scholarly journals Subsidisation and Sustainability Impacts on Contract Producers

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Bernard F. Monnaie

Production subsidies tend to be provided as government development support instruments. This paper examines their potential impacts on lower-tier producers. Those impacts are partly elucidated by a mixed-methods study of small-scale fish producers of Seychelles targeting foreign fish markets. Scale disadvantages tend to prevent such producers from overcoming the entry barriers of foreign markets without government assistance, including subsidisation. In the study, a screening survey helped assign a group of 34 randomly-selected fish producers to a Managed Value Chain (MVC) – buyers and producers engaging in supply-demand matching coordination, and another 32 randomly-selected fish harvesters to an Open-market Value Chain (OVC) – comprising buyers and harvesters without intentional supply-demand matching coordination. Using 5 months of production-related data, the study first compared the means of the production capacity, level and efficiency of the producers. Four highest-producing MVC producers subsequently gave an interview on their operations. Results inter alia indicate that a gradually increasing range of fisheries subsidies have been helping MVC producers to raise their production capacity, standard and level. However, the subsidies have also been indicatively decreasing the productivity of commercial stocks. The study inter alia suggests that unless marine biological resources are carefully managed, export-oriented production subsidies threaten their environmental sustainability.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Bernard F. Monnaie

Firms that upgrade and then maintain supply-demand matching collaboration with a highly-governed commercial chain, like a Global Value Chain (GVC), are thought to obtain better opportunities for improving their business prospects. This paper reviews a study on such a hypothetical impact by using data from the fish value chain of Seychelles, comprising a few small-scale producers that have upgraded to supply foreign markets. The difference in the mean value of 5 months’ of production capacity, actual output and productivity (as total output value/input value) of random fish suppliers that had upgraded (n = 34) and not upgraded (n = 32) were tested. Four of the upgraded suppliers were subsequently interviewed on key production-related attributes. Only the difference in the mean productivity figures of the two groups of firms was not significant. The interviews suggest that (1) the productivity of upgraded suppliers is strongly impacted by their directly-controlled resources and exploited fish stocks and (2) viability challenges motivate upgraded suppliers to multi-chain and target various foreign and native customers. The results indicate that supply-demand collaboration in a highly-governed fish chain allows small-scale producers to improve their production capacity, associated output and their potential productivity too if it helps strengthen the environmental sustainability of their fish stocks.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calliope Panoutsou ◽  
David Chiaramonti

Substantial areas of agricultural land in south European countries are becoming increasingly marginal and being abandoned due to arid climate with prolonged summers and low rainfall. Perennial, lignocellulosic crops, such as Miscanthus, offer an outlet that couples agriculture with energy, creates employment, and increases profits from feedstock production in rural areas. This research paper follows an Input Output methodology and uses an econometric model to investigate the impact of crop yielding performance and marginal land to jobs and profit from the cultivation and supply of Miscanthus in low quality, marginal land in Italy and Greece. Two value chain cases are analysed: small scale Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Fast Pyrolysis Bio Oil (FPBO). The cultivation of Miscanthus in both reference value chains exhibits good employment prospects, with smaller scale value chains creating more labour-intensive logistics operations. The activities can also generate substantial financial profit especially with higher crop yields. Results show a pronounced relationship between profitability and crop yield for both reference value chains - cultivation and supply operations become more profitable with increasing yield. It is, therefore, important to achieve higher yields through good cropping practices, while maintaining high levels of environmental sustainability.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 422
Author(s):  
Quinn Marshall ◽  
Alexandra L. Bellows ◽  
Rebecca McLaren ◽  
Andrew D. Jones ◽  
Jessica Fanzo

Dramatic improvements in data availability and quality are needed to meet the challenge of monitoring and analyzing food systems, so that appropriate policies and actions to improve human and planetary health can be identified and data-informed accountability mechanisms put in place to strengthen food systems governance. Studying food systems is complex due to diverse actors and interlinking processes that operate on multiple spatial and temporal scales, and their multiple outcomes, which may be subject to hidden feedback mechanisms and tradeoffs. However, descriptive research to characterize food system components and make comparisons across geography, income groups, and population groups is an important foundation. The first part of this article details a series of critical data gaps and limitations that are currently hindering food systems learning and accountability, also comparing these gaps across regions and income groups. The second part of the article introduces the Food Systems Dashboard, a new data visualization tool that aims to improve access to and usage of food systems-related data, thus strengthening the data value chain and better informing policies and actions intended to improve diets, nutrition, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability.


Author(s):  
X. C. Nguyen ◽  
Komla Miheaye ◽  
Mun-gyu Kim ◽  
Howard Newman ◽  
Dong-hoon Yoo ◽  
...  

This study describes a FLNG specifically designed to monetize Associated Gas (AG) of producing oil fields located within convenient distance of an existing LNG Plant or Port with LNG storage facility. Limited production capacity combined with short range small capacity shuttles and limited LNG storage capacity, provide a cost effective means for LNG production. This FLNG is designed to service an existing industry and does not require development of stranded gas discoveries.


Author(s):  
Priscilla Munzhelele ◽  
James W. Oguttu ◽  
Folorunso O. Fasina

The majority of small-holder pig farmers in Mpumalanga had between 1- and 10-sow herds. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the current government agricultural intervention (supply of 10 sows and a boar) in terms of technical and economic feasibilities and ascertain whether the small-scale pig value chain system alleviates poverty. Data were obtained from 220 randomly selected small-holder pig farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results showed that 58% farrowed ≤ 10 piglets/born/sow/litter, 44.2% practiced no weaning method and many fed swill and leftovers alone (41.6%). Pair-wise association revealed that the feeding of commercial feeds had a relationship with pigs in relatively good to very good body condition. Pigs in poor body condition were positively correlated with the feeding of swill alone. The economic models for the 10-sow unit proved that pig farming is unprofitable if the current management and feeding systems that operate in the commercial industry are utilised. However, only through a combination of cooperative systems, benefits of economies of scale, reduction of preweaning mortalities and structured government inputs can pig production be profitable at this scale of production.Keywords: piglets; market; profit; economics; feeds


2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vien The Giang ◽  
Vo Thi My Huong

The article analyzes and clarifies the position and role of business households in the system of business entities in the market economy in Vietnam. From its small-scale position, restrictions on the rights to use labor and business locations, current Vietnamese laws have established provisions to ensure equality in legal status, autonomy, and self-responsibility on business transactions of business households. However, the business household is built and managed on the basis of the family, the members of the business household both show blood relation and economic relation. Therefore, the family traditional cultural factors have a huge impact on the internal and business relations of household businesses. The traditional family relationship, and the relationship among the members (of the business household) in the business relations related to asset liability and the development support policy of the State will form the pillar to promote the development of household businesses to become an important and indispensable part of the market economy and international integration in our country currently.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-518
Author(s):  
Tinsae Demise Handino ◽  
Marijke D’Haese ◽  
Freaw Demise ◽  
Misginaw Tamirat

The repercussions of reforming an agricultural market are mainly observed at the most vulnerable segment of the value chain, namely, the producers. In the current commodity market created with trade through the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), coffee is less traceable to its producers. Only cooperatives that sell certified coffee through the unions they belong to, are allowed to bypass the more commodified ECX market. This study aims to investigate if small-scale coffee producers in southwestern Ethiopia that sell coffee through the certified cooperative are better off. It is assumed that the coffee sales through, and membership of, a cooperative, allows farmers to improve their coffee production as well as to improve other aspects of their livelihood. A sustainable livelihood approach was used as the inspiration for the welfare indicators that needed to be considered, data collected amongst members and non-members of certified cooperatives, and a propensity score model to investigate the impact of cooperative membership on the livelihood indicators. Results suggest that members of certified cooperatives indeed receive, on average, better prices. Yet, no evidence was found that indicates that the higher price is translated into better household income. Furthermore, coffee plantation productivity of those members who were interviewed was lower than that of the non-members. This finding could explain the failure to find an overall effect. Since the majority of the producers’ income emanate from coffee, a sustainable way of enhancing the productivity of the coffee could revitalize the welfare of the coffee producers.


Author(s):  
Kristin Davis ◽  
David J. Spielman

Agricultural extension and advisory services are critical to supporting technological and institutional changes that can improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in developing countries. However, many extension services are under-resourced, out of date, and need of structural and content changes. However, efforts to systematically strengthen local extension systems often fall into the trap of promoting blueprints that are insufficiently adapted to local context. To that end, researchers developed the best-fit framework in the 2000s to provide impetus for pursuit of more locally-tailored extension solutions. Today, almost a decade later, researchers test the framework under real-world conditions in a cross-country application. This paper examines the application of this framework across six dimensions and seven countries to formulate a set of best-fit recommendations that are also broadly appreciable. The findings show that it is possible to apply the framework to the analysis of EAS across countries while also maintaining a very localized perspective on recommendations. Across the seven countries, certain obvious commonalities exist: The growth in pluralism in extension providers, the persistence of weak incentives for extension agents, and the lack of enabling policies. At the same time, innovative solutions to many of the challenges held in common—ICT-enabled extension, performance incentives, and value-chain oriented extension—are heterogeneous. The framework allows users to pursue change processes in EAS in response to their own local realities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Rahman ◽  
FA Happy ◽  
AH Efan ◽  
MHR Hera

This study examined the prevailing dairy value chain based on primary data collected from 70 small-scale milk producers of Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. The total cost and net return per month per cow were Tk. 4024.30 and Tk. 3165.70, respectively. The net value additions of Tk. 2091.42, Tk. 495.00, Tk. 655.00, Tk. 503.25, Tk. 309.70 were estimated for milk producers, collectors, Faria, Bepari and retailers respectively. Different actors spent highest marketing cost ranged from Tk.49 to Tk.80 for transportation compared to other marketing functions. Actors mostly dependent on the on-going market prices for setting price of milk in the value chain. A value chain map was developed showing the relationships and linkages among value chain actors of small-scale dairy. The study identified some critical factors for successful dairy marketing. The factors were understanding consumer behaviour, technology and transportation, improved business relationships, reduced transaction costs, and improved information flow, and organized market structure. Milk producer’s share in consumers’ price was highest for channel- I followed by channel- V. Expensive, inadequate, low quality feed, lack of grazing land, green grass, inadequate capital, knowledge about cost of production, weak extension services, high fees and unavailability of veterinary doctors, were some of the major problems of milk producers. Supply of adequate feed at subsidized price, ensuring easy access to institutional credit at a lower interest rate, adequate medicine and veterinary services, allocation of khas land for producing fodder/grass, were suggested to solve the problems. SAARC J. Agri., 17(2): 213-226 (2019)


2020 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 16004
Author(s):  
Thu Trang Vu ◽  
Dung Vu ◽  
Thi Mai Lan Nguyen

Survey results of 1,452 people representing families of 6 ethnic minorities in 11 communes of 7 districts in 7 provinces in the Northwest region shows that the production organization capacity of the ethnic minorities surveyed has changed, but still remains many limitations. The change in production capacity of ethnic minorities is reflected in the fact that the majority of families have produced in a new way (know how to use some machines, use new plant varieties and breeds, apply chemical fertilizers, use pesticides, and some agricultural products produced for sale). The limitations of the production organization capacity of ethnic minority families are shifting cultivation, dibbling, rudimentary production tools, low labor productivity, production by small-scale, autarky, shifting cultivation of wandering hilltribes). If comparing between traditional production method and new production method, the traditional production method is still more prevalent. One of the main causes of this situation is that ethnic minorities live in mountainous areas with difficult transportation, so the main cultivation method is shifting cultivation. The application of machines in production faces many difficulties.


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