What do subsistence farmers know about indigenous crops and organic farming? Preliminary experience in KwaZulu-Natal

The lack of published information on indigenous agricultural knowledge in South Africa frustrates the efforts of scientists who seek to enhance the creativity of subsistence farmers, and thus help their delivery from the cycle of poverty to commercialised farming. The term ‘indigenous crop’ is not clearly defined in the literature, and confusion about what is a traditional or an indigenous crop often arises even in conversations with local people. Perhaps the confusion stems from the generally accepted norm that a crop is associated with conventional production practices and commercialisation. Indigenous crop production and use of indigenous plants for food are generally not associated with conventional agriculture. Many subsistence farmers in South Africa have known only organic farming until recently, when they were introduced to ‘new seeds’ and agricultural chemicals. On-farm opinion surveys and physical farm appraisals were undertaken at the Msinga and Embo tribal areas in KwaZulu-Natal, in an attempt to assess the knowledge of subsistence and small-scale farmers about indigenous crops and organic farming. Results showed that the traditional definition of the term ‘indigenous crop’ may be broader than ‘African only’, at least in the context of indigenous South Africans. The findings also showed that subsistence farmers take organic farming to be a peasant's approach to food production, but its health and economic merits are recognised.     

Does it matter who gives information? The impact of information sources on farmers’ pesticide use in China

The timely delivery of scientific information regarding pesticide use to farmers is essential to address negative externalities. Farmers have four information sources regarding pesticide use in China: public agricultural extension agents (PAEAs), pesticide sellers, peer farmers, and farmers’ own experience. A better understanding of which information source is the most effective in reducing pesticide use would be a principal step toward designing policy strategies for sustainable agricultural production. In this study, we examine the relative effectiveness of each information source on farmers’ pesticide use, based on nationally representative data from 603 rice farmers in seven major rice-producing provinces in China. We adopt a multinomial endogenous switching regression model to correct for selection bias due to observed and unobserved factors. Results show that compared with farmers’ own experience, PAEAs significantly increase farmers’ pesticide expenditure by 8.7 %, while pesticide sellers and peer farmers significantly decrease farmers’ pesticide expenditure by 18.5 % and 10.1 % respectively, with the largest reduction coming from pesticide sellers. Discouraging PAEAs’ commercial activities, working with pesticide sellers, and using peer farmers as social multipliers to disseminate knowledge may be effective ways to develop education programs that aim to reduce pesticide use.     

Kalimantan in the firing line: a note on the effects of the global financial crisis

This note examines the impact of the global financial crisis on Kalimantan's four provinces. Although growth in the region slowed dramatically with the onset of the crisis, only in the dominant province of East Kalimantan did overall growth turn (slightly) negative. There were strong negative effects on the agricultural, manufacturing and mining sectors, but these differed greatly across individual provinces. This study presents evidence on price trends for three key commodities – palm oil, rubber and gold – and discusses the effect on farmers of the steep falls in palm oil and rubber prices. Surprisingly, the crisis had remarkably little impact on open unemployment, and the ongoing decline in poverty was hardly interrupted (although this may simply have reflected the timing of the surveys used to measure poverty). The end of the crisis saw oil palm making a speedier recovery than rubber, with gold mining remaining the ‘safety net’ for poor farmers.     

Triangle of Linkages among Modernising Markets,Sprayer–traders,and Mango-farming Intensification in Indonesia

The domestic mango value chain in Indonesia is transforming rapidly. This article examines the triangle of linkages among farmers’ participation in modernising markets, the emerging use of outsourced services by sprayer–traders (STs), and farm technology intensification. The key findings are as follows. First, small farmers—not just larger farmers—participate in modernising markets. However, the participation is by the upper tier of small farmers, defined in non-land asset terms. Second, although both small and larger farmers use STs, the strongest determinant of use of an ST is the interaction between having non-farm employment (thus, demand for substitution for own labour on the farm) and having a medium-sized commercial farm (thus, demand for skilled agronomic services). Farmers in mango cluster areas also tend to use STs. Finally, use of STs and participation in modernising markets spur farming intensification through the use of modern inputs.     

Espen Moe,Governance, Growth and Global Leadership: The Role of the State in Technological Progress, 1750–2000

Abstract

The concept of the ‘dissolution of estate society’ (standssamfunnets opplesning) has not been much used in Norwegian historical research. The great process of social change which took place in the 19th century, the main features of which have their counterparts in the social development of the other Scandinavian countries, has been discussed within other conceptual contexts. Norwegian historians have often stressed the contrast between an urban society and an agricultural society based on self-sufficiency, or between the people and their administrators. In economic history the changes which came with industrialization, and the shift from an agricultural economy based on self-sufficiency to an agricultural economy based on buying and selling, have been the subject of much research. In social and political history the subjects which have aroused the greatest interest have been the struggles of the farmers as well against the bureaucracy as against the commercial capitalism of the towns, and the role of the farmers in the movement towards political democracy.     

A cluster analysis of commercialisation of farmers in developing rural areas of South Africa

The purpose of this article is to classify farmers in developing rural areas according to their commercial orientation and to evaluate their distinguishing characteristics. Farmers in these areas use both farm and non‐farm activities to commercialise to some degree. The aim of the commercialisation strategy is to generate income for acquiring other basic goods and services. A cluster analysis of 392 households surveyed in 1987 in the former KaNgwane identified seven groups of farming households: very low commercial households, moderately commercial households, high agricultural commercial households, livestock commercial households, non‐farm income households, non‐farm and agricultural commercial households and highly commercial households. The characteristics of four of these groups were investigated further. The current status of the commercialisation process suggests several policy directions: food security programmes should be aimed at those lacking resources, who may also be threatened by food shortages; emerging farmers with limited resources should be encouraged to diversify their income‐generating activities ‐ they should be given support (including access to land, markets, credit and management) to encourage them to prosper; and the progressive farmers require enhanced programmes to sustain their competitiveness.     

Silent spring and the nordic agricultural maqazines

Abstract

The connection between mad cow disease (BSE) and humans, and the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Great Britain in February 2001, have shaken the principles of the commercial farming business. The great leap from mixed organic farming to commercial farming took place in the industrialised countries soon after the Second World War. Important preconditions for commercial farming were the new innovations made in the agricultural chemistry. The principles of commercial farming were for the first time called into question at the beginning of the 1960s by the late American biologist, Rachel Carson, in her book, Silent Spring (1962). The book was a ‘declaration of war’ on the chemical companies and researchers working with chemical crop-protection all over the world. Silent Spring was soon translated into the Nordic languages. This article focuses on the reactions of the leading Finnish and Swedish agricultural magazines to Carson's provocative claims. Among Swedish agricultural experts, Carson's book inspired a critical debate about the safety of chemical crop-protection, whereas in Finland the agricultural magazines wanted to skate over Carson's disagreeable accusations. The attitudes of the agricultural, magazines to Silent Spring are approached from agricultural political and ethical aspects.     

Problem‐solving strategies for small‐scale emerging commercial mango farmers in Venda

This article describes the prevailing farming system of emerging small‐scale commercial mango farmers in the Venda region of the Northern Province of South Africa. Analyses based on intensive group discussions with farmers and prioritisation of their problems using a ‘problem tree/objective tree'framework, as well as comparisons with adjacent commercial mango farmers, enabled the development of operational support strategies. This study followed a new (for South Africa) participative approach. The first step of the Objective Oriented Intervention Planning (OOIP) approach to Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) is a problem tree; the next is to convert the problem tree into an objective tree in order to identify alternative strategies for alleviating constraints and problems. These are then summarised in the LFA matrix. This methodology is described here.     

农民收入与文化消费牵扯:江苏364个样本

利用江苏364份农民文化消费微观调查数据,实证分析农民收入对文化消费支出的影响。研究结果表明:农民消费类文化活动和免费文化活动并举,共同构成农民文化生活的重要组成部分。农民收入水平是影响农民文化消费的重要因素,家庭人均收入和农民对家庭收入自我评价对农民文化消费有显著正影响,农业收入比重对农民文化消费有显著负影响;收入变量对高收入组农民文化消费影响程度要明显高于中收入组,对低收入组农民文化消费没有显著影响,说明农民文化消费具有一定的收入门槛。     

Land productivity,farm size and returns to scale in Pakistan agriculture

It is by now a commonly accepted proposition that economic development must involve both growth and equity. That in many countries the subsidization of the owners of large farms is inequitable is also acknowledged. However, the debate on the ‘efficiency’ of large versus small farms continues. If the owners of large farms are not using the crop acreage with greater efficiency than are the small farmers and if there are no economies of scale, then the imposition of ceilings on farm size and land redistribution are clearly the right options to consider.The object of this study is to test two hypotheses. First, there is an inverse relationship between land productivity and farm size. Second, there are no economies of scale in agricultural production. The tests are performed by regression analysis on the farm-level data collected from Pakistan by the author in 1974. The merit of this study is that it deals with a country which, with a few other underdeveloped countries, has been a beneficiary of the ‘Green Revolution’. The available studies on Pakistan agriculture are limited to the aggregate analyses. Interregional micro-level studies are almost non-existent.     

贸易风险、农产品竞争与国家农业安全观重构

国际地缘政治格局的不稳定与贸易保护主义的重新抬头,已经威胁到我国农业生产和粮食安全。而生物性公共安全事件诱发的全球性恐慌,可能对我国的食品安全带来更大的冲击。传统经济学所倡导的低成本策略与差异化策略的竞争力逻辑,对于人口众多的中国来说,显然难以应对全球性重大生物安全事件引发的不确定性。中国农业的竞争策略思维,需要从低成本策略转向低风险策略,从差异化策略转向完备化策略,并由此重构我国的农业安全观。稳定粮食供给的“保一块”、深化农业分工的“活一块”、延伸农业价值链的“拓一块”、寻求贸易机会的“争一块”,以及控制风险的“防一块”,应该成为我国农业安全观的重要操作方略。     

Effects of inclusive public agricultural extension service: Results from a policy reform experiment in western China

The top–down public agricultural extension system in China and its early commercialization reforms during the 1990s have left millions of farmers without access to extension services. A pilot inclusive agricultural extension system was introduced in 2005 to better meet the diverse needs of small-scale farmers. Three key features of the experiment are (1) inclusion of all farmers as target beneficiaries, (2) effective identification of farmers' extension service needs, and (3) an accountability system to provide better agricultural extension services to farmers. This paper describes design of the reform initiative and examines its effect on farmers' access to extension services. Based on farmer supplied data from six counties for the years 2005 to 2007, this paper shows that inclusive reform initiatives significantly improve farmers' access to and actually received of agricultural extension services as well as their adoption of new technologies. Implications for further reforms to the agricultural extension system are also discussed.     

Provision of accessible marketing and extension services in less‐developed agriculture

An agricultural marketing system is important in assisting farmers to make the transition from subsistence to semi‐commercial and commercial agriculture, but requires a communication system to provide farmers with information on marketing channels and procedures. A study of the marketing system in Ciskei showed that it had not resulted in an increase in marketable surplus among small‐scale subsistence farmers and that the provision of marketing information was inadequate. Recommendations are proposed/or making marketing and extension services more accessible to subsistence farmers.     

Tomato Farmers and Modernising Value Chains in Indonesia

The tomato value chain in Indonesia has transformed in the last two decades. We assess this transformation here, focusing on small tomato farmers in West Java and the determinants of their market-channel choices (as well as the technology correlates of those choices). These farmers sell to traditional village traders, urban and modern wholesalers, and supermarkets, and they have all invested heavily in irrigation and rely on external inputs. We find differences among farmers selling to different market channels. To wit, non-land assets—especially irrigation—are important to farmers participating in the supermarket, or modern, channel, but farm size affects modern-channel participation only in high-level commercial zones (zones dense in infrastructure and near highways). We also find that modern-channel farmers earn more profit than farmers in other channels but do not necessarily use chemicals more intensively. Yet hardly any farmers sell graded tomatoes; the main ‘capture of rents’ goes to specialised and modernising wholesalers.     

Flow analysis of the agricultural research‐extension system for improved maize seed in Zambia

Among other factors, the research‐extension system for delivering appropriate agricultural technologies to farmers has been blamed for Zambia's poor agricultural performance. The agricultural research‐extension system for improved maize seed technology is described. Constraints on the flow of improved maize seed technology and its utilisation by farmers are gauged by interviewing key informants, and recommendations for improvement are made.     

Occupational structure in the Czech lands under the second serfdom

This article presents an analysis of occupational structure, a key component of the ‘Little Divergence’, in an eastern‐central European economy under the second serfdom, using data on 6,983 Bohemian villages in 1654. Non‐agricultural activity was lower than in western Europe, but varied positively with village size, pastoral agriculture, sub‐peasant strata, Jews, freemen, female headship, and mills, and negatively with arable agriculture and towns. It showed a curvilinear relationship with the ‘second serfdom’, as proxied by landlord presence on village holdings. Landlord presence in serf villages also reversed the positive effects of female headship and mills on non‐agricultural activities. Under the second serfdom, landlords encouraged serf activities from which they could extract rents, while stifling others which threatened manorial interests.     

安全农产品是如何生产出来的

安全的食品是生产出来的,从生产源头解决安全隐患才是破题的根本,作为食品生产源头的农户及其农产品生产行为成为诸多研究关注的焦点。在计划行为理论和相关文献的基础上,引入农户外部环境认知、农户行为能力与农户安全生产意愿变量,基于安全农产品生产认知视角,分析了农户生产行为的一般机理,利用湖北省食用菌生产农户调查数据,通过构建结构方程模型对该机理进行了检验。结果表明：农户安全农产品生产意愿在生产认知与生产行为之间起中介作用,农户外部环境认知对生产认知与安全生产意愿的关系起调节作用,农户行为能力对安全生产意愿与生产行为之间的关系起调节作用。     

Good schools make good neighbors: Human capital spillovers in early 20th century agriculture

Formal schooling has a significant impact on modern agricultural productivity but there is little evidence quantifying the historical importance of schools in the early development of the American agricultural sector. I present new data from the Midwest at the start of the twentieth century showing that the emerging public schools were helping farmers successfully adapt to a variety of agricultural innovations. I use a unique dataset of farmers containing detailed geographical information to estimate both the private returns to schooling and human capital spillovers across neighboring farms. The results indicate that public schools contributed substantially to agricultural productivity at the turn of the century and that a large portion of this contribution came through human capital spillovers. These findings offer new insights into why the Midwest was a leader in the expansion of secondary education.     

北京农户增收影响因素与对策研究

对北京农户收入面板数据及187户实地调研数据进行分析,得出农户收入稳步增长、增速平缓、农户收入以工资性收入为主、城乡收入差距大和各区之间农户收入差异大的结论以及存在着农户增收活力不足、经营收益低、财产性所得少、新型农业发展不足、农村人口老龄化、农民文化程度低和农民健康状况差的问题。认为深化农业农村改革、鼓励土地流转、改善人居环境、完善支农政策、推广医疗保险、吸引人才下乡和培育职业农民可增加农户收入。     

边疆民族地区农牧民参加新农保意愿实证研究——以新疆伊宁县为例

基于新疆新农保制度试点县之一的伊宁县4个乡镇的300个样本的问卷调查,运用spss计量软件,对调查数据进行logistic二元回归分析,比较全面地分析了各种因素对农牧民参保意愿的影响程度。结果表明：影响民族地区农牧民参加新农保意愿的因素,既有个人层面、家庭层面中的因素,也有政府层面中的因素。然而,地方政府的行政组织协调能力以及农村基层组织实施新农保政策的推进能力,是提高农牧民参保率、确保2020年之前,与全国同步实现新农保政策全覆盖的关键因素。