Understanding Filipino Rice Farmer Preference Heterogeneity for Varietal Trait Improvements: A Latent Class Analysis

Using an experimental methodology based on investment games, we examine whether smallholder rice farmers from Nueva Ecija, Philippines have heterogeneous preferences for improvements in 10 rice varietal traits. We use a latent class cluster approach to identify different segments of rice producing households and their distinct preferences for trait improvements. These clusters were characterised post hoc using household, farm, and marketing characteristics. On average, farmers invested the most in rice varietal trait improvements that offered opportunities to reduce losses caused by lodging, insects and diseases. We found four classes of farmers with distinct preferences for improvements in variety traits. The clusters were significantly different in terms of household and farm characteristics. These findings can guide breeding research in the development of varieties that have the traits farmers identified for improvement, and that will address the unique needs of distinct farmer segments.     

Farmer knowledge across the commodification spectrum: Rice,cotton, and vegetables in Telangana,India

Crop seeds are a factor of production that can be produced on farm or bought, commodified in varying ways and degrees, and that can change slowly or rapidly—all of which directly impact the crucial process of farmer “skilling.” Seed choices also offer a unique empirical window through which farmer knowledge may be studied. Although other studies have examined the differences between cash and food crops, this research provides new insights into varyingly commodified crops within the same agrarian system. When planting rice, genetically modified hybrid cotton seeds, and garden vegetables, farmers in Telangana, India, face different constraints and opportunities to learn about their seeds and practice that knowledge in the field. These differences arise from agronomic properties of the seeds themselves as well as from the sociocultural meaning that structures the context in which farmers buy, grow, and save them. This measurable discrepancy in farmer knowledge and experience presents an opportunity to examine the variable impact of seed commodification as it is experienced by the same group of farmers across several different crops. Building on theories of commodification and agricultural knowledge, we propose that the different ways in which farmer knowledge operates in these crops reflect a spectrum on which knowledge and commodification are inversely related.     

Perceptions and outlook on intercropping coffee with banana as an opportunity for smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda

Coffee and banana are important cash and food crops in Uganda and the surrounding East African highland region. Production is dominated by smallholders that have limited arable land and often coffee and banana are intercropped. No significant research and development efforts have been undertaken over the last few decades on this coffee/banana intercropping system. Because recent studies suggest that this system could be a practice with high benefits to the farmers, we decided to study the perceptions of stakeholders along the coffee value chain starting with farmers. Perception analysis based on open-ended interviews following interview guides revealed that a major limitation for the sustainability of this system was poor soil fertility conditions. Perceptions on the benefits of intercropping differed little among coffee actors; that is, banana intercropping provides additional food and income from smallholders’ limited land and helps farmers reduce risks related to drought, pest/disease attacks and coffee price volatility. However, farmers’ desire to minimize risks does not match the objective of stakeholders higher up the coffee value chain to maximize coffee production. Furthermore, research by public institutes, both national and international, is primarily organized for single crops and not systems. We conclude that the institutional setting of the coffee sector hampers the promotion of intercropping, despite the benefits for the farmer.     

Do farmers benefit from participating in specialty markets and cooperatives? The case of coffee marketing in Costa Rica1

Historically low prices in the conventional coffee market have caused financial and social hardship among coffee farmers. In the face of this crisis, specialty markets have attracted the attention of the international donor community. These market segments have shown consistent growth over the last decade and exhibit price premiums in international markets. Therefore, if higher prices are passed on to farmers, access to specialty markets could help to alleviate the crisis brought on by low prices in the conventional sector. The present study attempts to identify the factors that determine farmers' participation in specialized markets and whether participation in these markets leads to higher prices for farmers. A two-stage model is used to analyze farmers' marketing decisions and their effect on the prices received. This procedure allows us to control for the endogeneity bias introduced by the marketing choice. Our results indicate that farmers participating in the specialty coffee segment do in fact receive higher prices than those participating in conventional channels. Additionally, we find that participation in cooperatives has a positive impact on the probability that a farmer chooses to grow specialty coffee and analogously on the prices that they receive. Based on these results, it seems that efforts to increase participation in the specialty coffee segment and in cooperatives would help to lessen some of the hardships brought on by low prices in the conventional coffee sector.     

农民发展权综合评价指数模型的构建及实证分析

[目的]中国农民发展权是农民拥有的公平参与促进经济、社会、文化和政治发展过程并公平分享发展成果的基本人权。但由于涉及权利,概念抽象,学者和公众关注度不高,因此,对农民发展权进行分解,并进行指标数据量化并计算结果,是一个不错的、方便民众了解该权利,并对该权利实现结果有一个整体判断的途径。[方法]运用层次分析法构建农民发展权综合评价指数模型,具体有3个步骤:第一,解析农民发展权内容、构造农民发展权指标体系。第二,借助层次分析软件中的群决策工具完成农民发展权各个中间层指标的赋权。第三,运用该模型,对中国农民发展权进行测度。[结果]从指标值和发展权计算结果看,近10年农民相对市民的发展权不足一半,且并未有所改善。单看农民发展结果类指标数值城乡差距有增大趋势。从农民发展权构成看,政治发展权是短板。[结论]近10年农民发展权处于弱势且未得到保障。政治发展权的短板是农民发展权未得到保障的根源。给予农民更多话语权,财政资金的投入向农民更多倾斜,只有这样才可能降低现有的农民和市民发展结果的差异。     

Influence of livelihoods on climate change adaptation for smallholder farmers in the Mekong Delta Vietnam

Farmers in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta face a wide range of climate-related and hydrological factors which threaten rice production. Smallholder farmers must adapt to climate change to sustain rice production as their central and most important livelihood activity. A sample was stratified across agro-ecological areas in the Delta affected by flooding, alluvial soils, acid sulphate soils, and saline water intrusion and by derived farmer typologies. A rural livelihoods approach was used in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to identify and enumerate enabling and constraining adaptation factors. Smallholders experienced diverse natural hazards such as floods, abnormal rains, high temperatures, water scarcity, and salinity intrusion specific to the agro-ecological areas. Adaptation was constrained by labour shortages, water quality, topography, access to combine harvesters, transportation infrastructure, dryers and household savings. Adaptation was enabled by farming techniques and experience, cooperative groups, water quantity, access to information, and ability to purchase agro-chemicals through credit. Small farmers (< 1?ha) were more constrained than large farmers (> 1?ha) who had an expanded livelihood asset base. A range of policy implications are discussed, but adaptation is not just about technological fixes but requires overall improvements in a range of human, social and financial components.     

Better Technology, Better Plots, or Better Farmers? Identifying Changes in Productivity and Risk among Malagasy Rice Farmers

We introduce a method for properly attributing observed productivity and risk changes among new production methods, farmers, and plots by controlling for farmer and plot heterogeneity. Results from Madagascar show that the new system of rice intensification (SRI) is indeed a superior technology. Although about half of the observed productivity gains appear due to farmer characteristics rather than SRI itself, the technology generates the estimated average output gains of more than 84%. The increased estimated yield risk associated with SRI would nonetheless make it unattractive to many farmers within the standard range of relative risk aversion.     

Crop diversification in Thailand: Status,determinants, and effects on income and use of inputs

Following the national policy, the Department of Agriculture of Thailand has implemented a crop diversification program in several provinces of the country. This study, which was conducted in Nakhon Pathom Province, analyzed the extent of crop diversification and its determinants using primary information collected from 245 farm households using a structured questionnaire, and from selected farmer leaders and agricultural development officials. The study also assessed the effects of crop diversification on income and the inputs used. The findings of the study revealed that nearly three fourths of the land is still being used for rice mono-cropping, indicating little success in the promotion of the crop diversification program. Paddy fields, including farms for cultivating rice under mono-cropping and diversified system, still account for 90% of the total farmland in the country. The limited impact of the program on the farming sector is attributed primarily to the variation in land and labor resources available at the farmers’ disposal as well as soil suitability. The farmers’ attendance in training and interaction with farmer groups are the other influential factors. Although cropping diversification has provided attractive financial return particularly to the small farmers, it has also accelerated the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. Broad policy instruments are therefore suggested for the effective implementation of future crop diversification programs in Thailand and perhaps elsewhere in Southeast Asia.     

Privatisation,empowerment and accountability: What are the policy implications for establishing effective farmer organisations?

Weak institutional development and information flows have constrained the extent to which the smallholder farming sector in developing countries can significantly drive growth and poverty reduction. This is despite widely implemented economic liberalisation policies focussing on market efficiency. Farmer organisations are viewed as a potential means of addressing public and private institutional failure but this has frequently been limited by inequalities in access to power and information. This article investigates two issues that have received little research attention to date: what role downward accountability plays in enabling farmer organisations to improve services and markets, and what influences the extent to which downward accountability is achieved. Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), one of the largest farmer organisations in the world (>400,000 farmers) is examined alongside wider literature. Mixed methods were used including key informant interviews, and eight months of participant observation followed by a questionnaire survey. The article concludes that without effective downward accountability farmer organisations can become characterised by institutions and mechanisms that favour elites, restricted weak coordination and regulation, and manipulated information flows. This in turn reduces individuals’ incentives to invest. If farmer organisations are to realise their potential as a means of enabling the smallholder sector to significantly contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction, policy and research needs to address key factors which influence accountability including: how to ensure initial processes in formation of farmer organisations establish appropriate structures and rules; strong state regulation to enhance corporate accountability; transparent information provision regarding actions of farmer organisation leaders; and the role independent non-government organisations can play. Consequently attention needs to focus on developing means of legitimising rights, building poor people's capacity to challenge exclusion, and moving from rights to obligations regarding information provision.     

Retirement farming or sustainable growth – land transfer choices for farmers without a successor

Ireland’s agriculture is characterised by an ageing farmer population and small average farm sizes. These structural issues are shared by a number of European countries and have been identified as barriers to sustainable growth in the sector. While farms with an identified successor usually enter a path of expansion and growth, farms without a successor at some point follow a route of winding down and extensification. Such retirement farming could potentially become an issue for food security and sustainable land use. Understanding the retirement decisions of farmers without a successor is key to address this issue. To this end a survey was conducted with Irish farmers including questions surrounding succession and retirement. About half of the surveyed farmers did not have a successor and two thirds of those did not intend to fully retire from active farming in the future. A logistic regression analysis of the collected data showed that placing a high value on family tradition in farming and only receiving a state pension had a negative effect on the intention to retire, while being aware of changing pension ages had a positive effect. A follow up qualitative study explored the perceptions of farmers without a successor regarding various land transfer options. The participants mainly anticipated negative consequences arising from selling the farm and full retirement such as the loss of land and the end of the farming activity. Other options such as the long-term leasing of part of the land or entering into a partnership with a younger farmer were regarded as having more positive consequences. These included a lowering of the workload, allowing a continuing involvement in farm work, and the ability to be able to stay on the farm.     

Evolution and future direction of intensified agriculture in the central mid-hills of Nepal

Nepalese mid-hill farmers have shifted from a subsistence-based farming system to an intensified farming system. This paper attempts to describe the evolution of the process of agricultural intensification in the mid-hill region by examining external drivers, trends in fertilizer use, landholding, cropping patterns, irrigation and labour use in the years 1989, 1999 and 2009. Data were obtained by means of structured interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and field observations. The study revealed that modern technology and the involvement of NGOs have facilitated the agricultural intensification process in three ways: (i) by providing access to technology without any financial cost to the farmer, (ii) by increasing the variety and number of crops and encouraging farmers to discontinue crops that had pest problems and (iii) by maximizing the use of chemical fertilizers to increase production. Results showed a significant increase in the application of urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) and a decrease in the application of farm yard manure (FYM) and muriate of potash from 1989 to 2009 (p < 0.001). The average landholding of 0.76ha in 1989 was reduced to 0.63ha by 2009. The number of crops (rice, maize or millet) cultivated per year increased to at least three crops with the introduction of potatoes and spring rice; however, some crops such as sugarcane and tobacco were not continued as a result of pest problems. Increased nitrogen input could lead to increased N₂O emissions; therefore, a better understanding of nitrogen fertilization and quantification of N₂O emissions from intensified agriculture is urgently needed to assess the possible environmental impact of input intensification.     

Technology characteristics,farmers' perceptions and adoption decisions: A Tobit model application in Sierra Leone

The objective of this paper is to test the hypothesis that farmer perceptions of technology-specific characteristics significantly condition technology adoption decisions. Earlier adoption studies have not considered this in the analysis of the determinants of adoption decisions. The omission of farmers' evaluation of technology-specific attributes may bias the results of factors conditioning adoption choices. A Tobit model was used to test this hypothesis using a stratified random sample of 124 mangrove swamp rice farmers in Sierra Leone. The issue investigated is the adoption of improved mangrove swamp rice varieties. The estimated model results show that farmer perceptions of the technology-specific attributes of the varieties are the major factors determining adoption and use intensities. Indicators of adoption determinants traditionally used in adoption-diffusion studies were found not to be important in driving adoption decisions. Therefore, there is need for adoption studies to consider farmers' perceptions of technology-specific attributes in the assessment of technology adoption decisions.     

On‐Farm Conservation of Rice Biodiversity in Nepal: A Simultaneous Estimation Approach

This paper presents an empirical case study about farmer management of rice genetic resources in two communities of Nepal, drawing on interdisciplinary, participatory research that involved farmers, rice geneticists and social scientists. The decision‐making process of farm households is modelled and estimated in order to provide information for the design of community‐based conservation programmes. A bivariate model with sample selection examines the simultaneous process of whether farmers decide to plant landraces or modern varieties, and whether the landraces they choose to plant constitute the genetic diversity of interest for future crop improvement. Findings show that the two landrace choices are affected by different social and economic factors, but in certain cases the decision processes are interrelated. Policies to promote the conservation of local rice diversity will need to take both processes into account.     

Incentives to managers or participation of farmers in China's irrigation systems: which matters most for water savings,farmer income,and poverty?

The overall goal of our article is to better understand which matters for water savings, farmer income and poverty in China's irrigation systems: incentives to managers or participation of farmers. To pursue this goal, the article has three objectives. First, we track the evolution of water management reform, examining the practice of providing incentives to managers, and increasing the participation of farmers. Second, we identify the impact of water management reform on crop water use. Specifically, we want to measure whether or not incentives to managers and farmer participation in water management institutions affect the performance of the irrigation system. Because we also are interested in the potential results of water management reform, the article explores how changes in incentives and farmer participation affect farmer income and poverty. Based on a random sample of 51 villages and 189 farmers in four large irrigation districts in Ningxia and Henan provinces, both in China's Yellow River Basin, our results show that the two major forms of water management reform, water users' associations (WUAs) and contracting, have begun to systematically replace traditional forms of collective management. Our analysis demonstrates, however, that it is not the nominal implementation of the reform that matters, but rather it is the creation of new management institutions that offer water managers monetary incentives that lead to water savings. In contrast to the original design of China's reform policies, participation of farmers has not played a role in saving water. Importantly, given China's concerns about national food production and poverty alleviation, the reductions in water, at least in our sample sites, do not lead to reductions in income and do not increase the incidence of poverty.     

Multinationals vs. Cooperatives: The Income and Efficiency Effects of Supply Chain Governance in India

The impact of multinational firms on the domestic agricultural sector in developing countries is controversial, in particular in India. Relying on a unique set of household‐level data from the state of Punjab, we study the biggest dairy company in the world (Nestlé) in India and compare its vertical spillover effects on upstream suppliers to other market channels (informal sector and cooperatives). We find that farmers that supply informal channels are less efficient and earn lower profits per dairy animal than farmers supplying the cooperative and the multinational sector. Furthermore, we find that farmers using the multinational channel are more efficient than farmers in the cooperative channel, but equally profitable. Hence, we do not find that supplying the cooperative channel is more beneficial for local dairy farmers than supplying the multinational channel. Overall, however, dairy productivity and profitability levels are still dramatically low, with substantial scope for dairy development.     

社会经济因素对农户种植决策行为的影响——基于主体模型的像元尺度模拟

[目的]保证粮食安全关乎国计民生和社会稳定。合理调控种植结构,优化粮食配比和产量,对于稳定粮食安全有着举足轻重的作用。目前,以大豆为主的油料作物多依赖进口,严重威胁我国的粮食安全,为了优化种植结构,提升油料作物自给率,对农户种植决策行为的研究十分必要,具有科学价值和政策意义。[方法]文章选取黑龙江省松嫩平原粮食主产区的主粮种植结构为研究对象,通过农户问卷调查并结合社会经济统计数据以及作物空间分布数据,采用基于主体模型（Agent-based Model,简称ABM模型）模拟了2016—2020年农户作物种植（大豆、水稻、玉米）的决策行为以及作物空间分布格局。[结果]ABM模型模拟的平均总体精度为63%,结果显示种植决策行为与社会规范因素较为相关,例如：农户所处周边社会环境中大多数人种植水稻,该农户有较高的概率选择种植水稻;经济因素也是重要的影响因素,例如：水稻种植收益高则更多人种水稻。根据ABM模型的情景分析结果显示,农户受周围农户种植决策影响程度越高,越倾向于选择周围农户的种植结构;而当大豆补贴金额变化时,农户更倾向于选择种植收入较高的种植结构。[结论]该研究构建的基于农户决策行为的...     

Rice productivity improvement in Cambodia through the application of technical recommendation in a farmer field school

Innovation in rice (Oryza sativa) productivity improvement is a major goal for rice research. However, many studies have tended to analyse the various factors that affect productivity separately, while farmers invest their scare resources in farm inputs that impact on multiple factors in the real farm. This study assessed the effectiveness of integrated pest management practised during farmer field school (FFS) training in Cambodia on the production efficiencies, yields and profitability of rice farming. In total, 270 FFSs on rice cultivated in the early wet, wet and dry seasons were randomly selected from three provinces in 3 years to analyse the production practices and productivity using six cost-related factors: seed, planting methods, field management, fertilizer use, pesticide application and harvesting. It was found that yields and profits were significantly higher with the technically recommended practices (TRs) than with traditional farmer practices (FPs). However, the reverse was true for production costs due to the overuse of seed and pesticides in FP, neither of which are correlated with yield increase for both FP and TR. Thus, the FFS approach is a knowledge-intensive field management tool that enables the rational use of farm inputs and that is expected to be highly effective for sustainable rice production improvement.     

Role of education and extension in the adoption of technology: a study of upland rice and soybean farmers in Central-West Brazil

This paper explores reduced form determinants of the adoption of certain technologies by upland rice and soybean farmers in the Center-West region of Brazil. We merge community level data on the availability and quality of publicly provided infrastructure, principally extension, to the farm level data containing information on farmer human capital as well as land quantity and quality. By using community level measures of availability and quality of extension, we avoid problems of endogeneity of farm level measures of extension use. We find positive impacts of farmer education on the diffusion process, in accordance with other studies. We also isolate effects of the quality in regional extension investment as measured by the average experience of technical extension staff. These results indicate that investments in human capital of extension workers does have a payoff in terms of farmer adoption of improved cultivation practices.     

Is late really better than never? The farmer welfare effects of pineapple adoption in Ghana

Export agriculture offers potentially high returns to smallholder farmers in developing countries, but also carries substantial market risk. In this article we examine the intertemporal welfare impact of the timing of a farmer's entry into the export pineapple market in southern Ghana. We examine whether farmers who never cultivated pineapple are better or worse off than farmers who decided to adopt pineapple earlier or later relative to their peers and experienced a significant adverse market shock several years prior to our endline survey. We use a two‐stage least squares model to estimate the causal effect of duration of pineapple farming on farmer welfare. Consistent with economic theory, we find that earlier adoption of the new crop brings greater welfare gains than does later uptake. But we find that the gains to later uptake of pineapple—just before the market shock—are small in magnitude, just 0.1 standard deviations of a comprehensive asset index, indicating that the gains to adoption may be precarious and depend on the context, in particular on the severity of prospective market shocks.     

Hog producer income losses under contagious animal disease restrictions

Eradication measures of a contagious animal disease may force farmers to keep ready-to-slaughter animals on the farm. As feeding heavy animals may reduce carcass quality and farmer income, farmers can adjust their feeding policy in order to decrease losses from delayed slaughter. The problem is interesting also from society's point of view because eradication measures can affect a large number of farms when a single farm is infected. A dynamic programming model is developed to study optimal hog feeding strategies when the timing of slaughter is restricted. The model takes into account carcass quality, its effects on timing of slaughter under given prices, and animal density on the farm. The results show that farmers suffer substantial losses due to delayed slaughter, and can minimize the losses by reducing energy feeding. The results give information on designing compensation schemes so that all farmers have economic incentives to implement preferred eradication policy.