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1 – 10 of 582Xi 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.
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Abebe Hambe Talema and Wubshet Berhanu Nigusie
This study aims to investigate key aspects of public ownership of land, expropriation and compensation laws and practices in Ethiopia with special reference to Burayu Town.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate key aspects of public ownership of land, expropriation and compensation laws and practices in Ethiopia with special reference to Burayu Town.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed research technique of descriptive and analytic approach is applied in the research. This study used a purposive sampling technique to select case study counties and a systematic method for sampling households. Questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions, interviews and observations were used to collect empirical data. Average, percentage and paired-sample t-test analyses are used for quantitative data analysis.
Findings
Significant discrepancies exist between the expropriation laws and how property valuation and compensation are practiced in Ethiopia. The findings include the arbitrariness in designating public interest status to projects; unfair property valuation practice that neglects location factor to determine market value due to a skewed understanding of public ownership of land; and the assignment of property valuators who have no valuation expertise and proper knowledge of expropriation related laws. Findings revealed the socio-economic status of expropriated households has deteriorated due to the expropriation of their landholding.
Research limitations/implications
It was difficult to locate the relocated persons as they were resettled in different localities. Furthermore, the town officers were not forthcoming to provide complete information on the expropriation and compensation procedures they followed. However, this study overcame the limitations through persistent requests and availing time for the data gathering.
Practical implications
The findings indicated the need to redefine relationships between public ownership of land, public interest and expropriation of landholding. A proper understanding of the triad will pave the way for better expropriation practice in Ethiopia and in countries where land is under public ownership.
Social implications
The social implication of the study revealed that the socio-economic situation of relocated persons was adversely affected due to the poor implementation of laws.
Originality/value
The disparity between public ownership of land and the rights of citizens on landholding is misunderstood by policymakers. Research has shown for the first time the root cause for the discontent of expropriated persons in Ethiopia.
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Christian Lukineyo Joshi, Helene Maisonnave, Robert Luanda Baroki and Anastasie Bulumba Mariam
The purpose of this study was to show how pro-gender public policies in the agricultural sectors can contribute to the reduction of gender inequalities in the labour market and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to show how pro-gender public policies in the agricultural sectors can contribute to the reduction of gender inequalities in the labour market and the diversification of the Congolese economy.
Design/methodology/approach
Computable general equilibrium model that has been adapted to the Congolese economy from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)'s SAM.
Findings
The results reveal that policies of increasing women's land allocation and government cash transfers to rural female households contribute to the reduction of inequalities in the labour market. However, only the policy of increasing women’s land allocation improves economic diversification.
Research limitations/implications
The implementation of the policy of government cash transfers to rural women's households comes at a cost to the government. Future studies to look at the most effective mode of financing for this policy. Moreover, the policy of increasing women's land allocation is feasible in the DRC as there is a lot of unused arable land available.
Social implications
In Pillar 1 of the National Strategic Development Plan (PNSD) on Economic Diversification and Transformation, the policy of increasing land allocation to women could be added to the objectives related to strengthening the contribution of agriculture to economic growth and employment creation. In Pillar 3 of the PNSD on Social Development and Human Resource Development, the policy of increasing land allocation to women as well as the policy of increasing government transfers to female rural households could be added to the objectives related to the promotion of employment of youth, women and vulnerable groups.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind for the DRC, which highlights the impact of pro-gender policies on women's employment, particularly in the agricultural sectors and in the diversification of the Congolese economy. This study contributes to policy orientation in DRC. The two policies (increasing land allocation to women and cash transfers to rural women) analysed in this study were chosen in light of the DRC's National Strategic Plan, the first phase of which focuses on promoting employment for vulnerable groups and economic diversification through the development of agricultural sectors.
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Peng Peng and Zhigang Xu
Large-scale farm management in China has developed rapidly in recent years. Large-scale farmers face substantial operating risks, requiring extensive price risk management…
Abstract
Purpose
Large-scale farm management in China has developed rapidly in recent years. Large-scale farmers face substantial operating risks, requiring extensive price risk management. However, the agricultural insurance and futures markets in China are incomplete. This study aims to analyze the price-risk-management behaviors of large-scale farmers under incomplete market conditions, with a focus on the interconnections between large scale farmers' subjective preferences (risk preferences, time preferences), liquidity constraints and their price risk management.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors construct an analysis framework to reveal the impact of large-scale farmers' risk preferences, time preferences and liquidity conditions on their price-risk-management behaviors under incomplete market conditions. Using data from field surveys and subjective preference experiments involving 409 large-scale grain farmers in China, an empirical analysis was conducted using the bivariate probit model.
Findings
The results show that risk-averse farmers will use risk transfer (such as contract farming) and risk diversification (such as multi-period sales) to avoid price risk. However, farmers subject to liquidity constraints and strong time preferences will not choose risk diversification, and the interaction between time preferences and liquidity constraints will strengthen this decision. The larger the farm-management scale, the greater the impact.
Originality/value
The authors focus on rapidly developed large-scale farm management in China. Appropriate price risk management is required by large-scale farmers due to their substantial operating risks. Considering the incomplete conditions of agricultural insurance and futures markets, the results of this study will help identify behavioral characteristics of large-scale farmers and optimize their price-risk-management strategies, further stabilizing large-scale farm management.
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Since 2017, China's digital economy has accounted for more than 30% of the country's GDP. The digital economy has become the main driving force of China's economic development…
Abstract
Purpose
Since 2017, China's digital economy has accounted for more than 30% of the country's GDP. The digital economy has become the main driving force of China's economic development. Moreover, the digital economy has also changed the traditional modes of production and distribution between urban and rural areas. This paper aims to explore the influential mechanism of digital economy infrastructure (DEI) on the urban-rural income gap (URIG).
Design/methodology/approach
By analyzing the theoretical model of the URIG, this paper constructs a theoretical analysis framework and clarifies the key roles of rural land circulation (RLC) and resident population urbanization (RPU) in the relationship between DEI and the URIG.
Findings
The DEI can effectively reduce the URIG; the regression coefficient (RC) was −0.109. The reduction effect is mainly reflected in: 1) the wage income gap between urban and rural residents (RC = −0.128) and 2) the net property income gap of urban and rural residents (RC = −0.321). Also, for the spatial spillover effect, the path effect of “DEI – RLC – URIG” is almost equal to the path effect of “DEI – RPU – URIG”; for the local effect, the path effect of the former is far smaller than the latter. Moreover, when the RPU reaches the threshold of 86.29%, the DEI will expand the URIG (RC = 0.201).
Originality/value
This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the impact of DEI on the URIG, explores the mechanism of RLC and RPU in the DEI and URIG and enriches the theory of traditional research on URIG.
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Zhuoer Yao, Zi Kan, Daochun Li, Haoyuan Shao and Jinwu Xiang
The purpose of this paper is to solve the challenging problem of automatic carrier landing with the presence of environmental disturbances. Therefore, a global fast terminal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to solve the challenging problem of automatic carrier landing with the presence of environmental disturbances. Therefore, a global fast terminal sliding mode control (GFTSMC) method is proposed for automatic carrier landing system (ACLS) to achieve safe carrier landing control.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the framework of ACLS is established, which includes flight glide path model, guidance model, approach power compensation system and flight controller model. Subsequently, the carrier deck motion model and carrier air-wake model are presented to simulate the environmental disturbances. Then, the detailed design steps of GFTSMC are provided. The stability analysis of the controller is proved by Lyapunov theorems and LaSalle’s invariance principle. Furthermore, the arrival time analysis is carried out, which proves the controller has fixed time convergence ability.
Findings
The numerical simulations are conducted. The simulation results reveal that the proposed method can guarantee a finite convergence time and safe carrier landing under various conditions. And the superiority of the proposed method is further demonstrated by comparative simulations and Monte Carlo tests.
Originality/value
The GFTSMC method proposed in this paper can achieve precise and safe carrier landing with environmental disturbances, which has important referential significance to the improvement of ACLS controller designs.
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Neeru Bhooshan, Amarjeet Singh, Akriti Sharma and K.V. Prabhu
The role of Technology Transfer Units, examined in this study, was found to be vital to expedite the process of disseminating new varieties and their production technology.
Abstract
Purpose
The role of Technology Transfer Units, examined in this study, was found to be vital to expedite the process of disseminating new varieties and their production technology.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 1,000 households were surveyed in the sampled states. A probit model was used to analyse.
Findings
Age, education, land holding, tractor use and number of working family members in agriculture were found to significantly affecting adoption of the new seed varieties. Technology transfer through licensing has impacted the adoption of new seed varieties positively by highlighting Punjab possessing the highest adoption and western Uttar Pradesh was majorly adopting the old variety.
Research limitations/implications
The authors believed in farmers’ memory to recall the varietal information of wheat.
Practical implications
The study recommended various incentives to attract the seed industry in UP to minimize the economic loss potentially suffered by them.
Social implications
Quality seeds are germane to increase the productivity of crops, and it is paramount to disburse the seed varieties to the end users in an efficient way to achieve the overall objective of productivity enhancement.
Originality/value
In this context, a study was conducted in three states of India, namely, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to find out the adoption rate of newly developed varieties of wheat, HD 3086 after three years (2014–2015) of its commercialization by IARI as well as HD 2967, which was released in 2011.
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Anthony Owusu-Ansah, Lewis Abedi Asante and Zaid Abubakari
There is a long-standing debate about the relationship between land title registration and tenure security. Studies in the developing world point to a tenuous link between land…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a long-standing debate about the relationship between land title registration and tenure security. Studies in the developing world point to a tenuous link between land registration and stable land tenure. The reason why people continue to register therefore becomes a mystery if tenure security is not entirely assured. This article focuses on the increase in property value as one such factor that induces title registration. Previous studies have quantified the economic impact of title registration on property values. However, the impact varies from city or country to another. The authors seek to investigate the extent of property value increment in Accra attributable to land title registration.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors statistically analyzed a data set from two institutions (First National Bank and the Lands Commission) in Ghana using a quantitative technique.
Findings
The authors discovered that, holding all other factors constant, the value of the land in Accra increases by 22.6% due to land title registration. This shows that lessees must register to enhance property values, even though the essential due diligence must be done to make sure the acquisition is free from liens and legal disputes.
Practical implications
This article highlights the implication of the findings for land administration as well as the practice of property valuation, development and brokerage in Ghana and Global South more broadly.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies in Ghana to investigate the specific premium that housing markets put on land title registration.
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Kim Moloney, Gwenda Jensen and Rayna Stoycheva
This study asks whether external auditors enable the transfer of policies to the United Nations organizations that they audit and, if so, what types of policies are transferred.
Abstract
Purpose
This study asks whether external auditors enable the transfer of policies to the United Nations organizations that they audit and, if so, what types of policies are transferred.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical research is based on a content analysis of 512 external auditor recommendations from 28 pre- and post-accrual reports of 14 UN bodies.
Findings
We find that external auditors do enable policy transfer and that such involvements may, at times, veer into non-neutral policy spaces.
Research limitations/implications
We did not analyze all UN organizations with accruals-based accounting. We also did not engage in a longer longitudinal study.
Practical implications
Our findings raise new questions about international organization accountability, the technocratic and policy-specific influences of external auditors, and open a debate about whether attempted policy transfers can be neutral.
Originality/value
The world’s largest group of international organizations is affiliated with the UN. External auditors help ensure that member-state monies are appropriately utilized. Our study is the first to compare pre- and post-accrual external auditor recommendations for 14 UN bodies. It is also the first to notate and study the attempted policy transfers from external auditors to the audited UN bodies.
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Shahin Rajaei Qazlue, Ahmad Mehrabian, Kaveh Khalili-Damghani and Mohammad Amirkhan
Because of the importance of the wheat industry in the economy, a real-featured performance measurement approach is essential for the wheat production process. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Because of the importance of the wheat industry in the economy, a real-featured performance measurement approach is essential for the wheat production process. The purpose of this paper is to develop a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that is fully compatible with the wheat production process so that managers and farmers can use it to evaluate the efficiency of wheat farms for strategic decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
A dynamic multi-stage network DEA model is developed to evaluate the efficiency of wheat production farms in short-term (two-year) and long-term (eight-year) periods.
Findings
The results of this study show that because of the lack of long-term planning and excessive reliance on rain, most of the investigated regions have no stability in efficiency, and the efficiency of the regions changes in a zigzag manner over time. Among studied regions, only the Hashtrood region has high and stable efficiency, and other regions can follow the example of this region's cultivation method.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first one that uses the dynamic multi-stage network DEA considering every other year cultivation method and direct–indirect inputs in the agricultural section.
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