Case Study: Productive Performance and Prediction of Operating Income of Small-Scale Contract Farming of Swine in Lampang, Thailand

Purpose – Contract farming (CF) is seen as a tool for creating new market opportunities hence increasing incomes for smallholder farmers. Critics, however, argue that CF is likely to pass risks to small scale farmers, thus favouring large scale farmers at the expense of smallholder farmers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of CF on smallholder farmers’ income using a case study of avocado farmers in Kandara district in Kenya. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data collected from 100 smallholder avocado farmers in Kandara district in Kenya and employs an instrumental variable model (Probit-2SLS) to control for endogeneity in participation in the contract and examine the effect of CF on household, farm and avocado income. Findings – The results indicate that participation in CF is not sufficient to improve household, farm and avocado income. Question remains regarding efficient implementation of CF arrangements to promote spill over effects on other household enterprises. Research limitations/implications – The research was carried out using farmers in Kandara district in Kenya as a case study, findings might therefore not reflect the status of CF in all countries. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the growing debate on the effect of value chain upgrading strategies such as contracting on smallholder farmers’ welfare. The form of contracting studied in this paper differs from the standard contracts in that the key stakeholders (producers) are loosely enjoined in the contract through officials of their groups.

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A Way Forward To Promote The Farming Contracts Between Firms And Farmers In Cultivation Productions: A CASE STUDY Of VIETNAM

10.20944/preprints202010.0395.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nguyen Van Song ◽

Vu Ngoc Huyen ◽

Nguyen Thi Thuy ◽

Dinh Van Tien ◽

Thai Van Ha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Small Scale ◽

Management Skills ◽

Contract Farming ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Main Research ◽

Crop Development ◽

Small Scale Farmers

In an age of market liberalization, globalization, and expanding agribusiness, there is a danger that small-scale farmers will find difficulty in fully participating in the market economy. One of the solutions to solve the above situation is to strengthen linkages between farmers and firms through contract farming. The purpose of this study is to assess the factors affecting the level of linkages between businesses and farmers in crop development in Thai Binh province, Vietnam. The two main research methods used were exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and regression analysis with survey data which was conducted from 300 farmers, 10 firms, and 15 factors related to contract-farming. The results indicated that there are 5 factors that significantly affect the level of participation of farmers in the linking process, the order of impacts from strong to weak is as follows: (1) Commitment and sharing of benefits and risks between farmers and firms in the linking process, (2) Issues related to management skills and enterprises capacity of link firms, (3) Price issues that farmers are interested in in the process of implementing links with firms, (4) Policy environment - Institutions related to farmer contracts between firms and farmers, (5) Household awareness about the benefits brought about by farmer contracts with firms. Based on results, a number of specific solutions have been proposed to enhance the efficiency of farming contracts between firms and farmers in cultivation production.

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Effects of Continuous Flushing on the Sediment Removal Efficiency in Settling Basins of Small Scale Irrigation Projects; A Case Study of Kiriku-Kiende Irrigation Project, Embu County, Kenya

International Journal of Hydrology ◽

10.15406/ijh.2017.01.00009 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Patrick N Namu

Keyword(s):

Removal Efficiency ◽

Small Scale ◽

Irrigation Project ◽

Sediment Removal ◽

Irrigation Projects ◽

Small Scale Irrigation

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How Can Governments Support Adaptation to Climate Change by Small-Scale Farmers? A Case Study from the Canadian Maritime Provinces

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3035782 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bernard Soubry

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Small Scale ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

Maritime Provinces ◽

Small Scale Farmers

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Multilingualism in eastern Indonesia: linguistic evidence of a shift from symmetric to asymmetric multilingualism

International Journal of Bilingualism ◽

10.1177/13670069211023134 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136700692110231

Author(s):

Francesca Romana Moro

Keyword(s):

Language Contact ◽

Small Scale ◽

Modelling Language ◽

Apparent Paradox ◽

Eastern Indonesia ◽

Communicative Strategies ◽

Linguistic Evidence ◽

Research Questions ◽

Bilingual Communities

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: The Alorese in eastern Indonesia are an Austronesian community who have inhabited two Papuan-speaking islands for approximately 600 years. Their language presents a paradox: contact with the neighbouring Papuan languages has led to both complexification and simplification. This article argues that these opposite outcomes of contact result from two distinct scenarios, and formulates a hypothesis about a shift in multilingual patterns in Alorese history. Design/Methodology/Approach: To formulate a hypothesis about the discontinuity of multilingual patterns, this article first sketches the past and present multilingual patterns of the Alorese by modelling language contact outcomes in terms of bilingual optimisation strategies. This is followed by a comparison of the two scenarios to pinpoint similarities and differences. Data and Analysis: Previous research shows that two types of contact phenomena are attested in Alorese: (a) complexification arising from grammatical borrowings from Papuan languages, and (b) morphological simplification. The first change is associated with prolonged child bilingualism and is the result of Papuan-oriented bilingual strategies, while the latter change is associated with adult second language (L2) learning and is the result of universal communicative strategies. Findings/Conclusions Complexification and simplification are the results of two different layers of contact. Alorese was first used in small-scale bilingual communities, with widespread symmetric multilingualism. Later, multilingualism became more asymmetric, and the language started to undergo a simplification process due to the considerable number of L2 speakers. Originality: This article is innovative in providing a clear case study showing discontinuity of multilingual patterns, supported by linguistic and non-linguistic evidence. Significance/Implications: This article provides a plausible explanation for the apparent paradox found in Alorese, by showing that different outcomes of contact in the same language are due to different patterns of acquisition and socialisation. This discontinuity should be taken into account by models of language contact.

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Photovoltaics Enabling Sustainable Energy Communities: Technological Drivers and Emerging Markets

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14071862 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (7) ◽

pp. 1862

Author(s):

Alexandros-Georgios Chronis ◽

Foivos Palaiogiannis ◽

Iasonas Kouveliotis-Lysikatos ◽

Panos Kotsampopoulos ◽

Nikos Hatziargyriou

Keyword(s):

State Of The Art ◽

Research Question ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Energy Market ◽

Small Scale ◽

Local Energy ◽

Community Members ◽

Open Research ◽

Energy Community

In this paper, we investigate the economic benefits of an energy community investing in small-scale photovoltaics (PVs) when local energy trading is operated amongst the community members. The motivation stems from the open research question on whether a community-operated local energy market can enhance the investment feasibility of behind-the-meter small-scale PVs installed by energy community members. Firstly, a review of the models, mechanisms and concepts required for framing the relevant concepts is conducted, while a clarification of nuances at important terms is attempted. Next, a tool for the investigation of the economic benefits of operating a local energy market in the context of an energy community is developed. We design the local energy market using state-of-the-art formulations, modified according to the requirements of the case study. The model is applied to an energy community that is currently under formation in a Greek municipality. From the various simulations that were conducted, a series of generalizable conclusions are extracted.

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Roles, relationships and emotions: Student teachers’ understanding of feedback as interpersonal

Research in Education ◽

10.1177/0034523721989370 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003452372198937

Author(s):

Caroline Elbra-Ramsay

Keyword(s):

Teacher Education ◽

Student Teachers ◽

Small Scale ◽

First Year ◽

Case Study Methodology ◽

Study Methodology ◽

Undergraduate Programme ◽

Phenomenological Case Study ◽

International Teacher

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale study seeking to investigate how student teachers, within a three-year undergraduate programme, understand feedback. Feedback has been central to debates and discussion in the assessment literature in recent years. Hence, in this paper, feedback is positioned within the often-contradictory discourses of assessment, including perspectives on student and teacher feedback. The study focused on two first year undergraduate student teachers at a small university in England and considered the relationships between their understanding of feedback as a student, their understanding of feedback as an emerging teacher, and the key influences shaping these understandings. A phenomenological case study methodology was employed with interviews as the prime method of data collection. Themes emerged as part of an Nvivo analysis, including emotional responses, relationships and dialogue, all of which appear to have impacted on the students’ conceptual understanding of feedback as indelibly shaped by its interpersonal and affective, rather than purely cognitive or ideational, dimensions. The paper therefore seeks to contribute to the wider feedback discourse by offering an analysis of empirical data. Although situated within English teacher education, there are tentative conclusions that are applicable to international teacher education and as well as higher education more generally.

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The potential of agroforestry concessions to stabilize Amazonian forest frontiers: a case study on the economic and environmental robustness of informally settled small-scale cocoa farmers in Peru

Land Use Policy ◽

10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105242 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 102 ◽

pp. 105242

Author(s):

Benno Pokorny ◽

Valentina Robiglio ◽

Martin Reyes ◽

Ricardo Vargas ◽

Cesar Francesco Patiño Carrera

Keyword(s):

Small Scale ◽

Amazonian Forest ◽

Environmental Robustness ◽

Cocoa Farmers

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Monitoring Lakes Surface Water Velocity with SAR: A Feasibility Study on Lake Garda, Italy

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13122293 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 2293

Author(s):

Marina Amadori ◽

Virginia Zamparelli ◽

Giacomo De Carolis ◽

Gianfranco Fornaro ◽

Marco Toffolon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Water ◽

Wind Waves ◽

Test Site ◽

Water Velocity ◽

Surface Velocity ◽

Medium Size ◽

Small Scale ◽

Lake Garda ◽

Marine Applications

The SAR Doppler frequencies are directly related to the motion of the scatterers in the illuminated area and have already been used in marine applications to monitor moving water surfaces. Here we investigate the possibility of retrieving surface water velocity from SAR Doppler analysis in medium-size lakes. ENVISAT images of the test site (Lake Garda) are processed and the Doppler Centroid Anomaly technique is adopted. The resulting surface velocity maps are compared with the outputs of a hydrodynamic model specifically validated for the case study. Thermal images from MODIS Terra are used in support of the modeling results. The surface velocity retrieved from SAR is found to overestimate the numerical results and the existence of a bias is investigated. In marine applications, such bias is traditionally removed through Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) by ascribing it to a fully developed wind waves spectrum. We found that such an assumption is not supported in our case study, due to the small-scale variations of topography and wind. The role of wind intensity and duration on the results from SAR is evaluated, and the inclusion of lake bathymetry and the SAR backscatter gradient is recommended for the future development of GMFs suitable for lake environments.

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