Risk preference and optimal enterprise combinations in Kahuro division of Murang'a district, Kenya

Financing smallholder farming has been one of the major concerns of Kenya's agricultural development efforts. Many credit programs have evolved over the years but with dismal performance. In a study that sought to find the best way to finance smallholder agriculture, it became necessary to analyze and document, in the first place, the farmers' preferred enterprise patterns. Any financial innovations would hence address the preferred patterns. Of particular interest was the effect of risk preference on such patterns, which had been ignored in many previous farm management studies. Murang'a district was chosen as a typical smallholder district. Sample farmers, obtained through cluster sampling, were visited and structured questionnaires administered to cover farm events and physical resources of short rains 1995 to long rains 1996. This formed a basis for formulating the farm patterns. A quadratic programming model was used to analyze observed farm plans. The model incorporates farmers' risk preferences, revenue fluctuations, and resource and subsistence restrictions. The results showed that: (1) changes in risk preference do affect the optimal crop combinations; (2) the typical cropping pattern is rational as the farmer meets both food and cash under modest variability of income; (3) insisting on producing most subsistence food requirements by the farmers reduces efficiency and limits the feasible plans.     

信贷约束和新生代农民工创业

产业兴旺的内源式发展需要充分挖掘并发挥广大农民的企业家精神。本文基于江西省1028位新生代农民工的微观数据,采取直接诱导法甄别了样本的信贷约束及其类型,使用倾向得分匹配法(PSM)实证检验了信贷约束对创业的影响,并利用马氏匹配法进行了稳健性检验。结果表明,约59%的样本受到信贷约束,信贷约束会降低创业概率约16%,缓解信贷约束能使样本的创业比例提高约10%。分样本回归的研究结果表明,部分数量型和成本型信贷约束对创业的负向影响相对更大,高财富组的信贷约束对创业的负向影响更大。因此,促进新生代农民工创业不仅要积极改善其融资环境,还要实施科学的信贷政策瞄准机制。     

MEASUREMENT OF TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE OF PAKISTAN

The objective of this study is to measure technical efficiency, using a translog frontier production function on cross-sectional data from 397 farms in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan in 1988–89. The estimated farm level technical efficiency is found to be dependent upon levels of credit and education, farmers' ages and the extent of land fragmentation. Lack of education, restricted credit and fragmented holdings are found to be causes of inefficiency; hence policies which consolidate holdings, provide credit or educate farmers will tend to improve efficiency in agriculture.     

Meru dairy goat and animal healthcare project

Improving the production and marketing of livestock kept by smallholder farmers in Africa has the potential to be a route out of poverty for millions of families. However, farmers' ability to improve livestock production is constrained by access to key services such as veterinary and breeding services. FARM-Africa has pioneered an approach to establishing dairy goat enterprises on small farms that places all key services in the hands of farmers and the private sector. An example of this approach implemented in a project in Kenya is described. The approach has been extremely successful and is already spreading across East Africa. Total milk production and incomes increased 10-fold within five years. Farmers are starting to sell fresh milk to supermarkets in Nairobi. With greater investment, the model could reach many more families. FARM-Africa is planning to expand the breeding and animal healthcare model through a franchising business model.     

‘Good’ farm management employment: Emerging values in the contemporary Irish dairy sector

The number of Irish dairy farms with herds greater than 100 cows has increased from 4.5 % in 2005 to 23 % in 2016. The abolition of the dairy quota in 2015 has led to predictions that this trend will continue and that an additional 6000 people will be required to work on dairy farms by 2025. Ownership of farms is esteemed, with farm employment perceived as a poor second option, so it is necessary to identify possible routes towards creating 'good' farm employment relationships. This paper explores the social, cultural and economic values of employers and employees in the context of early experiences of farm employment in post-quota Ireland. Using narrative analysis, this study found that employees gained esteem and pride from acquiring managerial responsibilities and receiving recognition for their abilities and accomplishments from their employers. Greater social recognition of employ’ abilities by peer groups and in networks (social capital) cemented ‘good employee’ status. Employers, in a context of unprecedented dairy production expansion, emphasised the need for and demonstrated changing of power structures to open up the farm to new forms of influence. However, employers’ reflexivity in support of employment relationships was undermined overall by what the management literature calls a weak ‘rewards system’ for employees. Without the supportive scaffolding of a formalised rewards system, relational gestures of responsibility-devolution and employ’ appreciation of employees may be insufficient to sustain quality farm management employment in the long term. Inevitably, this diminishes the attractiveness of farm employment, limiting the drawing of talent not only into farm employment but into associated capacity-building programmes.     

Economic impacts of East Coast Fever immunization on smallholder farms,Kenya: a simulation analysis

A whole farm simulation model, Technology Impact Evaluation System (TIES), was used to assess ex-ante financial and economic impacts of immunization of dairy cattle against East Coast Fever (ECF) by the infection and treatment method (ITM) on smallholder farms from two sites in Kenya. Four alternative strategics of immunization in combination with different levels of acaricide use were compared with the current acaricide-based method of control. The economic impacts were estimated using simulated net present values, present values of ending net worth, internal rates of return, benefit-cost ratios, annual cash farm incomes, cash expenses, and net farm incomes. The results from the analysis indicate that ECF immunization strategics are financially and economically viable on smallholder farms. Based on the risk preference for risk averse producers, the most preferred strategy was to adopt ITM in combination with a 75% reduction in acaricidc use. The results obtained provide a good indication of the relative orders of magnitude of the farm level financial and economic effects of ECF immunization by ITM. The whole farm simulation model used for the analysis has the advantage of incorporating the risks involved in farm production. Whole farm simulation offers a flexible method for assessing the financial and economic impacts of alternative disease control methods on smallholder farms.     

农民专业合作社信贷难成因及对策研究——以广东省为例

在发展壮大过程中,大多数农民专业合作社会遇到信贷难题。通过对广东省农民专业合作社的调查,得到有效数据,文章从4个方面入手对广东省的农民专业合作社信贷难成因及其对策进行分析。分析结果表明以下几个因素是形成广东省农民专业合作社信贷难的成因:(1)省内农村金融支持与服务供给不足,金融机构的服务产品缺乏多样性;(2)信贷政策与信贷产品无法根据农民专业合作社的特点而随机应变,缺乏创新性产品;(3)政府对农民专业合作社信贷扶持的配套措施落实不到位;(4)农业专业合作社的信用水平有待提升。针对以上引起信贷难的成因,提出应对策略与建议:(1)加强金融支持的供给,优化金融机构服务,保障正规信贷资金到位;(2)针对农民专业合作社的需求层次,创新信贷品种,贴近市场,着力推进农村金融创新与发展;(3)政府部门对农民专业合作社信贷给予充分的支持与鼓励,逐步完善金融支持政策环境;(4)农民专业合作社要主动提升自身水平,增强自身经济实力,提高自身盈利能力,实现可持续发展。     

Adoption of Food Safety Practices in Milk Production: Implications for Dairy Farmers in India

This study investigates the status, estimates the cost, and identifies the determinants of compliance with food safety measures in milk production in India. The study is based on the cross section primary data collected at the farm level in 3 states of India, namely, Bihar, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, in the year 2007. These states capture the geographical and institutional diversity of milk production and marketing in the country. The study shows that the status of compliance with food safety measures at the dairy farm level is not encouraging and a lot of efforts are needed to bridge this gap. The adoption intensity of food safety practices shows wide inter- and intraregional variations. This intensity depicts a positive relationship with herd size. The additional cost of compliance with food milk safety measures reveals an inverse relationship with herd size. The adoption intensity of food safety practices has been found to be influenced by the dairy farmers' characteristics. Herd size, education level, expertise in dairying, and integration of dairy farmers with modern milk supply chain have positive influence on the adoption intensity of food safety practices at the farm level. The positive relationship between adoption intensity of food safety measures and farmers' realization of milk price would influence farmers for greater adoption of these measures.     

Technology choice and efficiency on Australian dairy farms*

Deregulation of the Australian dairy industry, specifically the removal of price subsidies to ‘market milk’, as well as ongoing drought in many dairy regions, has placed considerable pressure on farm cash income and a search for ways in which dairy farms can be made to operate more efficiently. Using traditional farm survey data and a unique biannual data set on farm technology use, this paper estimates a stochastic production frontier and technical efficiency model for dairy farms in New South Wales and Victoria, determining the relative importance of each input in dairy production, the effects of key technology variables on farm efficiency, and overall farm profiles based on the efficiency rankings of dairy producers. Results show that production exhibits constant returns to scale and although feed concentration and the number of cows milked at peak season matter, the key determinants of differences in dairy farm efficiency are the type of dairy shed used and the proportion of irrigated farm area. Overall farm profiles indicate that those in the ‘high efficiency group’ largely employ either rotary or swing‐over dairy shed technology and have almost three times the proportional amount of land under irrigation.     

新疆新型农业经营主体空间分异测度与分析

[目的]新型农业经营主体,是新型农业经营体系的重要组成部分。对新疆主要新型农业经营主体,即农民专业合作社、农业产业化龙头企业和家庭农场发展的现状、空间分异规律进行系统分析,对推动新疆农业经营主体健康发展、制定扶持政策和缩小地区间差异具有重要指导意义。[方法]该研究采用泰勒指数法,以各地区农业人口数作为权数,分别运用各类新型农业经营主体的数量、平均经营收入两项指标从不同角度测度新疆经营主体空间分异现象。[结果](1)地带内部差异仍是构成规模总体差异的主要部分,且地带内部差异占总体差异的比重家庭农场最大(89%),龙头企业次之(70%),农民专业合作社最小(66%)。(2)2006年以来新疆农民专业合作社、龙头企业在南、北、东疆区域间的发展趋于平衡,但各区域内部发展不均衡的问题凸现出来。(3)新疆家庭农场平均经营能力地区间差异大于农民专业合作社的,且两类经营主体经营能力的空间分异明显大于规模的。(4)农业产业化龙头企业的经营能力最强,农民专业合作社居中,家庭农场最弱。各区域同类经营主体经营能力差距也很显著。南、北疆农民专业合作社经营能力较强,而东疆的家庭农场经营能力较强。[结论]目前新疆新型农业经营主体空间分布差异较大,各级政府必须加快推进各区域均衡发展。     

THE MECHANISATION OF BRITISH FARMING, 1910–1945

Both tractors and milking machines were available to British farmers from the early 19OO's, but the mechanisation of field work and of dairy farming was not general until the 1950's. This paper discusses the technical difficulties of early forms of farm machinery, and the reorganisation of farm work which was required to use the machinery efficiently. Tractors were at first adopted for heavy work, thus easing the pressure on, and increasing the efficiency of, the horses. It was not until after the second world war that tractors and their implements became sufficiently reliable and versatile to supplant horses in all farm operations and to change an important constraint upon the structure of farms and the methods of working them.     

Enhancing productivity on suburban dairy farms in China

Dairy farms in China's suburban areas have been playing an important role in providing urban markets with fresh milk. With the rising demand for fluid milk and dairy products in the cities, there is a perception that small and scattered dairy farms in China's provinces are gradually disappearing and more concentrated dairy cattle farming is being formed near suburban areas. This article uses farm‐level survey data and stochastic input distance functions to make estimates of total factor productivity (TFP) on suburban dairy farms, as well as for the entire dairy sector. The results show that over the past decade TFP growth has been positive on suburban dairy farms, and this rise in productivity has been driven mostly by technological change. However, at the same time we find that, on average, the same farms have been falling behind the advancing technical frontier. We also find one of the drivers of the suburban dairy sector is the relatively robust rate of technological change of these farms, which has been more rapid than on farms in the dairy sector as a whole. The results suggest that efforts to achieve greater adoption of new technologies and better advice on how to use the technologies and manage production and marketing within the suburban dairy sector will further advance productivity growth in the sector.     

ON MEASURING YIELD POTENTIAL OF THE HIGH YIELDING VARIETIES TECHNOLOGY AT FARM LEVEL

Among rice scientists in developing countries there is a general belief that on-farm rice yields are far below their potential level. There is considerable controversy about the appropriate methodology to define and measure the potential yield at the farm level within the farmers' environment. Most of the methodologies are based on agronomic criteria and neglect the farmers' socio-economic environment. The aim of this paper is to define the potential yield at the farm level incorporating the economic environment farmers face. This potential yield so defined is feasible in that it could be realised by all farmers with existing technology, provided that they have access to necessary inputs. Measuring potential yield in this way is also desirable from a welfare viewpoint.     

The impact of perception and other factors on the adoption of agricultural technology in the Moret and Jiru Woreda (district) of Ethiopia

The objectives of this study arc to examine both the significance of the impact of farmers' perceptions regarding new technology for the adoption decision and how perceptions themselves are influenced by the decision to adopt new technology. The study is based on data from 96 wheat farms in the Moret and Jiru woreda (district) of Ethiopia. The probit approach is used to analyse the adoption decision, while the variables relevant to farmers' perceptions are modelled using the ordered probit methodology. A simultaneous equations model combining the probit and ordered probit approaches provides a useful approach to modelling the two-way relationship between perception and adoption. Variables such as farm size, farm income and soil type have a key role to play in the model. Perception is measured by eight different components and as there is a strong collinearity among these various measures, a principal components analysis is attempted to draw the best possible linear combination of variables.     

Effects of subsidies in Russian dairy farming

This study develops a microeconometric model of specialized dairy farms in the Moscow region using panel data over the period 1995–2001. The model is used to analyze the role of subsidies on profit as well as input and output allocation. Theoretical conditions for short‐term profit maximization are not rejected by the data. Differences between farms allow for a fixed‐effect specification. The dairy producers in the region demonstrate a low responsiveness to market signals, but technology change becomes important. Labor, land, and livestock had low shadow prices. Although subsidies have a distorting effect on the input–output mix, this study shows they relieve the credit constraints on dairy farms and have an important positive influence on farm profit.     

FARM HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION IN THE PRESENCE OF RESTRICTIONS ON DEBT: THEORY AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

In this paper a two period life cycle model of the farm household is constructed allowing for production and restrictions on debt in which the consumption and production decisions of the farm household are simultaneous. It is shown that the farm household's production responses to exogenous changes may be qualitatively different to that predicted by the profit-maximising model when all markets are perfect. In particular, when the household is debt constrained, ‘perverse’ output effects are possible with output increasing in response to output price decreases. Further, for such households, compensation payments will have production effects. Finally, the financial situation of the farm has an impact on production for debt constrained farms.     

Does fertilizer use respond to rainfall variability? Panel data evidence from Ethiopia

In this article, we use farmers' actual experiences with changes in rainfall levels and their responses to these changes to assess whether patterns of fertilizer use are responsive to changes in rainfall patterns. Using panel data from the Central Highlands of Ethiopia matched with corresponding village‐level rainfall data, the results show that the intensity of current year's fertilizer use is positively associated with higher rainfall levels experienced in the previous year. Rainfall variability, on the other hand, impacts fertilizer use decisions negatively, implying that variability raises the risks and uncertainty associated with fertilizer use. Abundant rainfall in the previous year could depict relaxed liquidity constraints and increased affordability of fertilizer, which makes rainfall availability critical in severely credit‐constrained environments. In light of similar existing literature, the major contribution of the study is that it uses panel data to explicitly examine farmers' responses to actual weather changes and variability.     

动物疫病风险对规模猪场数智技术应用的影响

[目的]研究动物疫病风险对规模生猪养殖场数智技术应用的影响,对推动畜牧业转型升级、提升农业现代化水平具有重要意义。[方法]文章基于全国15个省区569份规模生猪养殖场调研数据,对我国规模生猪养殖场数智技术应用现状进行了统计分析,并构建似不相关模型分析了动物疫病风险对生猪养殖场数智技术应用的影响。[结果]（1）超过半数的规模养殖场已应用数智技术,其中精准饲喂环节的应用水平最高,环境监测环节的应用水平最低;（2）动物疫病风险会显著促进养殖场在精准饲喂、健康监测、环境监测3个环节应用数智技术,对洗消管理环节的影响不显著;（3）受教育水平、认知水平、养殖规模、生猪品种和产品出口对多个环节的数智技术应用有显著正影响,养殖场年限则有显著负影响。[结论]政府应多措并举,着力提高市场研发适配疫病环境和转型需求的数智技术;制定差异化的生猪养殖场数智技术帮扶政策;构建数智技术应用推广体系,提高养殖者对数智技术的认知水平和转型意愿。     

Duration Analysis of Technological Adoption in Ethiopian Agriculture

Duration analysis has been used to examine the impact of time‐varying and time‐invariant variables on the speed of adoption of fertiliser and herbicide by smallholder farmers in East and West Shewa in the central highlands of Ethiopia in the 25 years preceding 1996. The estimated models suggest that economic incentives were the most important determinants of the time farmers waited before adopting new technologies; traction power in the form of oxen and infrastructural factors (in particular proximity to markets) also appear to have been important influences, but less so than prices. Other agricultural inputs (area of farmland, labour, credit), extension services and farmers' personal characteristics (education, gender, age) appear to have had little, if any, effect on adoption behaviour. There is also evidence that the speed of adoption of herbicide, on both tef and wheat, was slower than that of fertiliser.