Article
Environmental Sciences
Tahereh Zobeidi, Masoud Yazdanpanah, Nadejda Komendantova, Stefan Sieber, Katharina Loehr
Summary: This study investigated the factors affecting farmers' adaptation behaviors using the Health Belief Model as a theoretical framework. The results revealed that self-efficacy is the most important predictor of technical and non-technical adaptation behaviors. The study emphasizes the differences between the determinants of technical and non-technical adaptation behaviors and highlights the key role of self-efficacy.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Development Studies
Christopher M. Bacon, William A. Sundstrom, Iris T. Stewart, Ed Maurer, Lisa C. Kelley
Summary: This study found that peak seasons of food and water stress are asynchronous across households, with households experiencing less food and water insecurity in 2017 compared to 2014. However, concerns remain regarding issues such as coffee leaf rust outbreaks and unfavorable agrifood prices. Higher incomes and larger farm areas were positively correlated with improved food and water security.
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Steven M. Helfand, Matthew P. H. Taylor
Summary: This paper highlights the importance of choosing productivity measures in the literature regarding the inverse relationship, suggesting that total factor productivity (TFP) is the appropriate indicator for most policy questions. By analyzing data from Brazilian farms, it is found that there is an inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity, while the relationship between TFP and size shows a U-shaped trend or even positive correlation.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Eve Emes, Barbara Wieland, Ulf Magnusson, Michel Dione
Summary: This study investigated farming practices and animal disease outcomes in smallholder livestock farms in Uganda, and found that prophylactic antibiotic use can indeed prevent disease outbreaks, highlighting the rationality of non-therapeutic antibiotic use in smallholder livestock farms.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sebastian Ivan Grondona, Maria Lourdes Lima, Hector Enrique Massone, Karina Silvia Beatriz Miglioranza
Summary: Agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean is the biggest user of water and pesticides globally. A systematic review found that only six countries in the region have information on pesticides in groundwater. The study detected a total of 70 agrochemicals, with herbicides being the most commonly detected. Factors such as preferential flows, rainfall variations, and land use practices contribute to the presence of these contaminants in aquifers. The limited analytical capacity in the region calls for groundwater pesticide monitoring to reduce health risks to humans and ecosystems.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Relwende A. Nikiema, Sakiko Shiratori, Jules Rafalimanantsoa, Ryosuke Ozaki, Takeshi Sakurai
Summary: It is found that agricultural production greatly contributes to farmers' food safety and nutrition in developing countries. This paper fills the gap in exploring the relationship between agricultural productivity and farmers' micronutrient intake by discussing food consumption and cash revenue pathways. Results show that rice yield is positively associated with farmers' calorie and micronutrient intake, although the elasticities are low. Furthermore, raising rice yield not only positively affects rice consumption but also the share of output sold and cash revenue from rice sales. Finally, it is suggested that households with higher cash revenue from rice sales tend to purchase more nutritious foods. Therefore, market access measures should accompany interventions targeting yield enhancement in order to improve farm households' nutrition through agricultural production.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
William Adzawla, Prem S. Bindraban, Williams K. Atakora, Oumou Camara, Amadou Gouzaye
Summary: Smallholder agriculture is crucial for achieving zero-hunger target in Ghana, but rural households have not seen significant improvement in their livelihoods. Large-scale farmers perform better in most livelihood outcomes, while diversification reduces per capita consumption expenditure for small-scale farmers and commercialization improves food security, consumption expenditure, and income.
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Michee A. Lachaud, Boris E. Bravo-Ureta
Summary: This study found that technological progress is the main driver of total factor productivity growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and there is no absolute convergence in CATFP across countries over time. However, conditional convergence towards different steady states exists in the region.
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Peter Brummund, Joshua D. Merfeld
Summary: The study found that in Malawi, farm production is riskier than non-farm enterprises, leading to consistently higher marginal revenue product of labor (MRPL) in farms compared to non-farm activities. These results suggest that improved access to insurance for farming activities and wage employment opportunities could potentially increase total household income.
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Valentina Constanta Tudor, Toma Adrian Dinu, Marius Vladu, Dragos Smedescu, Ionela Mituko Vlad, Eduard Alexandru Dumitru, Cristina Maria Sterie, Carmen Luiza Costuleanu
Summary: This paper combines theoretical concepts with statistical data analysis to provide a detailed analysis of how agricultural labor force impacts the yields of the five major crops in Romania. The research also examines the academic environment for agricultural labor force research. The findings suggest that despite a decrease in the agricultural workforce, the yields of these crops have increased due to technological advancements.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Isael Fierros-Gonzalez, Alejandro Lopez-Feldman
Summary: Global climate change poses a significant challenge to agricultural producers in developing countries. Farmers need to be aware of and take action on climate change. However, research on Latin American farmers' perceptions of climate change remains limited.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Economics
Abebayehu Girma Geffersa, Frank Wogbe Agbola, Amir Mahmood
Summary: The study reveals a significant difference in technical efficiency among maize farmers in Ethiopia, with Oromia having the highest efficiency and Benishangul-Gumuz the lowest. Factors such as education level, age of household head, family size, household wealth, off-farm employment, and extension services have a significant impact on technical efficiency in maize production in Ethiopia.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Muhammad Arfan, Kamran Ansari, Asmat Ullah
Summary: This study aims to explore the various factors influencing agricultural farm productivity and test the hypothesis that participation in Water Users Association (WUA) activities leads to improved farm productivity. Using primary data collected from Pakistan's Sindh and Punjab provinces, hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to evaluate the statistical significance of different variable blocks. The findings reveal that water and land resource characteristics have the strongest influence on farm productivity, followed by personal characteristics of resource users and community and institutional characteristics. A negative relationship was found between landholding size and age with farm productivity, while a positive relationship was observed between resource users' level of participation in WUAs and farm productivity. However, the study highlights the importance of addressing inequities in canal water allocation and the need for meaningful institutional and land reforms to promote equitable economic benefits in agricultural systems.
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Kamal Vatta, Shruti Bhogal, Adam S. Green, Heena Sharma, Cameron A. Petrie, Sandeep Dixit
Summary: This study examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruptions on food security and farm incomes using data from a primary survey of 1100 farm households in Indian Punjab. The findings suggest that the paddy-wheat-based production system in the region showed resilience to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Despite disruptions in agricultural machinery services and input supplies, there was no decline in food production, land lease activity, or cropping patterns. However, the study highlights the increased rent of machinery and input prices, as well as the rise in agricultural wages due to labor scarcity. The findings emphasize the need to enhance the resilience of input and output markets in agriculture for future challenges.
Article
Agronomy
Khatab Abdalla, Macdex Mutema, Pauline Chivenge, Vincent Chaplot
Summary: The combination of no-tillage with postharvest controlled-grazing showed potential to increase SOC and reduce soil CO2 emissions, but was associated with topsoil compaction. Long-term assessment under different environmental, crop, and soil conditions is still required.
