Rationality and Decision-Making of Small Farmers: The Case of Ghana

1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwasi Boahene
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Economic Model ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Cultural Considerations ◽  
Cultural Component ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Rational Behaviour

According to anthropologists and sociologists of non-western societies, small-scale farmers in the developing economies are not self-seeking profit maximizers—i.e., their activities are not oriented towards economic efficiency—compared to their counterparts in the developed economies. They are said to include cultural considerations in their decision-making process. As a result, sociology has been typically divided into western and non-western sociology. This gives the impression that societies are polarized into two extremes each of which requires a different method of analysis. The paper argues that in the less industrialised as in the industrialised societies, economic activities are subject to economic as well as socio-cultural considerations, although in the former, the cultural component may count more. A socio-economic model of rational behaviour has been developed to explain the activities of small cocoa farmers in Ghana. The relevance of a socio-economic model to explain the decision-making of the Ghanaian farmers broadens the notion of rational behaviour, and lends little support to the implications associated with the categorization of sociology into western and non-western sociology.

The Age and Time of No Retirement

2021 ◽  
pp. 39-51
Author(s):  
Adnan ul Haque
Keyword(s):  
Elderly Women ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Aging Population ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Population Rate

This comparative study considers global perspective by including developed and developing economies for exploring the social and economic impact of aging. Using stratified, purposive, and networking technique, the online opened-ended questions responses were gathered from the sample of 258. The findings confirmed that there is no age of retirement. Aging population contributions are significant and termed in this study as ‘knowledge-gem' (GK). The older population rate is increasing at a greater pace in the emerging economies in comparison to developed economies. Interestingly, the social activities remain constant in both types of economies. Post-retirement, elderly women are significant contributors to social activities while men have significant contribution to economic activities. From the cultural perspective, the aging population is mainly found in the ‘collectivism' on the grid-group cultural (GGC) model. The aging population is facing the challenges of in-equalities based on gender, class, and race in both developed and less-developed economies.

scholarly journals South African government palliative funds for agriculture amid Covid-19: Challenges of implementation and suggestions for improvements

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-30
Author(s):  
Popoola ◽  
Yusuf
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
Traceability System ◽  
The Government ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Support Fund ◽  
Farm Business ◽  
Smallholder Producers

The novel Corona virus pandemic has been extremely overwhelming at all levels causing massive economic setbacks for many countries including South Africa. The country witnessed an unprecedented scaling-down of its national economic activities, which called for an emergency response from the government. Several Covid-19 relief schemes were instituted by the government to ensure that farms of all sizes would survive. A support fund of R1.2 billion was allocated to the agriculture and food sector through the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). The fund was primarily meant to assist financially distressed small-scale farmers to ensure continued production and food security for the country. This study collated the conditions for financial Covid-19 stimulus support required from smallholders and analysed several factors that prevented some members of this vulnerable group from benefitting from the relief funds. These factors include complexities associated with satisfactorily categorizing smallholder producers, productivity, marketing and policy challenges, glitches in formalising smallholder producer operations, the farm-business record keeping pitfall, and the exclusion of subsistent producers. The paper suggests some possible corrective measures that could allow for more inclusive support to these categories of farmers; some of which includes a simple but robust financial traceability system for the farmers, and a need to continue to push for the completion of national registration process of smallholder producers.

scholarly journals Identification of strategies for enhancing member commitment in Greek agricultural cooperatives: The opinion of cooperative experts

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. e3777
Author(s):  
Tilemachos Manousakis ◽  
Panagiota Sergaki ◽  
Gert Van Dijk
Keyword(s):  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Cooperatives ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Quality Of Information ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Member Commitment ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Poor Management

In the era of globalization, where competition is growing intensively, the cooperation between small scale farmers can assist them to be sustainable and survive. However, the situation with cooperatives in Greece is found to be on a downward trend due to their poor economic performance, which is later expressed by the diminished commitment of their members. In order to address the described problem we employed a qualitative study consisted of 10 guided interviewees with “cooperative experts”. Through the interviews the participants were asked to clarify their opinions on two major themes: 1) Common Greek cooperative issues, and 2) Suggestions on strategies employed by cooperatives to enhance members’ commitment. Through our analysis we identified the issues related to the poor management of the cooperatives of the past as the major problems of cooperative in Greece. Regarding the strategies for enhancing commitment of members, the majority of participants highlighted the importance of improving the communication and quality of information provided by the coop to its members for building strong bond of trust and ultimately enhancing their commitment. Although, the improvement of communication takes time and requires consistent effort. Hence, cooperatives may act on employing the appropriate experts in order to improve their process of production and marketing. Strengthening the levels of expertise in the economic activities of the cooperative may assist on the satisfaction of members and enhance their commitment to the coop.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Brazilian small-scale farmers about genetically modified crops

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Almeida ◽  
Luisa Massarani ◽  
Ildeu de Castro Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Free Food ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
To Receive

The aim of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of small-scale farmers in Brazil towards genetically modified (GM) crops based on a sample of 15 focus groups involving 111 individuals. The analysis of the corpus shows heterogeneous perceptions regarding these crops, shaped by diverse factors, including economic prospects and concerns with the impact on health and the environment. There are many misgivings about these effects among the farmers, who are keen to receive unbiased information on the topic. These uncertainties affect them more as consumers, as most would prefer eating GM-free food, than as producers, as they consider other aspects, especially economic feasibility, when deciding what to grow. Although most farmers believe they should have a voice in decision-making on agricultural issues, few have made concerted efforts to be heard.

scholarly journals How Information Communication Technology Can Enhance Evidence-Based Decisions and Farm-to-Fork Animal Traceability for Livestock Farmers

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
G. Mwanga ◽  
E. Mbega ◽  
Z. Yonah ◽  
M. G. G. Chagunda
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Livestock Sector ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Due to changes in the livestock sector and the rise of consumer demand for comprehensive and integrated food security and safety, there has been a concern on the use of farm data in enhancing animal traceability and decision-making by farmers and other decision-makers in the livestock sector. To ensure high production through effective decision-making and auditable standards, producers are required to have better traceability and record systems. Therefore, this study aimed at (1) reviewing the current recording/data management and animal traceability systems used by small-scale farmers in developing countries and (2) analyzing how data management systems should be designed to enhance efficient decision-making and animal traceability from farm to fork. This study found that, still, a majority of small-scale farmers do not keep records leading to poor decision-making on the farm and policymaking. We also found that those who keep records do not store their data in electronic format, which again poses another challenge in data analysis. Moreover, this study found that the majority of traceability tools used by farmers in developing countries do not meet international standards based on tools they use for tracing animals; farmers were reported to use tools like branding and ear tagging, which provide very little information about the animal. Such tools lack the capability to keep track of useful information about an animal, e.g., information about feeding and animal health. In conclusion, this study recommended a better electronic system to be used at the farm level to facilitate data analysis, hence promoting informed decision-making and adherence to the international animal traceability standards. Otherwise, there is a need for researchers to conduct more studies in developing different analytical models for exploring on-farm data in order to improve the decision-making process by farmers and other stakeholders.

Decision-making in farming households in eastern Poland

Focaal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (65) ◽  
pp. 129-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Krzyworzeka
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Invisible Hand ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sociocultural Context ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Farming Households

The agricultural situation in Poland has been changing significantly during the last decades. In 1989, the predictability of the communist centrally planned economy was replaced by the unexpectedness and "invisible hand" of the free market economy. The socialist welfare state has been replaced by new modes of support, introduced by European Union (EU). On the basis of fieldwork conducted between 2005 and 2008 in farming communities in eastern Poland, I focus on decision making among small-scale farmers. This article addresses decision-making processes and their sociocultural context, including the reasons for and circumstances behind decisions, and also elements of decision-making processes that tend to hinder the introduction of EU agricultural policy. In the course of adapting to new and changing realities, farmers creatively use customary ways of thinking and acting in the various decisions they have to make while running the farm. Changes of the very mechanisms of decision-making processes seem to be rather slow, however.

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