of farmers’ decisions to use adaptation strategies (family size, TLU, agricultural extension service and distance from the market) has positive and significant impacts on SWC. The reconnaissance drought index (RDI6) of ONDJFM and AMJJAS showed extreme and severe drought index values of −2.88 and −1.96, respectively.

This study used a locally adopted climate change adaptation intervention for smallholder farmers, revealing the importance of drought characterization indices both seasonally and annually.

Climate change and its imminent threat to human survival adversely impact the agriculture sector. In an impoverished country like The Gambia, economic costs of climate change are colossal. This study aims to establish a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for The Gambia’s agriculture sector to examine the effects of climate change on crops, livestock and sea-level rise.

This study used a CGE model with other climate change impact models to compute the impacts of climate change on The Gambia’s agriculture sector. The social accounting matrix calibrates the results from the various models, thereby generating the baseline results which exemplify a “steady-state” and policy shock results illustrating the medium- and long-term effects of climate change on the country’s agriculture sector.

The baseline results indicate the status quo showing the neglect of the agriculture sector due to limited investment in the sector. Hence, the sector is the “hardest hit” sector as a result of climate change. When the model factored in climate change in the medium term (2055) and long term (2085), the macroeconomic indicators of gross domestic product, national savings, wages, disposable income and consumer price index deteriorated, elucidating the vulnerability of the economy to climate change. The consumption of groundnuts, cattle and fish will decline by 5%, 5% and 4%, respectively, in the long term. However, the production of all agricultural commodities will decline by an average of 35% for the same period. The results for international trade show that exportation would decline while importation will increase over time. The general price level for agricultural commodities would increase by 3% in 2055 and 5% in 2085. Generally, the results manifest the severity of climate change in the agriculture sector which will have a multiplier effect on the economy. The impact of climate change would result in agriculture and economic decline causing hunger, poverty and human misery.

The caveat of this study revealed the nuances not captured by previous Gambian climate change studies, thus the novelty of the study.

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

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.

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.

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

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

The agricultural sector is a critical component of global economic development, and its significance has grown significantly in recent years. The risks associated with agriculture and the behaviors of farmers in handling these risks are becoming increasingly important, given the sector’s increasing dependence worldwide. Various activities related to agriculture are vulnerable to multiple risks, which can have severe consequences for farmers’ livelihoods. The purpose of this systematic review is to present a comprehensive analysis of the sources of risk faced by farmers and their choices in adopting risk management strategies worldwide.

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol was utilized to select relevant literature, and a total of 102 studies were analyzed. Through the use of Venn diagrams and graphical methods, the authors provide a transparent overview of the risks faced by farmers and the adoption of risk management strategies in developed and developing countries.

From the analysis, the authors found that, in terms of risk management strategies, diversification, reserve credit and accumulated assets are frequently used in developing countries, while developed countries tend to rely on future/forward contracts, crop insurance and hedging. Diversification is the most widely used risk management strategy across both developed and developing countries. Our study also highlights the different perceptions of weather-related risks among growers in developed and developing countries.

This systematic review provides valuable insights into the risks associated with agriculture and farmers' strategies in managing these risks, which could inform policy decisions and promote sustainable agricultural practices. For instance, understanding the individualistic nature of farmers' risk perception and the varying risk sources and management strategies depending on the locality and provide assistance to the farmers accordingly.

The paper explains how farmers behave during uncertainty in terms of risk perception and their decision to adopt risk management strategies in developed and developing countries.

The emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are transforming various industries, including agriculture. Unaware, young male and female farmers leave the agriculture profession as they perform unsustainable practices. Precision agriculture using the Internet of Things (IoT) is a solution to sustainable agriculture. Extension professionals are at the heart of disseminating agricultural advisory agricultural services in India. The discourse on the IoT is entering the space of extension advisory services (EASs) and social sciences. Thus, the present paper seeks to review the application of IoT in Indian agriculture, its challenges and its effect on EASs. The conceptual framework is drawn from disruptive and surveillance capitalist theories.

Online literature review was conducted on electronic e-book Ebsco, Google scholar, PubMed, Jane, j gate, research4life, springer journal and Mendeley databases for full-text repositories, textbook, thesis, web articles, newspaper articles, reports, blogs for the year 1990 to May 2021 using keywords “IoT application in agriculture,” “emerging technologies in agriculture,” “challenges in IoT application,” “extension advisory services sources of information,” “big data and extension advisory, “IoT and extension advisory in India.” Only publications in the English language were included.

IoT aids progressive farmers and small farmers alike. Drones, robotics, precision irrigation, livestock tracking and crop disease surveillance are examples of IoT applications in agriculture. Only large corporations and governments access IoT, and for them, big data storage is an issue. Privacy and security concerns demand upgrades in IoT systems. Solutions to the convergence of IoT with the cloud will leverage agricultural EASs, resulting in fast computing, precise and proactive up-to-date problem solving. Hence, the need for communication between firms and clients has ceased. Thus, the jobs of extension agents are replaced.

The competence of future human extension agents lies in reskilling as a “knowledge broker” of relationships and expertise, as s/he cannot have all multidisciplinary knowledge.

Although IoT applications in agriculture are available from a technological standpoint, there remains an awareness gap regarding the impact of IoT applications in agricultural EASs. This study will aid in a better comprehension of IoT applications from current and prospective EASs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of climate smart agriculture knowledge transfers. As well as to examine the application of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) knowledge such as conservation agriculture, irrigation systems, integrated soil fertility management, bioenergy and agroforestry by smallholder farmers in Kenya.

The study applied comparative research methodology to compare climate smart agriculture knowledge application between smallholder participants in farmer field schools (FFS) and no FFS participation. This study used household data from 759 randomly selected rural agricultural households in three counties in Kenya. The study applied multivariate probit model to estimate CSA knowledge application by farmers who participated in field trainings and non-FFS participation farmers.

This study established that climate smart agriculture knowledge transfer through FFS increases farmers’ application of critical aspects of climate smart agriculture knowledge practices such as irrigation system, conservation agriculture and soil and water conservation. Such aspects have been noted as effective interventions against adverse climate change effects such as persistent droughts and flooding and soil infertility. Further findings illustrated that farmers who received CSA knowledge transfers applied agricultural insurance to mitigate rising climatic risks on their farms. Knowledge transfer interventions targeting affordability through subsidizing agricultural insurance are probable and more cost-effective measures that can be used to reduce smallholder farmers’ exposure to climate change-related risks.

This study provides information that was previously unknown about climate smart agriculture knowledge transfers and application among farmers who participated in field trainings and non-FFS participation farmers by using empirical data.

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.

This paper's purpose is to explore the current interest and knowledge that UK consumers hold around agroforestry. Despite the many reported benefits of agroforestry systems, uptake in the UK, as well as other temperate nations, has been low. As the consumer has a role to play in the transition of agriculture to methods that are more environmentally friendly it is vital to have an understanding of their perceptions. Yet to date no work has looked at agroforestry from the perspective of the UK consumer.

An online survey was conducted using a convenience sample accessed by floating a link through social media and messaging apps. The survey was also shared to the members of a private Facebook group associated with an organic vegetable box service. A mix of multiple choice and open text boxes were used. The survey received 139 responses.

Non-parametric tests indicate that this sample of UK consumers would be mostly likely to buy, and willing to pay more for, agroforestry produce; and the sample showed a split group regarding familiarity. Inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data highlighted some important barriers to the purchase as well as capturing a snapshot of this sample's perceptions.

This paper presents, to the authors knowledge, the first set of data regarding a sample of UK consumers' perspective of agroforestry produce. The findings could bolster producers' confidence in adopting agroforestry practices, but also highlight the need for policymakers to bolster consumer support through parallel means.

This study aims to discuss climate change, by modifying the timing of several agricultural operations, reduce the efficiency and yield of inputs leading to a lower production level. The reduction of the effects of climate change on production yields and on farmers' technical efficiency (TE) requires the adoption of adaptation strategies. This paper analyses the impact of climate change adaptation strategies adopted on maize farmers' TE in Benin.

This paper uses an endogeneity-corrected stochastic production frontier approach based on data randomly collected from 354 farmers located in three different agro-ecological zones of Benin.

Estimation results revealed that the adoption of adaptation strategies improve maize farmers' TE by 1.28%. Therefore, polices to improve farmers' access to climate change adaptation strategies are necessarily for the improvement of farmers' TE and yield.

The results of this study contribute to the policy debate on the enhancement of food security by increasing farmers' TE through easy access to climate change adaptation strategies. The improvement of farmers' TE will in turn improve the livelihoods of the communities and therefore contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2 and 13.

This study contributes to theoretical and empirical debate on the relationship between adaptation to climate change and farmers' TE. It also adapts a new methodology (endogeneity-corrected stochastic production frontier approach) to correct the endogeneity problem due to the farmers' adaptation decision.