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The purpose of this paper is to assess the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and its implication on improving the farming household food security status, their resilience and livelihood risk management of farmers.

This systematic review has followed procedures to accomplish the review, including literature searches, screening studies, data extraction, synthesis and presentation of the data.

Based on the result of the review, the determinants of CSA adoption can be categorized into five categories, including demographic factors (age, sex, family size, dependency ratio, education), economic factors (land size, household income, livestock ownership), institutional factors (extension services, training access, credit services, farm input, market distance), environmental factors (agroecology, change in precipitation, slope of land) and social factors (cooperatives membership, farmers perception). The result also shows that applying CSA practices has an indispensable role on increasing productivity, food security, income, building resilient livelihoods, minimizing production risk and alleviating poverty. This concluded CSA practice has a multidimensional role in the livelihood of agrarian population like Ethiopia, yet its adoption was constrained by several factors.

This review mainly emphasizes on the most commonly practiced CSA strategies that are examined by different scholars.

Sustainable development is inseparable from rational and responsible use of resources and promotion of green entrepreneurship. The contemporary green development agenda encompasses climate, economic, technical, social, cultural, and political dimensions. International efforts to greening the global development are conducted by the major economies, including China as the world’s largest consumer of energy and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. China is aware of its environmental problems, as well as of its part of the overall responsibility for the accomplishment of the sustainable development goals. By means of the decarbonization efforts, the latter are integrated both into the national development agenda (the concept of ecological civilization) and China’s international initiatives (the greening narrative within the Belt and Road Initiative). Over the past decade, China has made a breakthrough on the way to promoting green entrepreneurship and greening of its development (better quality of air and water, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and organic farming). On the other hand, emissions remain high, agricultural land loses productivity, and freshwater resources degrade due to climate change. In conventional industries (oil, coal mining, and electric and thermal energy), decarbonization faces an array of impediments. In this chapter, the authors summarize fundamental provisions of China’s approach to building an ecological civilization and measures to reduce emissions and achieve the carbon neutrality status within the nearest decades. The analysis of obstacles to the decarbonization of the economy and possible prospects for the development of green entrepreneurship summarizes China’s practices for possible use in other countries.

This study aims to understand how climatic drivers of change will affect rural communities living in the hot semiarid region of Bhokardan Taluka of Jalna district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. In the context of the economic and social change they are experiencing, the concern is to evolve ways that enable them to cope with, adapt to and benefit from these challenges.

The focus of most of the climate change studies is on the short- to long-term trends of weather parameters such as rainfall, temperature and extreme weather events. The impact of climate variability and changing patterns on the local communities, the local economy, livelihoods and social life in specific geographies is less explored.

As the impacts of climatic and nonclimatic drivers of change are cross-sectoral, diverse, multidimensional, interlinked and dynamic, this study has adopted a transdisciplinary “research-in-use” approach involving multidisciplinary teams covering the aspects such as changes in land use and land cover, surface and groundwater status, edaphic conditions, crops and livestock, climate analysis including projected changes, socioeconomic analysis, people’s experience of climate variability and their current coping strategies and resilience (vulnerability) analysis of communities and various livelihood groups.

The study was based on the peoples’ perspective and recommendation based on the local communities ability to cope up with climate change. However, a statistical analysis perspective is missing in the present study.

Based on these findings, a set of implementation-focused recommendations are made that are aimed at conserving and enhancing the resilience of the foundations that uphold and sustain the social and economic well-being of the rural communities in Bhokardan taluka, namely, land, water, agriculture, livestock, food and nutrition security, livelihoods, market access and social capital.

This paper investigates the ways digital media applications in rural areas have transformed the influence of social networks (SN) on farmers' adoption of various climate change mitigation measures (CCMM), and explores the key mechanisms behind this transformation.

The study analyzes data from 1,002 farmers’ surveys. First, a logit model is used to measure the impact of SN on the adoption of different types of CCMM. Then, the interaction term between digital media usage (DMU) and SN is introduced to analyze the moderating effect of digital media on the impact of SN. Finally, a conditional process model is used to explore the mediating mechanism of agricultural socialization services (ASS) and the validity of information acquisition (VIA).

The results reveal that: (1) SN significantly promotes the adoption of CCMM and the marginal effect of this impact varies with different kinds of technologies. (2) DMU reinforces the effectiveness of SN in promoting farmers' adoption of CCMM. (3) The key mechanisms of the process in (2) are the ASS and the VIA.

This study shows that in the context of DMU, SN’s promotion effect on farmers' adoption of CCMM is strengthened.

Agriculture is a vital sector for every country, especially for a country like India, where the majority of the population is dependent on agriculture as their earning source. Technological improvements in agriculture will increase output with proper forecasting of input resources. In this study, the author tries to investigate the attitude of end users (farmers) about the use of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies.

The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model is used to assess the behavioral aspects. The significance of socioeconomic and technological factors is highlighted, providing the study with a thorough understanding of farmers' decision-making processes. A research questionnaire was developed for data collection, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the results using AMOS and SPSS software.

A total of 371 survey responses were collected. The results demonstrate that the hypothesis regarding UTAUT model components is validated, while several mediating hypotheses are not supported, indicating that they are not significant in farmers' decision-making.

In this study, socioeconomic and technological factors are considered to be mediating and moderating elements between the constructs of the UTAUT model. Increasing the accuracy and reliability of our study by integrating mediating and moderating variables. This study assists industry specialists in understanding the elements that farmers consider while switching toward new technologies.

The research attempts to estimate how the use of WeChat, the most popular mobile social networking application in contemporary China, affects rural household income.

Our materials are 4,552 rural samples from the Chinese General Social Survey, and a treatment effect (TE) model is employed to address the endogeneity of WeChat usage.

The results prove that WeChat usage has a statistically significant and positive correlation with rural household income. This conclusion remains robust after using alternative variables to replace the explanatory and dependent variables. Our research provides two channels through which WeChat usage boosts rural household income, namely, it can promote their off-farm employment and participation in investment activities.

Theoretically, the study provides several micro-evidences for understanding the impact of mobile social networks on rural household welfare. Further, our findings may shed light on the importance of digital technology applications in rural poverty alleviation for developing countries.

Artificial Intelligence-based smart farming technologies have brought impressive changes in farming. This paper aims at exploring the farmers’ intention to adopt smart farming technologies (SFT). Also, the authors intend to know how far the belief of farmers on land as God influences their decision to adopt SFT.

The data were gathered from 500 farmers chosen purposively. A well-crafted survey instrument was employed to amass data from farmers for measuring their adoption of SFT. As the authors sought to measure the farmers’ behavioural intention (BI) towards the adoption of SFT, the technology acceptance model developed by Davis (1989) came in handy, including perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU) and BI. The authors have adopted this model as it was considered a superior model. The items on the attitude of confidence (AC) were adapted from Adrian et al. (2005). Survey instruments of Thompson and Higgins (1991) and Compeau and Higgins (1995) were also referred to finalize the statements relating to attitude towards use. Moreover, the authors developed items relating to the perceived belief of land as God based on frequent interaction with the farmers.

The study results divulged that attitude to use (AU) is directly influenced by the rural farmers’ PU, PEU and AC. Similarly, this investigation has observed behaviour intention directly influenced by the AU of farmers. It is observed that AU was the most influential variable, which ultimately influenced the BI to use SFT.

This study has an important limitation in the form of representing only the culture, belief and value system of farmers in India.

The outcome of this study will facilitate the policymakers to draw suitable policy measures keeping the sensitivities of the farmers in mind in their technology adoption drive. The agricultural officers can encourage farmers to take logical decisions by supplying adequate information in a time-bound manner. Marketers can make suitable adjustments in their sales and promotion activities that focus on farmers.

The belief of farmers on land as God has a small yet unmissable influence on farmers’ AU and BI in their technology adoption decision. Based on the above evidence, the authors recommend that marketers fine-tune their product design, product packaging and promotional activities keeping the belief and sensitivities of farmers at the core of their marketing campaign.

This article provides original insights by demonstrating the positive influence of PU, PEU and AC on technology adoption by farmers. This research is the first of a kind linking the belief of farmers on land as God with smart farming technology adoption in farming.

This study investigates the impact of board funds, banking credit, and economic development on food production in the context of South Asian economies (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal).

This study used data from the World Development Indicators covering the years 1991–2019. To investigate the relationship between the variables of the study, we employed the panel unit root test, panel cointegration test, cross-sectional dependence test, fully modified least squares (FMOLS), and panel dynamic least squares (DOLS) estimators.

The empirical results indicate that board funding significantly increase food production; however, banking credit had a negative impact. Furthermore, the findings indicate that economic development, Arable land, fertilizer consumption, and agricultural employment play a leading role in enhancing food production. The results of the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test also show substantiated the significance of the causal relationship among all variables.

South Asian countries should prioritize board funding, bank credit, and economic development in their long-term strategies. Ensuring financial access for farmers through micro-credit and public bank initiatives can spur agricultural productivity and economic growth.

This study is the first to combine board funding, banking credit, and economic development to better comprehend their potential impact on food production. Instead of using traditional approaches, this study focuses on these financial and developmental aspects as critical determinants for increasing food production, using evidence from South Asia.

The case study aims to help students/learners to analyse the role of perception and its linkage to an entrepreneur’s decision-making process in setting up a social entrepreneurship venture during the COVID-19 pandemic without any prior entrepreneurial experience; understand the definition and meaning of social enterprises based on concepts/theories of social entrepreneurship; identify if AgriVijay fits the outline of a social enterprise based on its vision, challenges faced and journey as an agriculture-based technology-oriented social venture (AgTech SE); and outline the future path of AgriVijay as an independent business (post its incubation support period) using suitable strategy and funding models related to for-profit social enterprises.

This case study details the fascinating journey of a social AgTech venture – AgriVijay – through the perspectives of the protagonist Vimal Panjwani, a budding agri-business entrepreneur. Fuelled by a desire to empower the farming communities, Panjwani with the support of his dynamic mother, Shobha Chanchlani, embarked on the challenging task of crafting a business model that sought to merge community welfare with profitable enterprise. The case study illuminates the protagonist's background, revealing Panjwani’s motivations, risk-taking tendencies and the pivotal role played by his co-partner and mother, Chanchlani. It also highlights the challenges encountered by the protagonist in setting up a technology-based social entrepreneurship venture along with its success in making a social impact across marginalised farming communities. Through all this, the case study also highlights the major dilemma of the protagonist – that of continuing to balance AgriVijay’s core mission of “empowering the farmers” with profitability and long-term growth beyond its limited incubation support period, and his own dilemma of venturing into a social enterprise as a start-up venture without any prior entrepreneurial experience. The case study through its narrative encourages the readers/learners to understand the evolving dynamics of a nascent social entrepreneurial venture in a developing economy and how such a balanced model can actually be the harbinger of social impact and change in similar economies with large rural farming and marginalised communities.

The case study is most suitable for postgraduate management, weekend executive learning or distance learning students in agri business, sustainable business, social entrepreneurship and allied management domains. It can be used for teaching and learning topics related to entrepreneurship, new venture strategy, leadership and motivation, with a specific focus on agriculture business, agricultural entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and sustainable ventures.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The agricultural sector has experienced a transformative impact through the adoption of digital technologies, particularly mobile applications designed for farmers. This study investigates the factors influencing smallholder farmers' willingness to adopt digital application tools in Ogun State, Nigeria, focusing on the IITA herbicide calculator and Akilimo mobile applications.

Data were gathered from 572 smallholder farmers participating in the Zero Hunger project. This research contributes to the limited empirical evidence in Nigeria concerning farmers' willingness to adopt digital application tools. The study analyzes the effects of education, training, access to internet services, smartphone ownership, willingness to use paid applications, awareness of application tools and the cost of digital tools on farmers' willingness to adopt. Gender differentials in willingness to adopt were also explored.

The results indicate positive and statistically significant effects of education, training, internet access, smartphone ownership, willingness to use paid applications, awareness of application tools and the cost of digital tools on farmers' willingness to adopt. However, female farmers exhibited a lower willingness to adopt digital application tools.

Policymakers are urged to create supportive policies promoting basic formal education and provide effective extension services to enhance farmers' training. Additionally, efforts should be made to reduce the cost of digital applications and improve internet accessibility in rural areas. Encouraging female farmers to adopt advanced agricultural technologies is essential. Stakeholders are advised to raise awareness of digital application tools to expedite the adoption of agricultural technologies in the country.

This study will be helpful for the government to determine the state’s readiness for digital agriculture, it will help technology developers and agricultural technology startups to understand the factors determining farmers willingness to adopt digital application tools.

This study offers insights into the readiness of Ogun State, Nigeria, for digital agriculture. It provides valuable information for technology developers and agricultural startups to understand the determinants of farmers' willingness to adopt digital application tools, contributing to the advancement of the agricultural technology landscape.