Search results

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 purpose of this study is to evaluate food supply chain stakeholders’ intention to use Industry 5.0 (I5.0) drones for cleaner production in food supply chains.

The authors used a quantitative research design and collected data using an online survey administered to a sample of 264 food supply chain stakeholders in Nigeria. The partial least square structural equation model was conducted to assess the research’s hypothesised relationships.

The authors provide empirical evidence to support the contributions of I5.0 drones for cleaner production. The findings showed that food supply chain stakeholders are more concerned with the use of I5.0 drones in specific operations, such as reducing plant diseases, which invariably enhances cleaner production. However, there is less inclination to drone adoption if the aim was pollution reduction, predicting seasonal output and addressing workers’ health and safety challenges. The findings outline the need for awareness to promote the use of drones for addressing workers’ hazard challenges and knowledge transfer on the potentials of I5.0 in emerging economies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address I5.0 drones’ adoption using a sustainability model. The authors contribute to existing literature by extending the sustainability model to identify the contributions of drone use in promoting cleaner production through addressing specific system operations. This study addresses the gap by augmenting a sustainability model, suggesting that technology adoption for sustainability is motivated by curbing challenges categorised as drivers and mediators.

This study aimed to identify the determinants of farmers' participation in agricultural information-sharing digital groups and their impacts on farm performance.

Primary data of the 2015/2016 crop year collected from 175 cattle farmers were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric models. Farmers who had smartphones and participated in social groups/applications, especially those created to exchange agricultural information, were considered adopters of the technology.

A Poisson hurdle model showed that farmers' decision to participate in agricultural information-sharing digital groups is determined by schooling, age (negative effect) and use of tools for planning production. The intensity of participation is affected by risk propensity, interaction with specialist advisors, use of tools for planning production and participation in cooperatives. The authors also found empirical evidence that farmers' participation in agricultural information-sharing digital groups positively affects farm income per hectare.

The results of this study are important for accelerating the diffusion of low-cost digital technologies, which are powerful tools for improving farmers' sharing and access to valuable information in real time and in locations far from urban areas.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical analysis of the adoption and impacts of agricultural information-sharing digital groups/applications by Brazilian cattle farmers. The diffusion of simple digital technologies is important for reducing heterogeneity and increasing the efficiency of cattle production.

Previous studies have mainly focused on public opinions regarding genetically modified (GM) technology and GM food. The purpose of this paper is to assess scientists’ attitudes on whether China needs to develop its national agricultural GM technology and their willingness to buy GM food.

A stratified sampling method was used to select and interview 806 scientists from six major agricultural universities and 20 research institutes under two national academies in China in 2013. Based on these data, the authors use both descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis to examine scientists’ attitudes toward agricultural GM technology and food, using GM soybean oil as an example of GM foods.

The survey results show that nearly three-quarters of scientists agree that China needs to develop its agricultural GM technology, but their attitudes differ largely. Only 29 percent of scientists are willing to buy GM soybean oil, similar to urban consumers (25 percent) in China. The knowledge of biology is extensive for some scientists but varies significant among scientists and correlates positively with their attitudes toward agricultural GM technology and GM soybean oil. Younger and male scientists with higher professional titles, and those involved in GM research are more in favor of China’s GM technology compared to other scientists. Female scientists, scientists with lower professional titles, those that have never engaged in GM research or are from non-agricultural scientific disciplines are less willing to buy GM soybean oil. Interestingly, their low willingness to buy GM soybean oil is inconsistent with the fact that it is the most common edible oil in China.

This study is the first to examine scientists’ attitudes toward GM technology and food in China. The results of this study contribute to understanding the current debates on GM technology and the relevance of research, based on the willingness to buy GM food, for decision making regarding the commercialization of GM technology.

The purpose of this paper is to delineate the evolution of agricultural science and technology (S&T) in China in the last three decades as it has been one of the major factors, besides others, in ensuring comfortable levels of global food security. In doing so, it focuses on policy and progress, which have provided the right ambience for Chinese agricultural science and technology to evolve into an effective instrument of development.

The study employs institutional approach to government, scientists and farmers, who have been contributing to the growth of Chinese agricultural technology in two distinct ways. While the government has been playing a critical role in evolving a comprehensive agricultural S&T policy, scientists and farmers have been contributing to the progress of agricultural growth through research and application of various agricultural technologies.

Agricultural S&T in China has increasingly been growing into a potent force in facilitating comfortable levels of food security but with serious implications on the environment. Of the three players who have been instrumental in this process, the Chinese Government and the scientists are well prepared for WTO and globalization vis‐à‐vis agricultural technology, but the farmers are not well positioned.

Agricultural S&T development in China is critically important not only for Chinese food security but also for the larger global food and human security, as the two are inextricably connected. While most studies focus on various dimensions of agricultural technology, this study focuses on government, scientists and involved farmers, whose role is central to this process, and who are forced to rethink and reposition themselves in the development and use of agricultural S&T in China.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on farmers’ decisions to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) technology and to estimate the impact of IPM adoption on farm economic performance.

An endogenous switching probit model that addresses the sample selection bias issue arising from both observed and unobserved factors is used to estimate the survey data from a sample of 481 apple households in China. A treatment effects model is employed to estimate the impact of IPM adoption on apple yields, net returns and agricultural income. In order to address the potential endogeneity associated with off-farm work variable in estimating both cooperative membership choice specification and IPM adoption specifications, a control function approach is used.

The empirical results show that cooperative membership exerts a positive and significant impact on the adoption of IPM technology. In particular, farmers’ IPM adoption decision is significantly associated with household and farm-level characteristics (e.g. education, farm size and price knowledge). IPM adoption has a positive and statistically significant impact on apple yields, net returns and agricultural income.

The findings indicate that agricultural cooperatives can be a transmission route in the efforts to proliferate the adoption and diffusion of IPM technology, and increased IPM adoption tends to improve the economic performance of farm households.

Despite the widespread evidence of health and environmental benefits associated with IPM technology, the adoption rate of this technology remains significantly low. This paper provides a first attempt by investigating to what extent and how agricultural cooperative membership affects IPM adoption and how IPM adoption influences farm economic performance.

This paper aims to explore patterns of business financing and adoption of blockchain technology in the agricultural industry. The adoption of blockchain technology in terms of recording, storing, validating and securing data can solve a variety of agricultural problems such as agricultural business financing. If the banking and insurance industries are connected in real-time to activity data in the agricultural industry, they can create better credit ratings and profile models. So, finally, all parties in the agricultural industry have a greater chance to get business financing from banks.

This paper uses a case study research approach with a framework of analysis of the theory of adoption of technology, organization and environment (TOE) and the theory of “mindfulness of adoption”. The case study method has advantages when verification is still questioned or the application of certain theories in practice as phenomena and contexts that occur in the field in accordance with the application of blockchain technology into a relatively new business, both technically and practically in the field.

The findings indicate that there are no barriers to the availability of blockchain technology for technology adoption. The characteristics of this technology are very suitable for solving financing and supply chain business problems in the agricultural industry. However, the adoption of blockchain technology in agriculture shows that there is complexity in the organizational context involving internal and external organizations. The number of organizations and small parties involved in the agricultural process challenges the adoption of blockchain technology as new technology. Then, the external environment of technology, especially government regulations in developing countries, is still an obstacle to the adoption of blockchain technology.

This study faces several limitations, namely, the limited case of implementation of the blockchain technology due to the novelty of technology and government regulation. So that further research related to the adoption of blockchain technology needs to be done using field data such as surveys. Research related to the connectivity of the banking industry and other financial institutions also needs to be explored further, especially in creating a data-based credit risk model of the blockchain system.

On the practical side, case studies of technology adoption and its relationship with the financing of agricultural business are still little explored so this study contributes to exploring the application of blockchain technology in the agricultural industry. The adoption of blockchain technology has an impact not only on farmers but also on all parties involved in the supply chain including banks, insurance and other financial institutions. In addition, the distributed data exchange business model using blockchain technology is a new business model in the agriculture industry.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of agricultural technology on fertility rates in developing countries.

It is hypothesized here that agricultural technology transforms production techniques and labor demand patterns which affect fertility rates. The hypothesis is tested empirically using ordinary least squares as well as instrumental variables estimation techniques.

The results show that agricultural technology has a direct and indirect negative impact on fertility. Once technology is divided into mechanical and biochemical technology, one finds stronger evidence of mechanical technology being the driving force behind reducing fertility.

This paper's main limitation is that it does not take regional, sub‐regional and intra‐country variations into account. Future research should focus on these areas.

The policy implication of these results would be for governments of developing countries to concentrate on modernizing the existing agricultural sector while absorbing more women in the formal labor force.

This paper adds meaningfully to research in an area that has received limited attention thus far. The results of this paper will be of value to researchers in economic development and policy makers in developing countries.

A research and development project disseminated ecological technologies to approximately 3,250 vegetable farmers through farmer field schools (FFS) in four districts of Bali and East Java provinces of Indonesia. This article aims to assess the economic sustainability of vegetable production after FFS participation.

A survey randomly sampled 500 farmers, comprised of FFS participants (50%) and non-FFS participants (50%). Based on 1,000 farm operations, this analysis employed input-saving technology as the fundamental model examined using the double-difference method. Simultaneous reduction of agrochemicals and improvement of productivity represent indicators of economic sustainability.

Results indicate that pesticide use decreased without jeopardising farm productivity; moreover, vegetable production increased. These findings indicate that the ecological technologies transferred through FFS significantly improved economic sustainability performance.

This study purposively selected farmers who grew tomato and chilli. Thus, the outcomes are not generalisable to other crops.

FFS continues to be an effective method for transferring agricultural technologies to farmer communities. Policymakers are recommended to use FFS for disseminating beneficial and sustainable technologies to broader agricultural communities.

The adoption of ecological technologies provides positive economic and ecological milieus.

This study employs a double-differences approach to verify input-saving technological progress. Therefore, the performance of economic sustainability attributable to the project intervention is theoretically justified.