scholarly journals Diversity of Sources of Income for Smallholder Farming Communities in Malawi: Importance for Improved Livelihood

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9599
Author(s):  
Muhammad Azher Bhatti ◽  
Sosheel Solomon Godfrey ◽  
Ryan H. L. Ip ◽  
Chipo Kachiwala ◽  
Håvard Hovdhaugen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Market Focus

Agriculture is vital to global food production. Around 550 million smallholding households produce most of the world’s food, and many rely on livestock rearing for a living. Smallholder farms must survive and thrive to maintain and increase food production. Baseline information is vital for further extension service interventions. The goal of this Malawian study was to collect quantitative baseline data on crop and livestock production, agriproduct sales, and other indicators through a household survey, and to compare the efficacy (in terms of income) of using the concept of “Lead and Follow” farmer training programs. The baseline study survey was carried out in 44 sections of 11 extension planning areas from Malawi’s five districts (Dowa, Kasungu, Mchinji, Mzimba, and Rumphi). In total, 1131 smallholder households were interviewed. Crop production, livestock farming, and providing casual labor for others were all identified as significant sources of income for smallholders, implying that all agriproducts (the whole-farm approach) is equally important for improving smallholder livelihoods. On the one hand, the whole-farm approach should improve smallholders’ resilience regarding climate change and poverty. Lower agriproduct sales, on the other hand, indicated that links to the market were frequently poor but an increased market focus should help smallholders sell their produce at a fair margin. In terms of best practices adoption, both Lead and Follow farmers adopted similar farm practices (crops and livestock) to increase income. In general, no significant difference in income was calculated from many farm enterprises for both Lead and Follow farmers. However, the income from pigs and firewood was significantly higher for Follow farmers than for Lead farmers. Lead farmers reported significantly higher off-farm income sources. Significant changes are proposed to the “Lead farmer extension approach”.

scholarly journals Determinants of Farm Revenue in Pakistan

2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Anriquez ◽  
Alberto Valdes
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
Factor Markets ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Revenue Function ◽  
Household Farm

Will small farm viability decline with the reduction of average farm size in Pakistan? This paper addresses the determinants of rural household and farm-related income. Using the 2001 PIDE Household Survey, the approach developed captures the potential interactions between farm returns and household, farm, and factor market characteristics (schooling, family size, land tenure and operational size, access to water, credit, and capital). Econometric results show: (a) returns to additional schooling and the revenue elasticity of operated acres increase with farm size; (b) medium and large farm renters would be willing to pay more than observed rents, implying an incentive to increase farm size at the prevailing rental values; (c) owneroperated farms, landowners who also leases in, and fixed rental tenants earn higher revenues than sharecropping tenants. The difference, however, between landowner/fix-renter income and sharecropper income varies with family and farm size, as well as water use. While these results favour farm size increase, the results also show that off-farm and non-farm income sources are relatively more important for small farmers, contributing to their viability. JEL classification: D13, Q12, Q15 Keywords: Pakistan, Land Markets, Rural Factor Markets, Revenue Function

Sources of Income Inequality in Nigeria

2013 ◽  
pp. 66-86
Author(s):  
A. S. Oyekale ◽  
A. I. Adeoti ◽  
T. O. Oyekale
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Income Redistribution ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
National Bureau ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
Urban Income

Income inequality and poverty in Nigeria are closely related. This chapter analyzes the contributions of income sources and socio-economic factors to income inequality, and estimates the contributions of income redistribution and growth to poverty reduction. Household survey data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are used. Results show that in 2004, income inequality was higher in rural than in urban areas. Wage and non-farm income made the largest contributions to urban income inequality, while agricultural and wage incomes contributed most to rural inequality. Household size, urbanization, and education significantly increased income inequality, while age, paid/salaried jobs, and non-farm enterprises decreased it (p<0.05). Between 1998 and 2004, income redistribution reduced poverty but income growth increased it. The authors therefore recommend that welfare enhancing programs that benefit the poor should be identified and that better economic opportunities should be created for those in rural areas.

scholarly journals Household remoteness and patterns of food production and consumption in Tajikistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 07-16
Author(s):  
Heather Anderson ◽  
Elizabeth A. Wood ◽  
Agata Kowalewska ◽  
Nargiza Ludgate ◽  
Sarah McKune
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Asian Country ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Household Surveys ◽  
Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Double Burden ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significant Difference

Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are significant public health problems in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan, with over 26% of children under age 5 being stunted and 30% being anemic. The Khatlon Province is the country’s largest agricultural area where people are often dependent on home gardens to ensure food security. The proximity of households to resources such as markets, roads, and infrastructure can affect food availability, diets, and diversity of agricultural products for consumption. This study aims to evaluate whether the remoteness of a household affects the production, consumption, and acquisition of specific crops among households in Khatlon Province, Tajikistan. A remote household was defined as one that is distant from markets and the main center of population, difficult to travel to, and has limited resources. This cross-sectional study used a household survey and focus groups to measure crop production, consumption, and food acquisition. Household surveys were administered to 107 households in six Khatlon districts and 15 focus groups were conducted in various rural villages within Khatlon. Data was analyzed using a two-sample t-test for the household surveys and NVivo software for capturing major themes within the focus groups. Results revealed that there was no statistically significant difference when comparing households for remoteness in regard to crop production, frequency of consumption, and acquisition. Frequency of food consumption was similar when comparing remoteness but significantly decreased among all households when the crop was not in season. Programs that increase agricultural knowledge about production and extended growing season are extremely beneficial to improve nutrition in these vulnerable households. Additionally, gender-related concerns were discovered within the qualitative data such as the double burden of working to maintain crops as well as managing a household. Therefore, interventions based around agricultural production and acquisition should target women.  

scholarly journals Kinerja Usahatani Kopi di Hulu DAS Sekampung, Tanggamus, Lampung

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Fitriani Fitriani ◽  
Bustanul Arifin ◽  
Wan Abbas Zakaria ◽  
R. Hanung Ismono
Keyword(s):  
Catchment Area ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Multiple Cropping ◽  
Coffee Production ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
The Status ◽  
Coffee Farming

Most of the coffee production areas in Lampung are in the vicinity of production forests andprotected forests, also a catchment area for watersheds in Lampung, namely Sekampung andWay Seputih watersheds. Continuity of sustainable coffee production lines is an importantdemand that needs to be done. The application of coffee production systems with shade(agroforestry) in the catchment area is very important in ensuring environmentalsustainability. This study aims to analyze the income performance of agroforestry coffeebased on the land status in Hulu Das Sekampung. The research uses survey methods. Fielddata exploration conducted in April-November 2016 is located in Datar Lebuay and SinarJawa Villages. Air Naningan, Tanggamus, Lampung. The descriptive statistical analysismethod is used to explain the performance of agroforestry coffee production at the researchlocation. Based on the results and discussion it was concluded that farmers with landownership status had the highest level of coffee farming income compared to the land statusof HKm and non-HKm. Agroforestry coffee farmers obtain sources of income from coffeeproduction, MPTS production, and other crop production (multiple cropping). The averagecontribution of coffee farming income is 22% of the total farm income. Coffee contributes22% to the total income of farmer households. Farmer's household income with the status ofland ownership is the highest compared to the land status of HKm and Non-HKm. Thediversity of income sources of upstream farmers in the watershed. The villages that comefrom various vegetation plants are important in maintaining land cover as a catchment area.The practice of agroforestry coffee is an adaptation of sustainable production in the upperwatershed Sekampung. The pattern of agroforestry coffee production in the area aroundprotected and watershed forests needs to be continuously developed.

PROFITABILITY OF CROP PRODUCTION UNDER THE KANO RIVER IRRIGATION PROJECT, NORTHERN, NIGERIA

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 963-972
Author(s):  
Abdullahi Abbas Yakubu ◽  
K.M. Baba ◽  
I. Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
Irrigation Project ◽  
Storage Facilities

Four major crops rice, maize, wheat and tomato were examined in the Kano River Irrigation Project. The project was divided into 3 sections; the head, middle and tail ends. One hundred farmers were randomly selected from each sections making a total of 300 hundred farmers. Net farm income, and profitability index were used to assess the profitability of the enterprises. It was concluded Rice, maize, and wheat were profitable while tomato was unprofitable that year attributable to market glut and perishability of the crop. It was recommended that storage facilities be provided by both private and government agencies to curtail the losses incurred by the farmers.

scholarly journals Land-Use Impact on Stand Structure and Fruit Yield of Tamarindus indica L. in the Drylands of Southeastern Ethiopia

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 408
Author(s):  
Gizachew Zeleke ◽  
Tatek Dejene ◽  
Wubalem Tadesse ◽  
Pablo Martín-Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
Fruit Yield ◽  
Tamarindus Indica ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Baseline Information

In this study, we evaluated stand status, dendrometric variables, and fruit production of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) trees growing in bushland and farmland-use types in dryland areas of Ethiopia. The vegetation survey was conducted using the point-centered quarter method. The fruit yield of 54 trees was also evaluated. Tree density and fruit production in ha were estimated. There was a significant difference in Tamarind tree density between the two land-use types (p = 0.01). The mean fruit yield of farmland trees was significantly higher than that of bushland trees. However, Tamarind has unsustainable structure on farmlands. Differences in the dendrometric characteristics of trees were also observed between the two land-use types. Predictive models were selected for Tamarind fruit yield estimations in both land-use types. Although the majority of farmland trees produced <5000 fruit year−1, the selection of Tamarind germplasm in its natural ranges could improve production. Thus, the development of management plans to establish stands that have a more balanced diameter structure and thereby ensure continuity of the population and fruit yields is required in this area, particularly in the farmlands. This baseline information could assist elsewhere in areas that are facing similar challenges for the species due to land-use change.

scholarly journals On-farm trees are a safety net for the poorest households rather than a major contributor to food security in Rwanda

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Ndoli ◽  
Athanase Mukuralinda ◽  
Antonius G. T. Schut ◽  
Miyuki Iiyama ◽  
Jean Damascene Ndayambaje ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
Agroforestry Practice ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Agroforestry Practices

AbstractThe world is challenged to meet the food demand of a growing population, especially in developing countries. Given the ambitious plans to scale up agroforestry in Africa, an improved understanding of the effect of agroforestry practices on the already challenged food security of rural households is crucial. The present study was undertaken to assess how on-farm trees impacted food security in addition to other household income sources in Rwanda. In each of the six agroecologies of Rwanda, a stratified sampling procedure was used where two administrative cells (4th formal administrative level) were selected in which households were randomly selected for interviews. A survey including 399 farmers was conducted and farmers were grouped in three types of agroforestry practice (i) low practitioners (LAP) represented by the first tertile, (ii) medium practitioners (MAP) represented by the second tertile and (iii) high practitioners (HAP) represented by the third tertile of households in terms of tree number. Asset values, household income sources, crop production, farm size, crop yield, and food security (food energy needs) were quantified among the types of agroforestry practice. A larger proportion of HAP households had access to adequate quantity and diversity of food when compared with MAP and LAP households. Food security probability was higher for households with more resources, including land, trees and livestock, coinciding with an increased crop and livestock income. We found no difference in asset endowment among types of agroforestry practices, while farmers in agroecologies with smaller farms (0.42 ha to 0.66 ha) had more on-farm trees (212 to 358 trees per household) than farms in agroecologies with larger farms (0.96 ha to 1.23 ha) which had 49 to 129 trees per household, probably due to differences in biophysical conditions. A positive association between tree density and food security was found in two out of six agroecologies. The proportion of income that came from tree products was high (> 20%) for a small fraction of farmers (12%), with the more food insecure households relying more on income from tree products than households with better food security status. Thus, tree income can be percieved as a “safety net” for the poorest households.

scholarly journals Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1011
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Bajan ◽  
Joanna Łukasiewicz ◽  
Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda ◽  
Walenty Poczta
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Energy Return On Investment

The projected increase in the world’s population requires an increase in the production of edible energy that would meet the associated increased demand for food. However, food production is strongly dependent on the use of energy, mainly from fossil fuels, the extraction of which requires increasing input due to the depletion of the most easily accessible deposits. According to numerous estimations, the world’s energy production will be dependent on fossil fuels at least to 2050. Therefore, it is vital to increase the energy efficiency of production, including food production. One method to measure energy efficiency is the energy return on investment (EROI), which is the ratio of the amount of energy produced to the amount of energy consumed in the production process. The literature lacks comparable EROI calculations concerning global food production and the existing studies only include crop production. The aim of this study was to calculate the EROI of edible crop and animal production in the long term worldwide and to indicate the relationships resulting from its changes. The research takes into account edible crop and animal production in agriculture and the direct consumption of fossil fuels and electricity. The analysis showed that although the most underdeveloped regions have the highest EROI, the production of edible energy there is usually insufficient to meet the food needs of the population. On the other hand, the lowest EROI was observed in highly developed regions, where production ensures food self-sufficiency. However, the changes that have taken place in Europe since the 1990s indicate an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the direct use of energy in agriculture and increase the production of edible energy, thus improving the EROI.

scholarly journals Can Enhancing Efficiency Promote the Economic Viability of Smallholder Farmers? A Case of Sierra Leone

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4235
Author(s):  
Silvia Saravia-Matus ◽  
T. S. Amjath-Babu ◽  
Sreejith Aravindakshan ◽  
Stefan Sieber ◽  
Jimmy A. Saravia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Smallholder Farming

By developing meta-frontier efficiency and structural equation models, the paper examines whether farm economic viability is positively associated with technical efficiency in a highly food insecure context, such as that of rural Sierra Leone. The findings show that technical efficiency can be a sufficient but not necessary condition in determining economic viability of smallholder farming. It is possible to breach reproductive thresholds at the cost of reduced technical efficiency, when the crop diversification strategy of smallholders includes market-oriented high-value crops. This calls for a dual policy approach that addresses farmers’ internal needs for self-consumption (increasing efficiency of food crop production) while encouraging market-oriented cash crop production (diversification assisted through the reduction of associated transaction costs and the establishment of accessible commercialization channels of export related crops and/or high-value crops). The work also calls out for a move-up or move-out strategy for small holders to create viable farming systems in developing world.

scholarly journals Structural Changes in Israeli Family Farms: Long-Run Trends in the Farm Size Distribution and the Role of Part-Time Farming

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 518
Author(s):  
Ayal Kimhi ◽  
Nitzan Tzur-Ilan
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Higher Moments ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The Mean

Israeli agriculture has experienced rapid structural changes in recent decades, including the massive exit of farmers, a resulting increase in average farm size, a higher farm specialization and a higher reliance on non-farm income sources. The higher farm heterogeneity makes it necessary to examine changes in the entire farm size distribution rather than the common practice of analyzing changes in the average farm size alone. This article proposes a nonparametric analysis in which the change in the distribution of farm sizes between two periods is decomposed into several components, and the contributions of subgroups of farms to this change are analyzed. Using data on Israeli family farms, we analyze the changes in the farm size distribution in two separate time periods that are characterized by very different economic environments, focusing on the different contributions of full-time farms and part-time farms to the overall distributional changes. We found that between 1971 and 1981, a period characterized by stability and prosperity, the farm size distribution has shifted to the right with relatively minor changes in higher moments of the distribution. On the other hand, between 1981 and 1995, a largely unfavorable period to Israeli farmers, the change in the distribution was much more complex. While the overall change in the size distribution of farms was smaller in magnitude than in the earlier period, higher moments of the distribution were not less important than the increase in the mean and led to higher dispersion of farm sizes. Between 1971 and 1981, the contributions of full- and part-time farms to the change in the size distribution were quite similar. Between 1981 and 1995, however, full-time farms contributed mostly to the growth in the average farm size, while the average farm size among part-time farms actually decreased, and their contribution to the higher dispersion of farm sizes was quantitatively larger. This highlights the need to analyze the changes in the entire farm size distribution rather than focusing on the mean alone, and to allow for differences between types of farms.

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