Crop production scheduling for revenue inequality reduction among smallholder farmers in an agricultural cooperative

In the past decade, to improve crop production and productivity, Ethiopia has embarked on an ambitious irrigation farming expansion program and has introduced new large- and small-scale irrigation initiatives. However, in Ethiopia, poverty remains a challenge, and crop productivity per unit area of land is very low. Literature on the technical efficiency (TE) of large-scale and small-scale irrigation user farmers as compared to the non-user farmers in Ethiopia is also limited. Investigating smallholder farmers’ TE level and its principal determinants is very important to increase crop production and productivity and to improve smallholder farmers’ livelihood and food security. Using 1026 household-level cross-section data, this study adopts a technology flexible stochastic frontier approach to examine agricultural TE of large-scale irrigation users, small-scale irrigation users and non-user farmers in Ethiopia. The results indicate that, due to poor extension services and old-style agronomic practices, the mean TE of farmers is very low (44.33%), implying that there is a wider room for increasing crop production in the study areas through increasing the TE of smallholder farmers without additional investment in novel agricultural technologies. Results also show that large-scale irrigation user farmers (21.05%) are less technically efficient than small-scale irrigation user farmers (60.29%). However, improving irrigation infrastructure shifts the frontier up and has a positive impact on smallholder farmers’ output.

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The drivers of women farmers’ participation in cash crop production: the case of women smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana

The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension ◽

10.1080/1389224x.2016.1259115 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 141-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hudu Zakaria

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Women Farmers ◽

Northern Ghana ◽

Cash Crop

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

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084235 ◽

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.

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Participatory soil quality assessment: The case of smallholder farmers in Ethiopian highlands

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr04021 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 42 (7) ◽

pp. 793 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Teklu Erkossa ◽

Karl Stahr ◽

Thomas Gaiser

Keyword(s):

Quality Assessment ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Crop Production ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Soil Management ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Soil Functions ◽

Yield Data ◽

Management Interventions ◽

Soil Quality Assessment

The study was conducted at Caffee Doonsa (08°88′N, 39°08′E; 2400 m asl), a small watershed in the central highlands of Ethiopia, in order to identify farmers’ goals of soil management and the indicators they use in selecting soils for a certain function, and to categorise the soils in different quality groups with respect to the major functions. Thirty-six male farmers of different age and wealth groups participated in a Participatory Rural Appraisal technique. They listed and prioritised 12 soil functions in the area and itemised the soil quality indicators (characteristics). Based on the indicators, the soils in the watershed were classified into 3 soil quality (SQ) groups (Abolse, Kooticha, and Carii). The SQ groups have been evaluated and ranked for the major soil functions. For crop production, Abolse was graded best, followed by Kooticha and Carii, respectively. The grain and straw yield data of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) taken from the SQ groups confirmed the farmers claim, in that Abolse gave the highest grain yield (4573 kg/ha), followed by 4411 and 3657 kg/ha for Kooticha and Carii, respectively. Local insights should be included in systematic soil quality assessment, and in planning and implementation of various soil management interventions.

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Does cooperative membership impact the yield and efficiency of smallholder farmers? Evidence from potato farmers in Mongolia

China Agricultural Economic Review ◽

10.1108/caer-01-2021-0013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Samuel Ahado ◽

Jiří Hejkrlík ◽

Anudari Enkhtur ◽

Tserendavaa Tseren ◽

Tomáš Ratinger

Keyword(s):

Technical Efficiency ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Irrigation Management ◽

Potato Production ◽

Transfer Of Knowledge ◽

Content Type ◽

Farm Work ◽

Agricultural Cooperative ◽

Education Participation ◽

The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on potato production and technical efficiency.Design/methodology/approachA combination of propensity score matching technique and sample selection stochastic frontier framework that addresses potential selection bias due to observable and unobservable attributes is used to estimate the effect of participation between cooperative members and non-members. Using a stochastic meta-frontier approach, the technical efficiency of farmers was estimated and compared.FindingsThe empirical results show that the effect of participation in agricultural cooperatives is associated with increased yield and technical efficiency. A comparison of group-specific frontiers indicates that cooperative members perform better than non-members. Cooperative membership decisions is significantly associated with household and farm characteristics (e.g. education, participation in off-farm work, total farmland, distance to market and geographic location).Practical implicationsThe findings of this study demonstrate that cooperative organisations can be an important tool to enhance the productivity and efficiency of smallholder farmers. Successful cooperative models together with training programs designed to enlighten farmers on the importance and tangible benefits of collective action should be used to enlarge participation in cooperative organisations. In addition, governments and development agencies should implement targeted investment and capacity building programs related to irrigation management, gender-sensitive awareness and development of the internal institutional mechanisms in cooperatives for the transfer of knowledge and mutual learning so that all members benefit from cooperatives.Originality/valueDespite the pervasive evidence of the impact of cooperatives on productivity and technical efficiency in the Asian region, this study is probably the first attempt in the crop sector in Mongolia. It provides a rigorous empirical analysis of the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on potato production and technical efficiency through a counterfactual design.

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CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE: FARMER PERCEPTIONS AND UNDERSTANDING OF INTRA-SEASONAL VARIABILITY IN RAINFALL AND ASSOCIATED RISK IN SEMI-ARID KENYA

Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0014479710000918 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 47 (2) ◽

pp. 267-291 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

K. P. C. RAO ◽

W. G. NDEGWA ◽

K. KIZITO ◽

A. OYOO

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Crop Production ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

General Tendency ◽

Climate Variability And Change ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Probabilistic Nature ◽

Semi Arid

SUMMARYThis study examines farmers’ perceptions of short- and long-term variability in climate, their ability to discern trends in climate and how the perceived trends converge with actual weather observations in five districts of Eastern Province in Kenya where the climate is semi-arid with high intra- and inter-annual variability in rainfall. Field surveys to elicit farmers’ perceptions about climate variability and change were conducted in Machakos, Makueni, Kitui, Mwingi and Mutomo districts. Long-term rainfall records from five meteorological stations within a 10 km radius from the survey locations were obtained from the Kenya Meteorological Department and were analysed to compare with farmers’ observations. Farmers’ responses indicate that they are well aware of the general climate in their location, its variability, the probabilistic nature of the variability and the impacts of this variability on crop production. However, their ability to synthesize the knowledge they have gained from their observations and discern long-term trends in the probabilistic distribution of seasonal conditions is more subjective, mainly due to the compounding interactions between climate and other factors such as soil fertility, soil water and land use change that determine the climate's overall influence on crop productivity. There is a general tendency among the farmers to give greater weight to negative impacts leading to higher risk perception. In relation to long-term changes in the climate, farmer observations in our study that rainfall patterns are changing corroborated well with reported perceptions from other places across the African continent but were not supported by the observed trends in rainfall data from the five study locations. The main implication of our findings is the need to be aware of and account for the risk during the development and promotion of technologies involving significant investments by smallholder farmers and exercise caution in interpreting farmers’ perceptions about long-term climate variability and change.

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Drought-tolerant Varieties as an Adaptation Strategy in the Context of Climate Change: Insight from Maize Production Systems in Benin

Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension Economics & Sociology ◽

10.9734/ajaees/2019/v37i430287 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Mohamed Nasser Baco

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Crop Production ◽

Production Systems ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Value Chains ◽

Maize Production ◽

Ecological Zones ◽

Drought Tolerant ◽

Agro Ecological Zones

Previous studies suggested that maize is set to become a cash crop while ensuring food security better than any other crop. However, climate change has become one of the key production constraints that are now hampering and threatening the sustainability of maize production systems. We conducted a study to better understand changes here defined as adaptations made by smallholder farmers to ensure food security and improve income through maize production in a climate change context. Our results show that maize farmers in northern Benin mainly rely on traditional seeds. Drought as abiotic stress is perceived by farmers in many agro-ecological zones as a disruptive factor for crop production, including maize. When drought is associated with pest damages, both the quantity (i.e. yield) and the quality (i.e. attributes) of products/harvests are negatively affected. The adverse effects of drought continue to reduce production in different agro-ecological zones of the country, because of the lack of widespread adoption of tolerant varieties. The study suggests actions towards the production of drought-tolerant maize seeds, a promotion of seed companies, the organization of actors and value chains. Apart from climate change, the promotion of value chains is also emerging as one of the important aspects to take into account to sustain maize production in Benin.

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Empirical Analysis of the Factors that Affecting Maize Production of Farmers among Smallholders: The Case of Eastern Oromia, Ethiopia

Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology ◽

10.24925/turjaf.v9i1.137-145.3769 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 137-145

Author(s):

Murad Mohammed

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Primary Data ◽

High Yield ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Potential Yield ◽

Maize Crop ◽

Maize Production ◽

Smallholder Farm

In Ethiopia, maize is the second largest in production areas and first in its productivity but there are high yield gaps between the actual yield currently producing and the potential yield. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify factors that affecting maize production of smallholder farmers at the farm level in the Meta district in the east Hararge zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. A two-stage random sampling technique was employed and a total of 200 smallholder farmers were randomly and proportionally selected to collect primary data. Multiple linear regression models were used to analysis factors that affect maize production among smallholder farmers. The result showed that the production of maize was influenced by several factors. The coefficient provided that as the farmers obtained 1 dollar from non-farm activity, the maize production of farmers increased by 293.2 kg, keeping other factors constant. Thus, the farmers who had money from non-farm sources used as additional income to gain agricultural inputs for maize production and thus generate more maize quantity. The result was pointed out that the size of the cultivated areas of land had a positive influence on the quantity of maize production of farmers. The coefficient entailed that as the size of the cultivated areas of land increased by one hectare, the farmer’s quantity of maize production increased by 140.4 kg by keeping other factors constant. The result was also indicated that other factors being constant, the maize crop production of smallholder farmers of Meta district was decreased by 4 kg as Development Agent’s (DA’s) office distance increased by one minute. The possible explanation was that extension services were a critical source of information on agronomic practices. Therefore, policy makers should encourage the current maize production and supplying improved seed and chemical fertilizer which support to improve smallholder farm households’ welfare by increasing their sources of income.

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