scholarly journals Agricultural Productivity, Efficiency, and Rural Poverty in Irrigated Pakistan: A Stochastic Production Frontier Analysis

2003 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munir Ahmad

The main objective of this study is to estimate the input elasticities of production for poor and non-poor farms. The study estimates the stochastic frontier production function. The results show that the elasticities of production differ for poor and non-poor farms. The production elasticity of land is substantially higher on rich farms as compared to the farms belonging to poor farmers. This implies higher returns on investment on land by the rich farmers. The salinity/sodicity problem and the tail-end location of the plot adversely affect farm productivity and efficiency, particularly at the poor farms. Moreover, the average cost of the existence of technical inefficiencies is about 43 percent in terms of loss in output, with wide variations across farms ranging from 17 percent to 62 percent. The study further concludes that the least efficient group is not only operating far below the frontier but it also operates at the lower portion of the production frontier. Consequently, increasing access to the inputs would likely raise productivity and reduce poverty. The results imply that the land distribution using the notion of land reforms in favour of poor/small farmers in the presence of existing farm structure, rural infrastructure, and the weak farm-supporting institutions is not expected to raise farm productivity and reduce poverty among the poor farmers. The results call for a strong and active role of the government in close partnership with the private sector to initiate income-generating activities and inputs supply chains in the rural areas to break the nexus of poverty, land degradation, and low agricultural productivity.

Author(s):  
M. Muzekenyi ◽  
J. Zuwarimwe ◽  
B.M. Kilonzo

Small-scale commercial farmers are regarded as the strategic avenue to achieve meaningful development in rural areas of South Africa.  The government acknowledged that the inclusion of small-scale commercial farming in its development strategies. The paper aims to measure the efficiency of small-scale commercial farming enterprises in Vhembe District in Limpopo Province. Quantitative data were collected from 217 small-scale commercial farmers using structured questionnaires. The data were standardized using a farming enterprise budget system and analysed using the maximum likelihood and stochastic frontier analysis. The results revealed that aggregate output was positive and significantly influenced by age, education level, farm experience, farm labour, and government grants. However, the projected stochastic production frontier model combined with the efficiency parameters showed that labour and credit computed a negative effect on technical efficiency. The results indicated that the average level of technical efficiency ranged between 20% and 96% with a mean of 54%. This indicates that there is potential to increase production among small-scale commercial farmers in the study area by 46 % through efficient use of existing resources. As such, the local government should provide necessary supports such as formal agriculture training, access to credit and information to increase productivity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 59-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Mago ◽  
Daina Nyathi ◽  
Costa Hofisi

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented by Non-governmental organisation (NGOs) for poverty alleviation in Zimbabwe with specific reference to Zimbabwe’s Binga Rural District. The qulitative research methodology was employed in the article. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. Findings indicated that NGOs do not adequately fulfil the needs of the poor due to ineffective strategies that they implement. There is insufficient understanding of the livelihoods of the poor in Binga, hence the need for participatory development approaches. Deepening and widening poverty in the rural areas that are currently served by NGOs is an indicator that their poverty alleviation strategies are inadequate and ineffective to deal with poverty in these rural areas. The paper recommends a policy shift by both NGOs and the government to improve the poverty reduction strategies used by NGOs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097300522199758
Author(s):  
Raju Mandal ◽  
Shrabanti Maity

The agriculture sector in India is beset with twin limitations of shrinking cultivable area and absence of major technological breakthroughs in the recent past. In such a situation, a judicious management of the farm in the form of adjustment in a crop portfolio can be quite useful to maximise output and minimise wastage of resources. This article seeks to examine whether a diversified crop portfolio makes the farmers more efficient using farm-level survey data collected from geographically diverse areas of Assam, a state in northeast India. The results of a stochastic production frontier analysis show that adoption of a diversified crop portfolio across crops and seasons makes the farmers more efficient in cultivation by helping them reduce weather-induced damages to crops and reap better returns from farming. This efficiency-enhancing effect of crop diversification is found to be heterogeneous among the regions. However, too much diversification reduces the efficiency of farmers. The results have important implications for Assam where floods cause extensive damage to crops every year. Moreover, access to extension services and government support are found to make the farmers more efficient. On the other hand, fixed-rent form of tenancy reduces efficiency of the farmers while household size has a positive impact on the same.


2021 ◽  
pp. 58-60
Author(s):  
T. Indumathi ◽  
G. Savaraiah

The World Bank's Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project supports the self helf groups of the women members. It promotes women's social, economic, legal and political empowerment to reduce poverty among the poor and the poorest of the poor. The important object of this article is to examine the impact of micronance on the socio economic empowerment of the rural women supported by the national reputed NGO- Rashtriya Seva Samithi (RASS). 184 women members of the SHGs promoted by Rasthriya Seva Samathi (RASS) an NGO which located in Tirupati town. 184 samples are selected randomly from 15 SHGs scattered throughout the Tirupati rural mandal (Taluk) from the area of the study have been considered to conduct the present research study. The study reveals that 87.71 percent of the sample women were below the poverty line before joining the SHGs. As a result of SHG, about 40 percent of the sample women crossed the poverty line. The highest intensive value indicates that more women have participated in social agitations for the welfare of the children and the society. The second highest intensity reveals that considerable numbers of women of SHGs have participated in the government sponsored schemes. The 1st point secured 3rd rank with total intensity value of 605 which status that the micro credit has resulted in increased social status and empowerment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097492922110448
Author(s):  
Javaid Iqbal Khan ◽  
Mehak Majeed ◽  
Saeed Owais Mushtaq

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of the community development in the developing world. In the fragile and backward regions, it is the micro enterprise that is considered to be the engine of growth and development. Being labour-intensive and requiring lesser capital input, the micro unit start-ups demand lesser investment in plant and machinery, attracting more and more potential entrepreneurs. Over the time, such units gain experience and knowledge becoming more efficient. This article studies the firms located in the fragile and geographically remote region of Jammu and Kashmir. The article uses a panel of 15 years from 2002 to 2016 based on the Annual Survey of Industries data. Using the Stochastic Frontier Analysis, the article studies the MSMEs and the micro units. From the post-estimation, technical efficiency scores are attained for both MSMEs and the micro units. The results reveal that the micro units are more efficient than the MSMEs in general. Tobit regression is used to estimate the technical inefficiency model to determine the factors that contribute to the inefficiency present in the micro units. The results show that there is a negative relationship between the efficiency of the micro unit firms and the asset-liability ratio and the loan-liability ratio, while there is a positive relationship between the private ownership of the firm and the efficiency level. Age of the firm is considered separately to validate the ‘learning theory’ by Jovanovic. The article concludes by suggesting that the government must provide adequate boost and a big-push to the micro units in order to eradicate the widespread unemployment and fragility in the region. JEL Classification: F61, L25


Edulib ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tine Silvana ◽  
Pawit M Yusup ◽  
Priyo Subekti

AbstractRural poverty can be understood as a social condition of a person, or a group of people who were associated with aspects of economic and non-economic aspects. Scientific aspects such as social, cultural, health, education, psychology, the environment, law, anthropology, and art, was often associated with poverty. Nevertheless, the notion of poor and rural poverty is, in general, is still viewed by researcher's perspective, rather than emic, ie see something from the perspective of the participant. This study took part of the effort to comprehensively understand the meaning of poor and poverty in the eyes of the poor, especially in rural areas, roomates point is on how to map view of rural poor people in hopes of interpreting experience of livelihood as poor in underlying survival living. By using a qualitative study approach, especially the tradition of phenomenology of Schutz, obtained a description of the results, that the meaning of poor and poverty, in phenomenology, containing context, such as: context ownership; contexts effort and trial and error; contexts powerlessness; contexts outside assistance; independence in the context of compulsion; contexts unattainable expectations; context of the struggle; context of limited access to information; contexts low curiosity; contexts simplicity needs; problems humiliation context; and context sensitivity in social communication.Keywords: Meaning poor, Poverty, Rural AbstrakKemiskinan di pedesaan dapat dipahami sebagai suatu kondisi sosial seseorang, atau sekelompok orang yang terkait dengan aspek-aspek ekonomi dan non-ekonomi. Aspek ilmiah seperti sosial, budaya, kesehatan, pendidikan, psikologi, lingkungan, hukum, antropologi, dan seni, yang sering dikaitkan dengan kemiskinan. Namun demikian, gagasan tentang kemiskinan dan pedesaan, secara umum, masih dilihat dari perspektif peneliti, bukan emik, yaitu melihat sesuatu dari perspektif partisipan. Penelitian ini mengambil bagian dari upaya untuk secara komprehensif memahami makna miskin dan kemiskinan di mata masyarakat miskin, terutama di daerah pedesaan, which titik adalah bagaimana memetakan pandangan masyarakat miskin pedesaan dengan harapan pengalaman yang menafsirkan mata pencaharian sebagai masyarakat miskin untuk bertahan hidup. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan studi kualitatif, khususnya tradisi fenomenologi Schutz, diperoleh gambaran hasil, bahwa makna miskin dan kemiskinan, dalam fenomenologi, mengandung konteks, seperti: kepemilikan konteks; Upaya konteks dan trial and error; Ketidakberdayaan konteks; konteks di luar bantuan; kemerdekaan dalam konteks paksaan; konteks harapan tercapai; konteks perjuangan; konteks terbatasnya akses terhadap informasi; konteks rasa ingin tahu yang rendah; kesederhanaan konteks kebutuhan; konteks masalah penghinaan; dan sensitivitas konteks komunikasi sosial.Kata Kunci : Makna kemiskinan, Kemiskinan, Desa


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Anh Thi Nguyen ◽  
Tram Anh Thi Nguyen ◽  
Curtis Jolly ◽  
Brice Merlin Nguelifack

Uncertainty about efficiency and sustainability of shrimp production due to diseases and climatic events may prevent Vietnam from attaining US $10 million target from shrimp exports by 2025. We surveyed 120 and 159 shrimp farmers from Khánh Hòa and Trà Vinh provinces, respectively, to obtain information on their input use, production levels and the effects of diseases and climate change events on their farm profitability. Stochastic production frontier analysis (SFA) discovered that the number of workers, crops and seed costs positively influenced farmers’ profits, while cost of chemicals and labour negatively affected the profit of Khánh Hòa farmers. The number of workers and chemical costs positively affected profits in Trà Vinh, while cost of labour and energy, the number of crops and average stocking density negatively influenced farmer profit in Trà Vinh. Number of years of schooling, experience and average size of ponds positively influenced economic efficiency, while the number of ponds and climatic change events negatively influenced efficiency in Khánh Hòa province. Age and alternative power source positively affected economic efficiency, while disease prevalence affected efficiency of Trà Vinh. All farms practicing intensive or extensive shrimp production achieved 90% efficiency. The government should encourage the wise use of resources, high-quality seeds and a sensitive balance between intensive and extensive culture to sustainably attain its national production and export goals.


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