scholarly journals An Employment Guarantee as Risk Insurance? Assessing the Effects of the NREGS on Agricultural Production Decisions

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Gehrke
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Production Decisions ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Insurance Effect ◽  
Agricultural Shocks ◽  
Employment Guarantee

Abstract Uninsured risk constrains households in their production decisions in many developing countries. Similarly to crop insurance, employment guarantees can support farmers in managing agricultural production risks. Evidence from representative panel data of Andhra Pradesh, India, suggests that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) reduces households’ uncertainty about future income streams because it provides employment opportunities in rural areas independently of weather shocks and crop failure. Therewith the NREGS makes an ex-post labor supply response to agricultural shocks more efficient. Households with access to the NREGS are found to shift their production toward riskier but also more profitable crops. The observed shifts in agricultural production do considerably raise the profitability of agricultural production and hence the incomes of smallholder farmers. The findings are not driven by changes in the labor or cost intensity of those crops, which supports the idea that the causal mechanism underlying the observed changes is indeed an insurance effect.

The importance of off-farm employment for smallholder farmers in Rwanda

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-26
Author(s):  
Ildephonse Musafiri ◽  
Pär Sjölander
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Agricultural Business ◽  
On Farm

Purpose Based on unique data the authors analyze the Rwandan non-farm employment expansion in rural areas and its relation to agricultural productivity. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that determine off-farm work hours in Rwanda, and how farmers’ off-farm employment affects agricultural output. Since production efficiency may depend on off-farm work and off-farm work depend on production efficiency (Lien et al., 2010), both production and off-farm work are endogenous. While controlling for endogeneity, the authors investigate the relationship between off-farm work and agricultural production. Design/methodology/approach In this paper the authors use a unique panel data set spanning over 26 years originating from household surveys conducted in the northwest and densely populated districts of Rwanda. Econometric estimations are based on a random effects two-stage Tobit model to control for endogeneity. Findings The study confirms theoretical and empirical findings from other developing countries that off-farm employment is one of the essential conditions for having an economically viable agricultural business and vice versa. Research limitations/implications The study is carried out in only one district of Rwanda. Even though most rural areas in Rwanda have similar features the findings cannot necessarily be generalized for the entire country of Rwanda. As in any study, the raw data set suffer from a number of shortcomings which cannot be fully eliminated by the econometric estimation, but this is a new data set which has the best data available for this research question in Rwanda. Practical implications The authors can conclude that there are synergy effects of investing government resources into both on-farm and off-farm employment expansions. Thus, in Rwanda on-farm investments can actually partly contribute to a future natural smooth transformation to more off-farm total output and productivity and vice versa. Though there are still limited off-farm employment opportunities in the studied area, there are considerable potentials to generate income and increase agricultural production through the purchase of additional inputs. Social implications The findings imply that a favorable business climate for off-farm businesses creates spill-over effects which enhance the smallholder farmers’ opportunities to survive, generate wealth, create employment and in effect reduce poverty. Originality/value From the best of the authors’ knowledge, similar studies have not been conducted in Rwanda, nor elsewhere with this type of data set. The findings provide original insights regarding off-farm and agricultural relationships in rural areas under dense population pressure. The results provide some indications that off-farm employment in developing countries (such as Rwanda) is one of the essential conditions for having an economically viable agricultural business and vice versa. The second wave of data was collected by the authors and was used solely for the purpose of this paper.

The Relationship between the Development of Human Capital and the Agricultural Economy in Rural Areas

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-65
Author(s):  
B.A. Voronin ◽  
◽  
I.P. Chupina ◽  
Ya.V. Voronina ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Standard View ◽  
Household Factors ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
The Relationship

The article discusses a non-standard view of the formation of human capital for work in organizations of the agricultural sector of the economy, in the context of modern socio-economic transformations. In the classical sense, human capital for agriculture should be formed and developed in rural areas. But in real life, this is not always the case, because there are many factors that prevent the classical solution of this problem. First, the demographic factor affects, second, social and household factors, and third, in many rural areas there are no working agricultural organizations where qualified agricultural specialists can work. All these and other circumstances actualize the problem of the quality of human capital in rural areas in relation to the development of agricultural production.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Impacts of Smallholder Farmer’s Participation in Modern Agricultural Value Chain Tactics for Facilitating Poverty Alleviation—A Case Study of Kiwifruit Industry in Shaanxi, China

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 462
Author(s):  
Hongyu Wang ◽  
Xiaolei Wang ◽  
Apurbo Sarkar ◽  
Lu Qian
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Reduction Degree ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Storage Technology

Market-based initiatives like agriculture value chain (AVC) are becoming progressively pervasive to support smallholder rural farmers and assist them in entering larger market interventions and providing a pathway of enhancing their socioeconomic well-being. Moreover, it may also foster staggering effects towards the post-era poverty alleviation in rural areas and possessed a significant theoretical and practical influence for modern agricultural development. The prime objective of the study is to explore the effects of smallholder farmers’ participation in the agricultural value chain for availing rural development and poverty alleviation. Specifically, we have crafted the assessment employing pre-production (improved fertilizers usage), in-production (modern preservation technology), and post-production (supply chain) participation and interventions of smallholder farmers. The empirical data has been collected from a micro survey dataset of 623 kiwifruit farmers from July to September in Shaanxi, China. We have employed propensity score matching (PSM), probit, and OLS models to explore the multidimensional poverty reduction impact and heterogeneity of farmers’ participation in the agricultural value chain. The results show that the total number of poor farmers who have experienced one-dimensional and two-dimensional poverty is relatively high (66.3%). We also find that farmers’ participation in agricultural value chain activities has a significant poverty reduction effect. The multidimensional poverty level of farmers using improved fertilizer, organizational acquisition, and using storage technology (compared with non-participating farmers) decreased by 30.1%, 46.5%, and 25.0%, respectively. The multidimensional poverty reduction degree of male farmers using improved fertilizer and participating in the organizational acquisition is greater than that of women. The multidimensional poverty reduction degree of female farmers using storage and fresh-keeping technology has a greater impact than the males using storage and improved storage technology. Government should widely promote the value chain in the form of pre-harvest, production, and post-harvest technology. The public–private partnership should also be strengthened for availing innovative technologies and infrastructure development.

Landscaping the Agritech Ecosystem for Smallholder Farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panos Loukos ◽  
Leslie Arathoon
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Digital Interventions ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Digital Agriculture ◽  
Digital Disruption

Agriculture is an important source of employment in Latin America and the Caribbean. In rural areas, some 54.6 per cent of the labour force is engaged in agricultural production. Although much of the region shares the same language and cultural heritage, the structure and scale of the agriculture sector varies significantly from country to country. Based on the review of 131 digital agriculture tools, this report, prepared by GSMA and IDB Lab, provides a market mapping and landscape analysis of the most prominent cases of digital disruption. It highlights some of the major trends observed in five digital agriculture use cases, identifies opportunities for digital interventions and concludes with recommendations for future engagement that could deliver long-term, sustainable economic and social benefits for smallholder farmers.

Socio-engineering arrangement of the village — the basis of rural development

2021 ◽  
pp. 8-21
Author(s):  
Kh. B. Dusaev ◽  
A. Kh. Dusaeva
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Orenburg Region ◽  
Dynamic Development ◽  
The Village ◽  
Monetary Income

The article analyzes the number, employment and dynamics of monetary income of the population of the Orenburg region for a long-term period. The production of social and engineering arrangement of rural territories of the region for a number of years is analyzed in detail. Negative destructive changes and trends in employment and social development of rural areas are revealed. The directions of improvement and dynamic development of agricultural production, rural areas, and employment of the rural population are proposed.

MORE ON THE QUESTION OF RURAL AREAS MULTIFUNCTIONALITY

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2397-2415
Author(s):  
A.I. Kostyaev ◽  
◽  
S.B. Letunov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Production Functions ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Regional Markets ◽  
Specially Protected Natural Areas ◽  
Protected Natural Areas ◽  
Market Perception ◽  
Market Consequences

The approaches of Russian and foreign scientists to studying rural areas multifunctionality differ significantly. Domestic researchers consider this problem from the standpoint of public goods in agricultural production, agricultural production diversification, rural population livelihoods, land use, and sustainable development of rural areas. In all cases, we are talking about implementation of functions within rural areas without raising the question of buying and selling their intangible attributes. In foreign publications, two pragmatic approaches are seen within the concept of multifunctionality. The first approach is the market perception of rural areas as consumer spaces. In this case, the intangible attributes of the territories (landscape, nature, heritage or culture) are considered as a sold and bought product. The second approach is an approach from the standpoint of protection against negative market consequences in international food trade. The non-productive functions of agriculture are taken into account in the WTO negotiations as non-trade factors. This helps to protect the agriculture of many countries from the destructive effects of foreign trade. The article proposes to move from staged studies of the issue of multifunctionality to a constructive consideration of the material and non-material potential for implementing the rural areas' production and non-production functions. The purpose of the study is to determine the material and non-material basis of rural areas multifunctionality using the example of the North-West of Russia. The objectives of the study are to establish the capabilities of rural areas to perform their functions of: a) the international, b) the federal, c) the regional and d) the local significance; and on the basis of the idea of multifunctionality, to determine the ways for creating consumer spaces in rural areas. The following methods were used: decomposition of goals, the index one, the monographic and the grouping method. We used the materials by: Rosstat, Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, Ministry of Culture of Russia. Municipal areas with the orientation of agricultural products to the international, federal and regional markets have been identified. The characteristic of intangible attributes - the carriers of non-production functions of rural areas for the international, federal, regional and local levels - was given. The objects of specially protected natural areas and objects of cultural heritage are considered in accordance with their level of importance. The sequence of forming the consumer spaces in rural areas has been established in the direction from defining a geographical image through creating an image to developing a brand.

scholarly journals Justification of necessity and analysis of state support of agroindustrial complex in the Russian Federation

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-596
Author(s):  
Andrey A. Karavdin
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
The State ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
State Support ◽  
State Program ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Agroindustrial Complex

Issues related to state support of the agro-industrial complex are relevant for all countries of the world, including the Russian Federation. The article deals with the key problems of the agro-industrial complex, which are mainly caused by the features of agriculture. The necessity of state support for the agro-industrial complex of Russia on the basis of the identified problems is substantiated. The article analyzes the directions and measures of state support in Russia, the differences between the stated goals in the state program for the development of the agro-industrial complex and the results in practice. The lack of a comprehensive approach to solving existing problems and proper control over the implementation of the state program, ill-considered and insufficient funding of individual programs, lobbying by large agricultural holdings of their interests and the monopolization of agricultural production do not allow to rely on the development of small agribusiness and rural areas.

scholarly journals Land Selling Scenario of Person Leaving Agriculture in Nayagarh District of Odisha

2021 ◽  
pp. 321-326
Author(s):  
Anupam Dakua ◽  
Kalyan Ghadei
Keyword(s):  
Study Design ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Statistical Tools ◽  
Interview Schedule ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ex Post Facto ◽  
Ex Post Facto Study

Aim: Land being the most important consideration in the social status in the rural areas, selling of them is considered as bad signs in India. Many times, it is observed that farmers were compelled to sell their lands due to manyreasons. Depeasantisation is one of them. In the current paper the land selling scenario of the Depeasantised persons is analysed. Study Design and Place of Study: An Ex-post-Facto study has been conducted in Nayagarh District of Odisha, which is one of the peri-urban districts of the Capital city of Odisha. Methodology: A total of 280 number of Depeasantised persons were selected randomly from 5 blocks out of 8 blocks of the district for the study. A structured interview schedule was prepared for collecting the data from the respondents. With proper statistical tools the data was analysed and interpreted for the result. The proportion of respondents sold land, category of farmers who sold land, the reason of land selling, and the persons to whom the land sold was found out during the investigation. Result: Almost half of the depeasantised persons have sold their lands, all of then have sold a portion of their lands only. More than 85 percent of the respondents belonged to the marginal farer category who had sold their lands. Debt repayment was the primary factor for selling of land in the study area. Most of the depeasantised persons more than 60 percent had sold their lands to landlords and other moneyed persons. Conclusion: To safeguard the interest of the farmers and to prevent the land selling of the small and marginal farmers government should have more focused approach to solve this issue.

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