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The purpose of this paper is to investigate and understand China’s rural farmers’ financing intention of inclusive finance, and it examines related drivers like knowledge of inclusive finance, perceived benefits and perceived risks of ordering finance. Besides, the social enterprise embeddedness and digital finance are integrated into the conceptual model to further investigate their moderating impact.

The authors designed an inclusive finance intention model to examine the relations between dependent variable knowledge of inclusive finance, intermediary variables perceived benefits and perceived risks of ordering finance and the independent variable financing intention of inclusive finance. The embeddedness of social enterprise and digital finance were identified as modifying factors. Both exploratory and conclusive research strategies were applied. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect empirical data from the rural areas of China.

It suggests that knowledge of inclusive finance can strengthen both perceived benefits and perceived risk of ordering finance. Interestingly, the embeddness of social enterprise can significantly reduce risk perceptions and improve perceived benefits of ordering finance. Furthermore, perceived benefits of ordering finance can positively enhance rural farmers’ financing intention of inclusive finance, whereas perceived risks can negatively influence the financing intention. Moreover, digital finance as a modifying factor can significantly strengthen the positive correlation between perceived benefits of ordering finance and financing intention of inclusive finance.

The research indicates that a systematic inclusive finance educational project is needed to enhance rural farmers’ understanding of inclusive finance and its components. Moreover, the study reveals that it is crucial to promote social enterprise participation and digital finance to develop inclusive finance in rural China, as the service attributes of social enterprise and efficiency of digital finance can greatly reduce the existing transaction cost of farmers.

The conceptual model would potentially contribute to researchers interested in investigating the financing intention of inclusive financial services relating to rural population. The integration of social enterprise embeddedness and digital finance is the uniqueness of this research conceptual model.

This study aims to investigate the use of mobile phones in enhancing human capabilities and agricultural development among small-scale farmers in selected rural districts of Tanzania. The study assessed the potential capabilities acquired by farmers, factors that influence farmers in building their capabilities and achieving development outcomes.

The study used Sen’s capability approach as a guiding framework to investigate the link between mobile phones and agricultural development. A case study design was employed whereby focus group discussions were used to collect data.

The use of mobile phone services enabled rural farmers to build their financial, human and social capabilities. Rural farmers faced personal and non-personal conversion factors that influenced them in building capabilities and achieving development outcomes. The use of mobile phones led to various development outcomes. The typical development outcomes were related to access to information and communication services and reduction of transport costs. Rural farmers experienced family conflicts due to protectiveness exercised by couples through the use of mobile phones, criminal incidences such as theft and the fear of being recorded when making a phone call.

The study findings have the potential of influencing policy and practice. The findings are useful in promoting the value of mobile phones usage in empowering rural farmers and communities. The telecommunication sector and other key stakeholders can use the study findings in setting the basis for prioritising the improvement of telecommunication infrastructure in the rural areas.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the impact of a growth enhancement support scheme (GESS) on the enabling environment of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The main aim is to investigate the impact of the GESS on access to rural farm credit and the transport cost of smallholder farmers in the agricultural transformation agenda (ATA) in Nigeria.

This paper adopts a survey research technique, aimed at gathering information from a representative sample of the population, as it is essentially cross-sectional, describing and interpreting the current situation. A total of 1,200 were sampled across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

The results from the use of a double-hurdle model indicate that the GESS has a significant impact on farmers’ access to credit, but does not significantly impact on rural farm transport cost, which subsequently influences the price of food in the country.

This implies that if the Federal Government of Nigeria is to work toward an ideal agricultural transformation agenda, transport networks should be closely aligned with the GESS priorities to provide connectivity to rural areas that provide most of the country’s agricultural output.

This research adds to the literature on the agricultural and rural development debate in developing countries. It concludes that embracing a rural finance and transportation infrastructure should form the foundation of the ATA in Nigeria, which, in turn, would provide a conducive environment for a more widespread rural economy in sub-Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate farmers’ attitudes and behavior toward land titling and to study its potential effects on rural development.

Using household survey data collected from five provinces of China in 2010, this paper assesses farmer’s attitudes toward land titling and examines the potential effects of land titling on rural land transferring and labor migration.

Rural residential land titling has significant effects on farmers’ attitudes toward land transferring and their migration intention. Farmers who have more non-agricultural development opportunities are more likely to welcome land titling. The titling of rural residential land could provide secure property rights for farmers, and thus stimulate them to trade, mortgage their rural residential property, and migrate to urban areas.

Land titling in rural China will probably affect rural land transferring and encourage rural labor migrate to urban, and thus promote rural development.

This paper investigates farmers’ attitudes and behavior toward land titling, and examines its potential effects on rural land transferring and labor migration, based on national survey data. This paper sheds new lights on farmers’ demand for types of land tenure reforms and how these reforms would affect the perceived opportunities available for farmers.

The purpose of this paper is to develop strategies for potential environmental impacts as a result of institutional arrangement and development of oil palm downstream industry both regionally and nationally.

The research location is in the areas potential for oil palm plantation development, either by plasma through BUMN and BUMS or self-supporting by the society. The research location will be divided into two parts, namely, the land area and the coastal area. The Riau land areas are Regency of Kampar, Rokan Hulu, and Kuantan Singingi, while Riau coastal areas are Regency of Pelalawan, Siak, Bengkalis, Indragiri Hilir, Indragiri Hulu and Rokan Hilir. Both research areas have different productivity due to the different soil fertility levels. The sustainability level of oil palm plantation from the socio-economic and environmental aspects is analyzed using the multi-dimensional scaling approach modified into Rapid Appraisal-Index Sustainability of Palm Oil Management.

In Riau Province, the development of oil palm is quite rapid. This is reasonable for several reasons which include the following supporting factors: the geographical condition of the Riau region is very supportive; the high demand for palm oil derivative products; the existence of market guarantee for oil palm farmers; the higher income oil palm generates than other plantation crops; and the relatively flat area. Most of the problems faced by oil palm farmers are the use of less good seeds, the length of the fruit laying at the location of the plantation, the inadequate production road, the relatively far distance to palm oil mill (POM) (National Agency of Drug and Food Control), the tendency of determining the unilateral revenue of the POM, the collectively measurement of revenue and the general revenue information. The development of oil palm plantations has created an entrepreneurial capability for farmers who are able to capture business opportunities in the agricultural sector, especially the plantation sub-sector.

The originality of this paper shows the comprehensively control strategy, potential of environmental impact and palm oil plantation. The method used for data collection was rapid rural appraisal method because accurate information is needed in a limited time as it relates to decisions related to village development that must be taken immediately. The study area was conducted in Riau Province because Riau Province is one of the biggest palm oil producers in Indonesia. The study sites will be divided into two, namely, the land area and the coastal area.

There is a recent growing interest to find a lasting intervention to rural poverty (RP) in developing countries based on farmer entrepreneurship and innovation. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine the relation between entrepreneurship and RP alleviation in two resource-constrained provinces of China. This paper assesses the influence of three capabilities of farm entrepreneurs – educational, economic and socio-cultural – on farmer entrepreneurship growth and how these, in turn, impact alleviation of RP.

Household survey data comprising 363 respondents were taken from four deprived communities in two provinces of China. The paper employed structural equation modeling (SEM), using AMOS 21.0 alongside SPSS 20.0 to test the relations between the constructs.

The results show that a statistically significant and positive relation exists between entrepreneurship and RP alleviation in China. The findings of the study further reveal that qualitative growth of entrepreneurship has a stronger positive influence on RP alleviation than on quantitative growth, and socio-cultural capabilities of respondents significantly and positively affect entrepreneurial growth of farmers, rather than education and economic capabilities.

The use of data from four communities in two provinces tends to limit the ability to generalize the findings of the study. Furthermore, the survey did not collect information on non-farm entrepreneurs, making it impossible to compare the findings from farm entrepreneurs with non-farm entrepreneurs.

The findings have practical implications for policy makers in rural China toward addressing targeted RP. This paper, therefore, suggests that entrepreneurship should be pursued vigorously among farmers in rural areas of China to help solve poverty. The paper also presents a useful lesson for various stakeholders in poverty alleviation programs in other developing countries.

This paper contributes to the academic literature on the entrepreneurship–RP alleviation nexus by combining the theory of capability and SEM in the analysis of an emerging economy such as China.

The purpose of this paper is sixfold: first, to know the ability of area carrying capacity to the development of downstream oil palm industry; second, to know the potential for the development of downstream oil palm industry in efforts to improve the community through employment and business opportunities in the regions; third, to find eco-friendly institutional arrangement strategies of oil palm farming in order to spur economic growth and development; fourth, to formulate strategies for potential environmental impact as a result of institutional arrangement and development of downstream oil palm industry, both in regional and national scope; fifth, to predict the economic multiplier effect as impact of institutional arrangement and development of oil-palm-based downstream industry; and sixth, to include production centers and development areas of oil-palm-based downstream industry in potential areas.

Research location was in potential areas of oil palm plantation development, either in the form of plasma through state-owned enterprises (BUMN) and private-owned enterprises (BUMS), or in the form of self-supporting by community. The research locations were divided into two parts, namely the land area and the coastal area. The land area of Riau consisted of Kampar, Rokan Hulu and Kuantan Singingi Regency, while the coastal area of Riau consisted of Pelalawan, Siak, Bengkalis, Indragiri Hilir, Indragiri Hulu and Rokan Hilir Regency. Both research areas had different productivity which was caused by differences in soil fertility. The required data were primary and secondary data.

Plantation activities have increased the mobility of goods in the villages, causing plantation activities to also open business and employment opportunities for people who are able to accept these opportunities. Since post-1998 crisis, the growth of oil palm plantation area in Riau increased sharply, namely in 1998, the area of oil palm plantations was 901,276 ha, in 2012, 1,119,798 ha and increased to 2,103,175 ha at the end of 2017. Through economic activities that produce goods and services required during the plantation process and the development, downstream industries will have backward linkages. The development of oil palm plantations in Riau has had an impact on economic activities in rural areas. The result of the research in the field is that the average income of farmers in the plantation subsector (especially oil palm) is Rp4,576,696 per month or $5,781.09 per year. The impact on investment in the estate subsector has been felt by rural communities. This condition also affects the purchasing power of the people, resulting in the increase of mobility of goods and people. During the period 2009–2016, rural communities enjoyed a high level of prosperity. During this period, the price of fresh fruit bunch at the farm level was quite profitable. On the other hand, the production of the plantation area also increased compared to the previous period. The impact of rising prices and increasing production of farmers is that the farmers’ welfare index in the countryside had a positive value of 0.43. This index showed the increase of farmers’ welfare from the previous period by 43 percent.

There are few previous studies which have comprehensively and specifically reviewed the regional economic empowerment through institutional arrangement and development of oil-palm-based downstream industry. The development of oil palm plantations aims to eliminate poverty and underdevelopment, especially in rural areas. In addition, it also pays attention to equity. In broad sense, agricultural development which is based on plantations aims to improve the welfare of the community so that there is a change in the pattern of life of the surrounding community. On the other hand, the success of plantation development that is based on oil palm agribusiness is expected to reduce income inequality between community groups and between regions.

Agriculture knowledge, market intelligence, emerging business model.

It is best suited to teach undergraduates and graduates in the areas of rural marketing, agri-business management, service management and information and communication technology for development.

India is changing with great pace by inclusive growth on espousal of technology into the mainstream. Indian farmers are wholly depending even now on traditional methods for decision making on entire agriculture supply chain. The constant decision making provides middle men with a chance to exploit and empower themselves on the returns produced by farmers. Technology is creating waves providing an opportunity for farmers to benefit by adopting information and technology to solve their basic livelihood problems. The Thomson Reuter group launched a SMS-based mobile information service to support India's 250-million-strong agricultural community. The service, named Reuters Market Light (RML), is trying to provide a missing link by providing required information in the quickest possible time to farmers; user need-based services are critical to this. How far RML services are delivering in this context is quizzed by some analysts. Thomson Reuter's service started with the global climb down in commodity prices, coupled with increased risk of natural disasters as per experts. The competitors providing similar services at price which differ with RML wondered about the success, scalability and sustainability of its venture.

This is a practical view of how these interventions can be better looked at and can get into policy for a framework for rural areas' socio-economic development.

Teaching notes.

Effective farmer participation in the rural land consolidation process has become increasingly important because it improves results in rural land consolidation and land use efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanism of farmers’ effective participation in Chinese rural land consolidation.

The authors empirically assess farmers’ effective participation in the rural land consolidation process in ten counties of China’s Hubei province. Focusing on an effective decision-making model, the authors comprehensively evaluated farmer participation using surveys that incorporated an index system and analyzed survey results using a structural equation model to examine factors that influenced farmer’s effective participation.

The results of the study suggest that the correlations between farmers’ effective participation and the impacting factors the authors proposed were particularly strong. In addition, participation ability, participation opportunity and participation incentive are strongly associated with effective farmer participation. Thus, the authors highlight that incentives should be provided to encourage farmers’ effective participation in rural land consolidation.

Because of the chosen approach and the set of the research object, the geographic context of the empirical survey work was limited; furthermore, the authors only studied the influencing factors at the individual level, leaving the interaction effects between governmental factors and farmer individual factors inadequately explained.

Despite those limitations, these results serve as an important reference for government agencies and stakeholder groups in rural land consolidation decision making.

The purpose of this study is to uncover ground truth insights underlying the agriculture crisis from the perspectives of rural farmers in North-East Nigeria. The needs of individual farmers are otherwise not adequately reflected in national or regional economic development strategies.

A unique sequential mixed-methods research design was adopted for this study. A grounded theory approach was used for the literature review followed by a consensual qualitative research (CQR) technique. Data were collected through a semi-structured sense-making focus group (FG) held at a field site with agricultural extension workers. The CQR technique included brainstorming, the nominal group technique, open discussions, sense-making and consensual agreement on the most important ideas. The FG sense-making was recorded, and discourse analysis was conducted to develop thematic concept maps using NVivo software.

Agriculture crisis ground truth insight themes were consistent with the extant literature but several different issues were also found. Rural farmers in North-East Nigeria have significant challenges with government support in six core areas, namely, farm input quality and dissemination, fair input subsidization, training, market facilitation, corruption and insecurity.

The target population of this study was rural farmers in Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria. A relatively small sample of 16 agricultural extension workers – very experienced farmers who also act as mentors and are paid incentives by the government for doing so – was used.

In tackling the agriculture crisis in Nigeria, policymakers will do well to recognize the realities that the rural farmers face and their needs, the government must address the areas highlighted in this study where support for farmers lacks and urgently review the current process of farm inputs dissemination.

Agriculture crisis problems were explored from the perspectives of rural North-East Nigerian farmers, who have not been previously sampled due to cultural, language, literacy and schedule constraints. The extension workers were better able to communicate agriculture crisis insights in modern economic planning terminology because they are well-educated farmers, knowledgeable about the problems due to their field experience and because they have more flexible work schedules. A unique sequential mixed-methods constructivist research design was used with an embedded CQR technique, which would be of interest to scholars and research institutions.