System of crop intensification for more productive,resource-conserving,climate-resilient,and sustainable agriculture: experience with diverse crops in varying agroecologies

With continually increasing demand for food accompanied by the constraints of climate change and the availability and quality of soil and water, the world’s farmers are challenged to produce more food per hectare with less water, and with fewer agrochemical inputs if possible. The ideas and methods of the system of rice intensification which is improving irrigated rice production are now being extended/adapted to many other crops: wheat, maize, finger millet, sugarcane, tef, mustard, legumes, vegetables, and even spices. Promoting better root growth and enhancing the soil’s fertility with organic materials are being found effective means for raising the yields of many crop plants with less water, less fertilizer, reduced seeds, fewer agrochemicals, and greater climate resilience. In this article, we review what is becoming known about various farmer-centred innovations for agroecological crop management that can contribute to agricultural sustainability. These changes represent the emerging system of crop intensification, which is being increasingly applied in Asian, African, and Latin American countries. More research will be needed to verify the efficacy and impact of these innovations and to clarify their conditions and limits. But as no negative effects for human or environmental health have been identified, making these agronomic options more widely known should prompt more investigation and, to the extent justified by results, utilization of these methodologies.     

What lies beneath: Climate change,land expropriation,and zaï agroecological innovations by smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana

Large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) are increasing in Ghana amid a weak legal and regulatory framework. This paper explores the impacts of this phenomenon on farmer innovations under recurrent environmental changes. Using a case study of zaï, an indigenous innovative farming practice, the paper makes two interrelated arguments. Firstly, it shows that the pervasive enclosures coerced by the Ghanaian state undermine how indigenous knowledge could be proactively deployed for climate risk management. Secondly, LSLAs produce a social barrier to climate change adaptation, as they lead to heightened uncertainty and apprehension among farmers, which affects decisions on climate risk management. More specifically, land expropriation is an example of how adaptation could be hindered by governance, institutions, and policy at the extra-local scale, including not only existing land use laws, but also the constitutional guarantee of private property. The evidence supporting these arguments come from survey data on 619 plots, 70 in-depth interviews, village-level transect walks, and participant observations. Overall, the paper contributes to emerging debates at the interface of land use policy, climate justice, and sustainable adaptation. Theoretically, it also contributes to understanding State-society relations, as well as the political economy of eminent domain, often justified through discourses of “public benefits.”     

Workplace civility training: understanding drivers of motivation to learn

Abstract

Training is recommended as an important human resource management (HRM) practice to prevent mistreatment and enhance civility, but little is known about what influences the effectiveness of civility training. The central aim of this study was to address how workgroup conditions influence employees' attitudes about civility training and motivation to learn, which previous research shows is a predictor of training outcomes. Predictors were posited to include psychological and workgroup climate for civility, and personal and ambient mistreatment experiences. These predictors were hypothesized to drive positive (training discrepancy) and negative (training skepticism) pre‐training attitudes, which in turn were expected to influence motivation to learn. Results suggest the influence of climate for civility and mistreatment experiences on motivation to learn is largely indirect via pre‐training attitudes. Training skepticism and training discrepancy have conflicting influences on motivation to learn. Findings provide an empirical basis for HRM professionals to maximize employee motivation to learn in their own civility interventions.     

An analysis of environmental sustainability in small & medium‐sized enterprises: Patterns and trends

One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is climate change. The need to consistently advance with environmentally sustainable practices in today's businesses is crucial, and businesses are demanded to be more environmentally sustainable every day. This study conducts an analysis of the literature on small and medium‐sized enterprises' (SMEs) environmental sustainability by carefully examining 122 studies from 58 journals published from 2013 to 2019. We investigate the trends in drivers and barriers of sustainability adoption to inform both SMEs managers and policymakers. Our results also classify the reviewed studies on the basis of their methodologies and show the distribution of studies across industry sectors and locations in order to set directions for future research on sustainability practices of SMEs.     

Does oligopsony power matter in price support policy design? Empirical evidence from the Thai Jasmine rice market

In the oligopsony market, farmers may receive low prices and policy analysis assuming perfect competition can yield serious bias results. In this paper, we estimate oligopsony power between processors and farmers and evaluate the welfare impact of the paddy pledging program (PPP), a generous price support program in the Thai Jasmine rice market, with an imperfect competition model. We develop a model that consists of rice supply equation and derived demand equation. We then simultaneously estimate these equations using system estimation methods to recover oligopsony power parameters. Finally, we use these parameters to assess the welfare impact of the price support program. Using annual panel data running from crop marketing year 2001/2002–2015/2016 and exploiting the institutional feature of the PPP, we find strong evidence of some oligopsony power, a moderate level of oligopsony price distortion, and a negative relationship between price support and oligopsony power. We also find that the PPP is inefficient but effective in income redistribution. Moreover, the program benefits both farmers and consumers. With better policymaking decisions, the PPP can be efficient by setting a suitable support price. Therefore, our results show that in the case of the Thai Jasmine rice market, the generally accepted “wisdom” about agricultural price support policy does not necessarily hold, and price support can be designed to improve the efficiency of the market.     

地方政府环境支出行为的空间策略互动研究*——传导机制与再检验

本文从理论和实证两个维度检验了地方政府环境支出行为的空间策略互动的传导机制。结果表明，环境支出存在明显的空间策略互动与时间滞后效应。其表现为相邻省级地区之间环保财政支出行为的互相模仿和路径依赖。外商直接投资和财政分权并不是导致地区间环境支出“逐底竞争”的直接原因。在构建多维度政绩考核体系来引导政府财政支出竞争的同时，建立地区间环境支出的协调机制和对外开放等途径，有利于实现均衡和绿色发展。     

Consumption,asset wealth,equity premium,term spread,and flight to quality

We link transitory deviations of consumption from its equilibrium relationship with aggregate wealth and labor income to equity returns on the one hand, and to two characteristics of bond investors—the premium demanded to hold long‐term assets, and “flight to quality” behavior—on the other hand. Using a panel of 10 euro area countries over the period 1984Q1–2017Q4, we show that a rise in the consumption–wealth ratio predicts both higher equity returns and the future term spread, while a fall in the consumption–wealth ratio explains a large fraction of the rise in the spread between the “risky” and the “safe‐haven” bond.     

四川省水稻产投特征变迁及技术进步对单产的影响

[目的]了解四川水稻产投特征和技术进步对单产的影响,促进水稻可持续生产。[方法]分析了改革开放以来四川省水稻产投特征和技术特征变动,并基于索洛余值法测算了1980~2015年四川省科技进步对水稻单产的贡献情况。[结果](1)全省水稻单产水平及物质与服务费用投入均呈现波动增长趋势,人工投入逐年递减,但人工成本在生产成本中的比重较大;(2)四川省水稻品种选育、栽培管理技术、推广技术、稻作经营方式和农业政策不断变迁,更适应当前以普通家庭生产和新型经营主体共同发展的局面对技术的需求;(3)整体来看,近36年技术进步对四川省水稻单产水平提高的贡献率较低,生产经营较为粗放;(4)分时期看,2005年前,技术进步对全省水稻单产水平提高的贡献率较高,但之后尤其是近5年,技术进步并未对水稻单产水平提高产生影响,要素投入是水稻单产水平提升的主要因素。[结论]提出了加强科技研发及投入水平、"一主多元"联合推广、生产管理技术培训和丘区节本增效生产的政策建议。     

农民宅基地退出差异性受偿意愿及其影响因素分析

研究目的:宅基地退出工作能否顺利推进与退地补偿息息相关,研究宅基地退出中农民差异性受偿意愿及其影响因素,以服务决策。研究方法:基于重庆市890份农民实地调查数据,应用多元离散选择模型(Logit)进行定量研究。研究结果:(1)传统农区的农民更愿意选择货币补偿;城乡结合部(街道办)的农民更愿意选择安置补偿;农民修建补偿选择率总体偏低,区位差异并不明显;(2)农民货币受偿意愿影响因素主要包括受教育程度、家庭主要成员是否定居城镇、非农务工收入、新居住地适应性;(3)农民安置受偿意愿影响因素主要包括年龄、农房是否自住、退地补偿是否有截留、村基础设施状况;(4)农民修建受偿意愿影响因素主要包括农房造价、农房是否新建、退地补偿是否有截留;(5)影响农民受偿意愿的因素存在较大差异,同一因素可能对农民选择受偿意愿产生不同的影响,但没有一个自变量同时对三个因变量产生显著影响。研究结论:应针对农民受偿意愿差异及其影响因素,实行产异化的补偿措施,在经济发展相对滞后的传统地区,强化村落基础设施建设的同时,加大现金补偿力度。对于经济较为发达、区位条件较好的城乡结合部地区,应加大安置补偿力度,以保障退地农民的居住权。     

Consumers' perception of and attitudes towards organic food in Galicia (Northern Spain)

Although the organic sector is still relatively small, the demand for organic food is increasing throughout the world. The characterization of consumers' perception of and attitudes towards organic food is important to enable the development of marketing policies aimed at attracting conventional consumers to the sector. Consumers' behaviour studies must be conducted specifically for different regions and countries as perceptions and attitudes vary across the world. In the present study, a questionnaire was designed for administration to consumers in Galicia (Northern Spain). The questionnaire was administered to 830 consumers in 200 establishments to obtain data about the consumers' perception of and attitudes towards organic food. The survey results showed that one‐third of responders consume organic food and that the typical profile of a consumer of organic food is a middle‐aged, medium‐high class, university‐educated female living in a large village, who shops in supermarkets and preferably consume vegetables, fruits and eggs. Most people who declared that they consume organic products confuse these with home and locally produced food, indicating the potential for growth of the organic sector by providing such consumers with appropriate information. Most consumers (including conventional consumers) have a good opinion of organic food and consider that it is better for health, is of better quality than conventional food and avoid pesticide residues. However, price continues to be a barrier to the consumption of organic produce. Most respondents stated that they would consume more organic food if the price was only between 10% and 30% higher than the conventional equivalent. Finally, organic consumers in Galicia showed positive attitudes towards using local breeds in organic agriculture, both for producing food and for ecotourism and educational activities. Such activities could contribute to conserving breed biodiversity and adding value to organic farming.