Why small farms persist? The influence of farmers’ characteristics on farm growth and development. The case of smaller dairy farmers in NZ

Human capital is an important resource in primary production impacting on farmers’ decisions and actions. Given their current and expected economic environment, farmers must use their human capital in mapping out a trajectory for their farm. This study considers particular aspects of farmers’ human capital and its influence on farm growth, or lack of it. Farmers’ characteristics as expressed through their personality, intelligence and objectives are the main human capital aspects considered in a sample of smaller NZ dairy farms. They are somewhat typical of western farmers working on smaller farms. They can be broadly classed into Expanders, Maintainers and Retractors. It is hypothesised each group will have distinct and different personal characteristics and these influence the farmers’ choice of trajectory. This is in addition to purely economic factors. It is also hypothesised the characteristics influence the farmers’ choice of development strategy and how challenges to the strategy are viewed. The data collected from the small dairy farms support the hypotheses suggesting the design of policy and extension programs must allow for these human capital drivers. Using past data, it is also shown aspects of human capital are different in large farms emphasising the same conclusion.     

SLA框架下生计资本影响山区农户分化的机理与实证研究以广西山区农户为例

目的 基于可持续生计分析（SLA）框架,对生计资本影响山区农户分化进行深入研究,为职业分化背景下促进农户多渠道创收以及实现山区乡村振兴提供参考。方法 文章运用比较分析法、多值选择模型,以广西山区的540家农户为研究对象,探讨农户职业分化的影响因素。结果 研究结果表明,社会资本有助于纯农户与非农农户向以农为主的兼业农户分化;自然资本丰裕更能吸引农户向纯农户或以农为主的兼业分化;增加金融资本有助于兼业农户专注于农业生产,也促使非农经营主体投身于农业经营;物质资本影响农户向纯农户或以非农为主的兼业农户转变;拥有自身务工经历的农民更易于选择以农为主的兼业形态,对农民进行农业技术培训因提升其农业生产经营能力从而有助于他们投身于农业生产;生计资本影响农户分化的程度因距离中心市场的远近而存在差异。结论 生计资本影响农户向不同类型的职业进行分化,应从鼓励农户兼业化实现收入多元化以及鼓励乡村精英返乡创业的视角,适应不同类型农户分化需要,为调整农户生计资本,维持生计可持续性提供必要的决策支持和政策保障。     

Farmer participation in agri-environmental schemes: Regionalisation and the role of bridging social capital

European agri-environmental schemes are being criticised for reinforcing rather than negating an opposition between agricultural production and environmental production, and for assuming instead of securing a public willingness to pay for agri-environmental change. This paper explores if a regionalisation of agri-environmental governance may contribute to overcome these criticisms. The paper empirically explores three regionalised agri-environmental schemes from Flanders, Belgium, with the use of 40 qualitative interviews with farmers and other relevant stakeholders. Building on the Bourdieusian theory of capital and the conceptual distinction between bonding and bridging social capital, the paper analyses whether and why the regionalised arrangements incited farmers to integrate environmental production in their farm management to meet other regional stakeholders’ demands for agri-environmental change. In doing so, the paper particularly focuses on the role of bridging social capital in fostering farmer participation in agri-environmental governance, which is a topic that—despite a growing scholarly recognition of the importance of social capital in mediating farmers’ environmental behaviour—has to date received scant conceptual and empirical attention. The paper reveals that farmers principally participated in the regionalised agri-environmental schemes to enhance the long-term viability of their agricultural businesses by building up more cooperative and appreciative, bridging social ties with other regional stakeholders. Notably, such participation is only likely to be substantive and lead to long-term, pro-environmental behaviour change of farmers, if farmers actually succeed in building up bridging social capital by receiving other regional stakeholders’ appreciation for their agri-environmental work. The paper ends with discussing the implications of these findings for the future design and implementation of socially and ecologically robust agri-environmental schemes.     

家庭禀赋对山区农户林业相关生计策略的影响研究

基于浙江省山区315户农户的调查数据,描述了山区农户的生计策略、不同类型农户的家庭禀赋、收入水平及来源,运用mlogit模型就家庭禀赋对山区农户林业相关生计策略的影响进行实证分析。结果表明:家庭禀赋对山区农户林业相关生计策略具有显著影响;在人力资本指标中,劳动力人数、劳动力平均健康程度对农户选择林业专业化型、林业补充型、生计多样化型生计策略具有一定的正向影响;劳动力平均受教育程度对选择林业补充型生计策略有显著的正向影响;在自然资本指标中,林地面积对农户选择林业专业化型生计策略具有正向影响;耕地面积则对于林业补充型生计策略的选择具有正向影响;在社会资本指标中,家族能人数量对于农户选择林业专业化型、林业补充型、生计多样化型具有显著的正向影响。因此,提出促进非农就业,鼓励自主创业;充分利用自然资本;加强山区农户的人力资本建设等建议。     

Impacts of capital and land constraints on the economics of new livestock technology in western Kenya

The introduction of new forages and milk marketing improvements was projected to permit even the smallest modeled farms in a western Kenya region to adopt dual-purpose goats and thereby improve family income and nutrition. Expanded credit permitted modeled medium and large farms, especially, to vigorously exploit these innovations; credit also expanded income more than did goat management improvements. Because credit, extension assistance, marketing improvements, and new forages will leave projected incomes of small farmers below those of medium and large farmers in the study region, development of off-farm jobs may still be necessary to supplement the incomes of this fast growing group. The marginal value of capital for medium and large farmers with new livestock technology was high. This suggests that government-subsidized credit might be unnecessary. With proper infrastructural and legal support, private capital markets might develop as new livestock technology and marketing improvements expand the demand for borrowing.     

Abstracts of Award-Winning Theses

Costa Rica has long been a leader among developing countries in the design of and experimentation with innovative environmental programs. Since 1997, Costa Rica's "Pagos de Servicios Ambientales" (Payments for Environmental Services) Program has provided payments to more than 4,400 farmers and forest owners for reforestation, forest conservation, and sustainable forest management activities. The econometric analysis of a survey of farmers and forest owners, including both PSA participants and nonparticipants, shows that farm size, human capital and household economic factors, and information variables significantly influence participation in PSA program alternatives. Large farmers and forest owners are disproportionately represented among program participants.     

Cash transfer programs and agricultural production: the case of Malawi

Cash transfer programs are increasingly utilized to combat poverty and hunger while building the human capital of future generations; however, they have been faulted by some for failing to build the productive capacity of current generations. This article analyzes the impact of the Malawi Social Cash Transfer Scheme on agricultural production. The results show strong increases in ownership of productive agricultural assets, in time devoted to household farms, and in food types consumed from own production, coupled with a sharp decrease in ganyu labor, which is often used as a coping mechanism once food stores have been depleted. These results are most likely achieved by helping farmers overcome credit and liquidity constraints. This research shows that cash transfer programs can help the capacity of extremely poor farm households to expand agriculture production even if the goal of the program is focusing on other dimensions of poverty.     

Classical Swine Fever Changes the Way Farmers Value Pigs in South Africa

Although there is growing demand for animal products in Africa, production is stagnating. Appropriate management of livestock diversity could help reinvigorate production, contribute to food security and improve farmers’ livelihoods, particularly in subsistence‐oriented systems. We assess differences in farmers’ preferences and economic values for pig traits across different production systems and across areas that have been affected and unaffected by classical swine fever (CSF). Not surprisingly, market‐oriented farmers derived higher values from the productive traits such as heavy slaughter weight and large litter size found in exotic pig genotypes. Subsistence‐oriented farmers, particularly in swine fever affected areas, placed high value on tolerance to disease. We found that CSF changed farmers’ preferences for adaptive traits, and less so for productive traits. Therefore, indigenous breeds become more valuable for subsistence farmers and crossbreeds for market‐oriented farmers if CSF is a risk. Our results can have implications for breeding and conservation strategies and for compensation strategies after culling, and will become increasingly relevant if, as predicted, heat waves and disease outbreaks become more frequent in pig production systems in South Africa with climate change.     

Risk management in Canada's agricultural sector in light of COVID-19

The unexpected introduction and spread of COVID-19 has presented significant challenges for every aspect of Canadian society. Although the food and agricultural sector is positioned better than most, there are many risks that will need to be managed in the coming months. The suite of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Business Risk Management (BRM) programs delivered under the Canadian Agricultural Policy framework are meant to assist farmers in managing risks; however, there are no corresponding specialized programs for agribusinesses. The underlying structure of the BRM program was developed decades ago and certainly not with any thought to the possibility of a global pandemic. This article considers to what extent the BRM program and, more broadly, government programming will assist farmers in managing new risks. By default, the article is speculative in nature given that we are currently at the onset of the pandemic in Canada.     

Getting Institutions "Right" for Whom? Credit Constraints and the Impact of Property Rights on the Quantity and Composition of Investment

Property rights reform is typically hypothesized to boost investment through investment demand and credit supply effects. Yet when the credit supply effect is muted, property rights reform would be expected to induce liquidity-constrained farms to reduce investment in movable capital even as they increase investment in attached capital. This expectation is corroborated by econometric analysis of panel data from Paraguay. While all farmers experience a positive investment demand effect, liquidity-constrained producers correspondingly reduce their demand for movable capital. Given an estimated pattern of wealth-biased liquidity constraints, property rights reform will get institutions "right" for only wealthier producers.     

林农生计资本对林地利用方式的影响研究

基于陕西省500户农户的调查数据,在可持续生计分析框架基础上,构建林农生计资本指标体系,运用多元Logit模型实证分析了林农生计资本对林地利用方式的影响。研究表明:第一,不同类型的林农生计资本结构差异会影响其对林地利用方式的选择;第二,在林农林地利用方式的选择上,各生计资本要素的影响存在显著差异,其中金融资本要素是改善林农生计的关键。在此基础上,从林农生计资本要素出发,提出了鼓励林地流转、发展规模经营、加快林业社会化服务体系建设等政策建议。     

Potential impacts of Bt eggplant on economic surplus and farmers' health in India

In this article, the potential impacts of Bt eggplant technology in Indian agriculture are analyzed. Several proprietary Bt hybrids are likely to be commercialized in the near future. Based on field trial data, it is shown that the technology can significantly reduce insecticide applications and increase effective yields. Comprehensive farm-survey data are used to project farm-level effects and future adoption rates. Simulations show that the aggregate economic surplus gains of Bt hybrids could be around US$108 million per year. Consumers will capture a large share of these gains, but farmers and the innovating company will benefit too. As the company has also shared its technology with the public sector, Bt open-pollinated varieties might become available with a certain time lag. This would make the technology more accessible, especially for resource-poor farmers, entailing further improvements in welfare and distribution effects. The wider implications of the private–public technology transfer are discussed. Furthermore, the potential benefits for farmers' health resulting from reduced insecticide applications are examined, using an econometric model and a cost-of-illness approach. These benefits are worth an additional $3–4 million per year, yet they constitute only a small fraction of the technology's environmental and health externalities. More research is needed for comprehensive impact analysis.     

The politics of environmental market instruments: Coalition building and knowledge filtering in the regulation of forest certificates trading in Brazil

Market instruments for environmental governance have a foundation in an economic theorythat claims to be universal and atemporal, but their materialization in practice always takes place in specific socioeconomic and political contexts. The Brazilian trade in forest certificates (CRA) is a new market instrument that allows farmers that have deforested illegally prior to 2008 to become compliant by acquiring certificates from other farmers that conserve a forest area beyond legal requirements. Even though the CRA market has been praised as an innovative environmental policy, it is still unclear whether it will be implemented even after more than two decades of political debate, congressional approval of legislation and substantial investments in new supporting systems. This research paper aims to analyze the materialization of this market by reconstructing how policy participants form advocacy coalitions (i.e. environmental protection, market viability and agricultural consolidation) to advance their interests. Our results show that advocacy coalitions filter (i.e. absorb, reject or transform) new ideas, experiences and knowledge in order to influence the regulations for forest certificate trading. In doing so, they often combine positions, form new alliances and merge with other advocacy coalitions in accordance with the interests of their constituents. These fluid allegiances within and between coalitions explain why market materialization remains ambiguous and unlikely to become operational in the near future.     

城市化加速推进中的农村土地冲突类型划分——以江西省为例

通过调查问卷和土地冲突的案例收集,依据不同标准对江西省农村土地冲突类型进行了具体划分.比较分析发现不同利益主体在江西省农村土地冲突中起着不同的作用.在土地的利用目标划分的冲突类型中,各利益相关方之间在经济效益上的冲突所占比重最大,社会效益与经济效益之间、生态效益与经济效益之间的冲突比重相对较小;在冲突的利益相关者划分的类型中,政府与农民的冲突占一半以上,村委会与农民之间、农民与农民之间的冲突之和占40.5%,企业与农民等相关利益者之间的冲突目前所占比重较小,但未来将会有所增加.     

“绿水青山”建设时代退耕还湿问题博弈分析

以博弈论为分析工具,以信息的完备性为分断点,基于退耕还湿政策的有效性趋势,分别从委托-代理与讨价还价两种模型对"绿水青山"建设时代退耕还湿主体的策略选择进行讨论,并从无限重复博弈分析中归纳合作的可能性。研究表明:无论从何种机制进行探讨,农户和政府的合作是必然和有效的;从主体角度分析,推进退耕还湿能促进参与主体互利。因此,建议加大补偿弹性与优化惩罚机制并重、工作透明化与补偿多元化相结合、普及湿地潜在价值以让农户更注重长远利益,为退耕还湿推广和实施、湿地恢复和保护提供理论借鉴。     

制度变迁视角下林业股份合作社的产生、优势与挑战——以浙江省安吉县尚林毛竹股份合作社为例

以浙江省安吉县尚林毛竹股份合作社为例,在制度变迁视角下探讨了林业股份合作社的产生和运作机制,林业股份合作社的优越性、存在问题和未来的发展空间。案例研究表明:第一,走向合作是林权改革后分散林农的必然选择,但合作形式是专业合作还是股份合作,并无固定模式;第二,政府对于林业股份合作社的扶持不可或缺,但其介入应当有度;第三,社会资本可以降低林业股份合作社的组织成本,并能增强合作社的稳定性;第四,林业股份合作社的发展道路并不一定要"自下而上",关键在于林农是否存在对合作的强烈需求和林业股份合作社的运行能否坚持"民办、民管、民受益"。     

农地富集区农地经营效率差异及影响因素 ——建档立卡农户与非建档立卡农户比较

研究目的：基于生计资本差异分析东北农地富集区建档立卡农户与非建档立卡农户农地经营效率差异及其影响因素,为巩固脱贫攻坚成果并向乡村振兴有效过渡提供参考。研究方法：DEA模型与Tobit模型。研究结果：（1）研究区农户农地经营效率偏低,建档立卡农户的综合技术效率与纯技术效率均显著低于非建档立卡农户,而农地经营效率差异主要是由二者的纯技术效率差异引起的;（2）建档立卡农户与非建档立卡农户均存在土地与资金投入冗余;（3）在生计资本差异下,样本农户总体、建档立卡农户、非建档立卡农户的农地经营效率主要受人力资本、自然资本、金融资本的影响。研究结论：应注重从农业技术应用、农业生产金融体系建立、新型农业经营主体培育等多方面着手提高农户农地经营效率。     

Harnessing sustainability,resilience and productivity through conservation agriculture: the case of likoti in Lesotho

Subsistence farmers in Lesotho have been able to boost agricultural yields and increase food production by adopting conservation agriculture. The practice, locally known as likoti, also contributes to combating soil erosion and to enhancing fertility. The socio-economic and environmental benefits help poor households to rehabilitate and strengthen their livelihood capital base and ultimately help rural communities to build system resilience in the face of widespread poverty and increasing vulnerability that affect the country. This paper discusses the major advantages associated with the spread of likoti. By drawing on primary data collected by FAO-Lesotho, it enquires into the determinants of adoption, thereby highlighting constraints and options for future up-scaling. The results show that attending appropriate training is a crucial prerequisite for the correct adoption of likoti. However, training is more effective when trainers pursue true participation and when social capital among farmers is stronger. Further important determinants of adoption are the level of education and the economic incentives provided to vulnerable households. Stronger policy and institutional support in all these areas would thus help address the cultural and resource constraints that limit the full potential of likoti to be harnessed and ultimately hinder its further spread throughout the country.     

Our Common European Model of Agriculture

Our Common European Model of Agriculture
Future internal and external forces on European agriculture mean that the CAP may look very different after 2013. However large these changes, the CAP will need to retain its common principles based on the European Model of Agriculture (EMA). This became clear in an informal September meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Oulu, arranged by the Finnish Presidency. A strong CAP will be needed in the future but it will have to evolve to meet upcoming challenges. Work on the future CAP will need to start soon and the Oulu meeting may become known as the starting point for those discussions. The CAP will have to provide a reasonable environment for practicing agriculture for very different farmers in very diverse conditions, and facilitate the supply of a wide variety of goods and services to consumers and taxpayers as only truly multifunctional agriculture can. If the CAP can maintain these characteristics it has an important role to play in a future Europe. The meeting in Oulu was also an important milestone for a very special reason: for the first time, all ten New Member States took an active part in the EMA-debate with full rights and responsibilities as part of the Union. Once again this underlines the central role of our common European Model of Agriculture.     

PROBLEMS OF INVESTMENT FOR TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE: THE CASE OF INDONESIAN RUBBER SMALLHOLDERS

The Indonesian rubber case illustrates major problems of technological advance where perennials are cultivated by small farmers. Despite the availability of new and socially profitable technologies, farmers have not shifted from traditional methods owing to credit and information constraints and to high private time-preferences. Some form of public assistance by the state is required if this shift is to take place. Possible Indonesian government approaches to encouraging improvement are discussed, and the currently favoured ‘focus’ strategy of capital and management-intensive development in large co-ordinated blocks is compared with the ‘dispersal’ strategy of attempting to spread government assistance more widely according to the initiative of individual producers. These and other alternative strategies are conceptualised as points on a ‘meta’ production function envelope, portraying the transition to higher inputs of added capital per hectare. The dispersal strategy employs a less capital-intensive intermediate technology, which may be adopted more easily by traditional farmers in the first instance. It may then be used as a base for moving up the learning ‘gradient’ to a higher technological level. It is shown that a major constraint on government acceptance of the dispersal strategy is lack of knowledge about its probable rate of diffusion. It is thus argued that further studies should be made of this aspect. The results of such work would then enable policies to be geared more optimally to resource endowments and social goals.