Farmers' Buying Selection Criteria of Agricultural Inputs

The Malaysian farmers' selection criteria of agricultural inputs, attitudes towards selecting the inputs, and the influence of socio-demographic factors in the selection of inputs were examined by using a personal interview with vegetable farmers. It was found that farmers perceived quality as most important criteria in selection of inputs, while advertising was perceived as least important. Vegetable farmers have favourable attitudes towards quality, product availability and fair prices, and less favourable attitudes towards advertising influence. The socio-demographic factors such as income, farm size, geographical distribution, education level, and ethnic group (race) have some influence on farmers' selection criteria of agricultural inputs.     

Intervention bias in agricultural policy

This paper re-examines the motivation for government intervention in agriculture to support farm prices and incomes. A model is outlined in which the government has a preference for higher farm incomes but fails to provide farmers with the socially optimal level of price support, even when one accepts the government's income redistribution goals as a valid reflection of social preference. It is shown that agricultural policy has an intervention bias: government price supports generally are higher than would be socially optimal. The source of the intervention bias is a time inconsistency in optimal agricultural policy formation, caused by the government's inability to precommit to a rule for setting future price support levels. Simulation results indicate that in some circumstances the intervention bias in agricultural policy can be substantial.     

Factors Affecting Farmers’ Participation in Agri‐environmental Measures: A Northern Italian Perspective

Agri‐environmental measures play an important role in Italian rural areas, as shown by the financial commitment to the Rural Development programmes. However, in contrast with other European Union (EU) countries, policy‐makers still have limited experience on how farmers approach environmental incentive schemes. This paper casts new light on this issue from a northern Italian perspective. The rationale of the farmers’ decision‐making process is explored using two multinomial models. The first explains the probability of non‐participation or participation in one of three specific agri‐environmental measures. The model outcomes show that labour‐intensive farming types and high dependency of household income on farming activity constrain farmers’ participation, whereas previous experience, easy‐to‐implement environmentally friendly farm practices and adequate compensation of extra costs encourage participation. The second model explores the effect of farmers’ attitudes and beliefs on their predispositions towards participation in any of the schemes. The results highlight that, besides income factors, the farm's future in the business, and the relationship with neighbouring farmers and their opinions on environmentally friendly practices all have significant effects on adoption of agri‐environmental measures. The paper concludes by suggesting that farmers’ attitudes and beliefs, as well as the local behavioural influences, have to be taken into account when designing and communicating agri‐environmental measures.     

Determinants of the Willingness of Belgian Farmers to Participate in Agri‐environmental Measures

This paper explores the willingness of Belgian farmers to participate in two voluntary agri‐environmental policies. Farmers' contingent behaviour is analysed on the basis of survey data. Derivations based on a conceptual micro‐economic model indicate that decision subject and decision maker characteristics are important for farmers' participation. The model is empirically tested through the specification and estimation of a probit model. Consistency is found between the theoretical framework and the empirical results indicating that both the expected effect on farm production and the farmers' environmental attitude, which is more positive among younger and better educated farmers, are significant determinants of the acceptance rate of agri‐environmental policies. Other variables which influence participation decisions are farm size and previous experience of farmers themselves or of neighbouring farmers with agri‐environmental measures.     

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.     

ATTITUDES TOWARDS FARM DIVERSIFICATION: RESULTS FROM A SURVEY OF DEVON FARMS

Evidence from a survey of farmers' reactions to milk quotas suggests that there remains a fundamental divide between policymakers' views of the future farm and those of the farmers themselves. This paper examines this dichotomy in the context of one important milk-producing county, Devon. Here an emphasis at County Council level on non-agricultural diversification is found to contrast with the actions and intentions of sampled farmers. These favour instead an increase in farm self-sufficiency and an exploration of mainstream farming options, particularly an increase in beef and sheep enterprises.     

Policy reform and farmers' wheat allocation in rural China: a case study*

Market‐oriented policy reforms often have important effects on farm‐level grain production and utilisation decisions in developing countries. China's grain farmers are of particular interest because of China's importance in world grain markets and because of China's recent major agricultural policy advances and retrenchments. An empirical evaluation of market liberalisation among farmers located in two provinces in China on farm‐level wheat consumption, market sales and on‐farm storage during 1994 is presented. The results indicate that policymakers should account for such changes in farm household behaviour in designing and assessing the consequence of market liberalisation programs for agricultural sectors in developing countries.     

CONCEPTS AND MEASUREMENT OF THE INCOMES,WEALTH AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF FARMERS

Concern over the incomes of farmers has been a fundamental but ill-defined component in the agricultural policies of the UK and many other industrialised countries. Attention is drawn to the inability of the UK's annual White Paper aggregate income figure to reveal much of the income position of farm families. Current income from farming is only a partial measure of the potential spending power of farmers: many have off-farm sources of income which must be taken into account when, for example, assessing poverty and these sources appear to be growing in relative importance. In the longer term, capital gains form part of the returns to landowning farmers but are usually ignored. The frequently-found combination of low current incomes and great wealth has prompted the use of a measure of economic status which combines the two. A prime requirement appears to be a more precise statement of the aims of income policy and the use of income measures most appropriate to the circumstances.     

Conservation practice complementarity and timing of on-farm adoption

The adoption of conservation practices is a dynamic process. Factors that vary over time can affect farmers’ decision to adopt and adoption timing. We used a duration model to evaluate the farmer's adoption time for continuous no-till (CNT), cover crops (CCs), and the variable-rate application of inputs (VRA). We found that producers who had previously adopted soil conservation practices were more likely to adopt additional complementary practices. Farmers using crop rotation adopted CNT and CCs approximately 48% and 62% faster than farmers without a crop rotation, respectively. The CC adoption time was also reduced by 70% for farmers who had adopted CNT. Complementarities between conservation practices may enhance the benefits from adoption and allow farmers to adopt bundles of conservation practices more quickly over time. This can be taken advantage of in conservation programs by promoting or requiring practices first that enhance adoption of other practices. We also found important heterogeneity in the adoption speed associated with farm management characteristics, producers’ attitudes, weather patterns, and crop prices.     

FARMERS‘ WIVES - THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE FARM BUSINESS

The contribution which farmers' wives make to the farm business is typically overlooked and under-valued, yet the farm could not function without it. The paper describes the nature of the work done by wives on farms in the UK and Ireland as revealed by two recent postal surveys. Using data from the Farm Business Survey for England and Wales, it attempts to quantify some aspects of the work. It is suggested that farm wives may contribute 5 per cent of the manual hours worked by the regular labour force and 9–10 per cent of the total regular labour input on main holdings. Further, as hired and family labour is shed and farmers seek additional employment, the wife's labour contribution is likely to become more significant. Continued neglect of women's involvement may jeopardise the future of the family farm. The paper suggests how data collection procedures might be improved to give a more realistic picture of the wife's contribution.     

Community‐supported agriculture in the United States: Social,ecological, and economic benefits to farming

In the United States, there is a tremendous amount of interest in community‐supported agriculture (CSA) among farmers, consumers, activists, and policymakers. Despite the attention garnered by CSA and the resurgence of local agriculture, relatively few studies have examined the livelihood opportunities for farmers within local agriculture. This paper evaluates the livelihoods of CSA farmers from the farmers' perspective in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. Results indicate that although CSA farmers earn more farm income than other farms across the United States on average, they still earn far below the median national income and generally fail to earn a living wage. Despite these findings, CSA farmers stressed the importance of the broader social, ecological, and economic benefits to farming. Although these non‐market benefits are a significant source of well‐being from the CSA farmers' perspective, CSA has largely failed to provide adequate livelihoods for farmers to date.     

基于SEM的农户绿色农业生产行为研究——来自新疆352个样本农户的证据

目的 农户作为生产经营的主体,农户的绿色生产行为决定着绿色农业的发展方向。此研究分析影响农户绿色农业生产意愿及行为的相关因素及路径。方法 文章基于新疆各地州的352份农户调研数据,运用结构方程模型实证分析各影响因素对农户绿色生产行为的影响程度以及各影响因素的形成机理。结果 （1）农户对绿色农业的认知、政策的引导、感知利益和绿色生产意愿与农户的绿色生产行为呈正比,感知成本则对农户绿色生产意愿和行为具有负向作用。（2）农户的绿色认知越清晰,绿色生产意愿越强烈,政府的政策补贴和推广力度越强,越能刺激农户进行绿色生产行为。（3）农户感知到花费的金钱、劳动和精力越多,则会削弱农户的绿色生产行为。结论 行为态度、主观规范、行为控制和感知利益对农户绿色生产行为均有正向作用,其中各项指标对农户绿色生产意愿和行为的影响程度各不相同,但相对而言,农户的行为态度和主观规范对绿色生产意愿的影响更为显著,感知利益对农户绿色农业生产行为影响更强。     

农户耕地保护补偿意愿及其影响机理研究

研究目的：探讨不同地区农户对耕地保护补偿标准的意愿,并对其影响机理进行理论探讨和实证检验。研究方法：农户调查、计量模型分析。研究结果：农户对耕地保护补偿标准的意愿相对较低,其中经济发达地区的农户对补偿标准的要求要明显高于经济欠发达地区;而在影响农户耕地保护补偿意愿的诸因素中,地区差异、农户受教育水平及农户对征地的意愿发挥着比较显著的作用。研究结论：本研究为推进和落实农户耕地保护的经济补偿机制提供了借鉴与启示。     

Production risk,risk aversion and the determination of risk attitudes among Spanish rice producers

Agricultural production is subject to risk and the attitudes of producers toward risk will influence input choices insofar as these affect production risk. Risk attitudes in turn may be affected by certain socioeconomic characteristics of producers. Using 2004 survey data from a cross‐section of 130 Spanish rice farms, we estimate risk‐aversion coefficients of farmers and investigate the influence of a series of socioeconomic variables on their risk attitudes. Our results show that farmers exhibit risk‐averse behavior and that risk attitudes are related to a series of socioeconomic characteristics. In particular, the belief that the farm will continue after the producer retires is found to increase the degree of risk aversion, while age is found to have nonlinear effects on risk aversion. Off‐farm income, especially from nonagricultural activities, is found to reduce risk aversion. Neither the educational level of the producer nor the presence of dependents on the household is found to have an effect on risk preferences. Regarding the production technology, we find that land, labor, and fitosanitary products are risk‐reducing inputs, whereas capital, seeds, and fertilizer all increase risk.     

农业机械化发展及其服务外包的原因分析——源自冀豫鲁3省问卷调查数据的证明

[目的]在统计描述华北平原农民的机械采纳率和机械采纳方式的基础上,分析农民的机械化需求和农机手的机械服务供给行为及其内在逻辑,从理论和实证两个维度对华北平原地区农业机械技术的特殊实现形式——服务外包做出解释。[方法]运用描述性统计分析和成本收益核算等方法,利用冀豫鲁3省779个农户和45个农机手的实地调研数据分别对农业机械化发展的前提条件和实现方式做出解释。[结果]农业劳动力成本上升与农机购置成本下降,共同刺激了农民的机械技术需求,是华北平原农业机械化快速发展的前提条件;持有农业机械的农民基于理性选择而向其他农民提供农机作业服务,是推动华北平原农业机械化以服务形式实现的主要原因。[结论]相关部门应继续探索高效的农机补贴模式,刺激农民的机械技术需求;农业机械支持政策可适当向农机合作社倾斜,提高农机手的组织化程度和服务数量与质量。     

A SURVEY OF STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TO METHODS OF TEACHING FARM MANAGEMENT*

This paper presents the results of a survey of students' attitudes towards a variety of teaching methods. Included in the methods are a simple farm management game and a complex computer-based game. The results provide a basis for deciding the appropriateness of the teaching methods to the different facets of farm management courses.     

PART TIME FARMING—IMPLICATIONS FOR FARM FAMILY INCOME

The Common Agricultural Policy has been more successful at securing food supplies than at providing adequate incomes for small farmers. Among proposals for resolving the problem, part time farming is a promising option. To date, agricultural policy has at best ignored farms below the ‘full time’ threshold, at worst discriminated against them. The new Agricultural Structures policy embodies a more positive approach, however. Robson's paper calls for better information on farm households with other gainful activities. Statistics from the 1983 Farm Structure Survey provide insight into the nature and extent of part time farming in the European Community. Neglect of part time farming in the UK up to now may have stemmed from its perceived irrelevance for agricultural policy. Now that it is being viewed in a more favourable light, policy makers need to be appraised of the facts. Currently about one third of main agricultural holdings in England and Wales are part time farms in the sense that farmer or spouse combines another paid job with farming. Gasson's paper explores the nature of these other jobs and features of their distribution. Following trends in other developed countries, non-farm activities are becoming increasingly important for UK farming families. Growth in part time farming has obvious implications for income support, widely agreed to be the fundamental objective of agricultural policy in western Europe. Existing farm income measures are not adequate for assessing the extent of the income problem in agriculture. Data from the Inland Revenue's Survey of Personal Incomes and the Wye College part time farming survey fill some of the gaps left in official measurements. Non-farming earnings, pensions and investment income contribute significantly to farm household incomes. A majority of part time farming families in England and Wales make more from other sources than from farming. Although average incomes of part time farmers may exceed those of full timers, Hill's paper identifies a section of part time farming families with inadequate incomes from all sources.     

How Do Health and Social Insurance Programmes Affect the Land and Labour Allocations of Farm Households? Evidence from Taiwan

To protect farmers from health care costs and risks to livelihood, most countries have developed special health and social insurance programmes specifically for farmers. While numerous studies have examined the determinants of participation in these programmes, little is known about how they influence famers' land and labour allocations. Without government‐sponsored health and social insurance, farmers may seek off‐farm employment in order to obtain similar benefits. Conditioning eligibility for social insurance on minimum land holdings and on‐farm work days can lead to delayed retirement and other forms of job lock. We investigate these issues using a unique dataset of 703,287 farms in Taiwan. After controlling for non‐random participation in Taiwan's social insurance programme, we find that the programme increases (decreases) on (off) farm labour supply, and decreases the amount of set‐aside land. This suggests that payments from social insurance substitute for those issued through land set‐aside programmes to some extent, and that failing to account for this substitution increases the cost of achieving both programmes' objectives.     

Achieving successful farmer engagement on greenhouse gas emission mitigation

This paper explores the potential for farmers’ engagement on the issues related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation in extensive low-input livestock farming systems. The framework used was based on Participatory Action Research. This involved integrating quantitative evidence on GHG emission impacts at the farm level and qualitative data on the obstacles to the adoption of innovation based on farmers’ perceptions and attitudes to climate change. The study aims at building social capital among 14 farmers in the South West and West Midlands regions in England, and it evaluates the potential for the adoption of emission mitigation strategies. The Rapid Farm Practices Appraisal (RFPA) tool was created to assess farm practices based on their mitigation potential. Practices were assessed twice over 6–9 months. Semi-structured interviews were used to assess barriers and opportunities to farmer engagement and on-farm innovation. Farmers were invited to a focus group meeting to network with other farmers and engage with researchers. All farmers participated in the 2 farm assessments, but only half the farmers adopted changes in farm management. All farmers appreciated the RFPA tool, the clearness of the information provided and the focus of the tool on practices directly. The main obstacles to innovation were limited financial capital, lack of trust in government action and confusion over the effectiveness of farm advice on mitigation. The lack of long-term flexibility of agricultural policies and the source of information greatly influenced the acceptance of advice. Results suggest the potential for the expansion of the RFPA tool to include economic assessment of farm practices and the engagement of a larger pool of farmers and farming systems. The tool could be used to support the GHG Action Plan and future environmental policies, and as an integrated self-assessment tool for farmers under Environmental Stewardship Schemes.     

ROLES OF WOMEN ON FARMS: A PILOT STUDY

Official statistics do not reveal the nature of the contribution which farmers' wives make to the farm labour force. On the basis of a pilot study, three roles for women on farms were identified. Main distinguishing features were division of labour between husband and wife, frequency of manual work, responsibility for farm enterprises, participation in formal organisations and approach to housework. Home-centred farm housewives only work on the farm occasionally, working farmwives assist their husbands regularly while women farmers threaten male status by doing “man's” work. Reasons for women playing one role rather than another are discussed. Trends in agriculture suggest that the farmer's wife's contribution to the farm business will become still more significant in future. “The concept of ‘the farmer and his wife’ so often used by agricultural economics is far from having universal validity” (Ashby, 1953: 97).