scholarly journals Climatic and Economic Factors Affecting the Annual Supply of Wild Edible Mushrooms and Berries in Finland

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veera Tahvanainen ◽  
Jari Miina ◽  
Mikko Kurttila
Keyword(s):  
Market Price ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Non Timber Forest Products ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Species Specific

Finnish non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are valued on the national and international markets. Yet, the annual marketed quantities vary considerably, causing instability in supply chains. Thus, climatic and economic factors affecting the annually aggregated supply of top-marketed mushrooms (ceps, milk caps, and chanterelle) and berries (bilberry, cowberry, and cloudberry) in Finland were studied. Data on mushroom and berry market prices (€/kg) and quantities (kg) were obtained from the statistics on annual quantities of berries and mushrooms bought by organized trade and industry in Finland (1978–2016). The species-specific supply functions were described as linear regression models, where annually aggregated quantities were predicted as a function of climatic and economic variables. Our results suggested that climatic variables influenced the marketed quantities of NTFPs through the biological yields of berries and mushrooms, and that the market price had a negative effect on the marketed quantities of ceps, milk caps, and berries. The markets for NTFPs have become more international at the second half of the study period (1999–2016), modifying the price-quantity relationships of ceps, milk caps and cloudberries. Additionally, the number of visas issued to Thai pickers increased the marketed quantities of bilberries and cowberries.

scholarly journals The Processing of Non-Timber Forest Products through Small and Medium Enterprises—A Review of Enabling and Constraining Factors

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinhold ◽  
Darr
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cash Income ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Current Evidence Base ◽  
Non Timber Forest Products

Research Highlights: This study reviews the available literature on processed non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in order to comprehensively identify relevant factors enabling or constraining their potential to contribute to rural development. Background and Objectives: NTFPs, such as wild foods, medicinal plants, and raw materials for handicrafts, make significant contributions to rural livelihoods. NTFPs can help fulfil households' subsistence and consumption needs, serve as a safety-net in times of crises, and provide cash income. In particular, the processing of NTFPs has often been suggested to positively influence sustainable economic development in rural areas. However, despite rising interest and recognition of the potential contributions of such industries as key sources of employment and their strategic role in overall growth strategies of developing countries, many NTFP processing enterprises remain in the informal sector and an in-depth understanding of the underlying factors is lacking. This review aims to identify enabling and constraining factors affecting NTFP processing enterprises. Materials and Methods: Using systematic review methodology, studies investigating commercialized, processed NTFPs and their economic impacts have been identified and the current evidence base with regard to NTFP processing and small and medium sized enterprise (SME) development synthesized. Results: Despite the diverse nature of NTFPs, a number of constraining and enabling factors affecting NTFP processing and commercialization were identified. The former includes aspects such as the lack of resource access (finances, skills, technologies, etc.), market information, and basic infrastructure; the latter, amongst others, the role of key entrepreneurs; and cooperation across the value chain, amongst producers, and among members of the institutional environment or an abundant resource base. Moving from small-scale NTFP commercialization in local markets to more mature NTFP value chains reaching export markets, the increasing role of cooperation and having a supportive institutional framework in place, becomes apparent. Conclusions: Overall, successful NTFP processing strongly depends on the socio-economic and environmental context in question, requiring a holistic approach tailored to the respective context and value chain.

scholarly journals Evaluating the effects of arousal and emotional valence on performance of racing greyhounds

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Starling ◽  
Anthony Spurrett ◽  
Paul McGreevy
Keyword(s):  
Poor Performance ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Predicting Performance ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Eye Temperature

AbstractThe racing greyhound industry in Australia has come under scrutiny in recent years due to animal welfare concerns, including so-called behavioural wastage whereby physically sound greyhounds are removed from the racing industry because of poor performance. The non-medical reasons why greyhounds perform poorly at the racetrack are not well understood, but may include insufficient reinforcement for racing, or negative affective states associated with the context of racing. This study sought evidence for the affective states of greyhounds (n=525) at race meets and associations of those states with performance. It collected demographic, behavioural and performance data, along with infrared thermographic images of greyhounds at race-meets to investigate whether arousal influenced performance. It also collected behavioural data in the catching pen at the completion of races to examine possible evidence of frustration that may reflect sub-optimal behavioural reinforcement.Linear regression models were built to determine factors affecting greyhound performance. Increasing mean eye temperature after the race and increasing greyhound age both had a statistically significant, negative effect on performance. The start box number also had a significant effect, with boxes 4, 5 and 7 having a negative effect on performance. There was a significant effect of track on mean eye temperatures before and after the race, suggesting that some tracks may be inherently more stressful for greyhounds than others. Behaviours that may indicate frustration in the catching pen were extremely common at two tracks, but much less common at the third, where play objects in motion were used to draw greyhounds into the catching pen. The study provides evidence for the use of eye temperature in predicting performance, guidance for assessment of poor performance in greyhounds and suggested approaches to the management of frustration in racing greyhounds.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting the Effective Functioning of Public Procurement in Public Universities of Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2095-2102
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Effective Functioning ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Tax Payers

Ethiopian Universities are fully dependent on government’s budget and procurement budget comes from tax payers. However, there is misappropriation of procurement budgets. Recently, procurement budget deficit has been observed in Public Universities of Ethiopia and 10 to 100 million Ethiopian birr have been wasted through non-transparent procurement systems. Employees also have been complaining about the quality of goods and services in every meetings held. Delays, poor qualified products and services, over pricing compared to the actual market price are the basic problems observed in procurement functions. Hence, this study aimed at identification of the basic factors that affect the proper functioning of public procurement practice in Public Universities. Analysis was made based on 351 selected respondents from 9 of the public Universities. Those employees who have direct relationship with public procurement were selected from top, middle and lower levels. Specifically, procurement workers, procurement and audit committee and internal auditors were participated. Multiple regression was employed and data was run by SPSS version 20. Tables were used for ease of interpretation. The regression results revealed that, public procurement policy, legal environment, organizational structure, employee ethics, ICT and management of suppliers have positive significant effect on the effective functioning of public procurement practice. However, budgetary allocation has insignificant and negative effect on the effective functioning of public procurement practice. Amending existing procurement guideline, open discussion with the nearby suppliers, continual ethics training for procurement workers and installing ICT platforms were found to be the possible recommendations.

scholarly journals The Factors Affecting Volunteers’ Willingness to Participate in Disaster Preparedness

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4141
Author(s):  
Yingnan Ma ◽  
Wei Zhu ◽  
Huan Zhang ◽  
Pengxia Zhao ◽  
Yafei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Attitudinal Factors ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Recruitment And Selection

Disaster preparedness is crucial for providing an effective response to, and reducing the possible impacts of, disasters. Although volunteers’ participation plays an important role in disaster preparedness, their actual participation in disaster preparedness activities is still low. To find ways to encourage more volunteers to participate, this study analyzed the social background and organizational and attitudinal factors affecting the volunteers’ willingness to participate. Questionnaires were distributed to 990 registered disaster volunteers across Beijing and the data were analyzed using linear regression models. Results revealed a weak willingness to participate in disaster preparedness. Only 28.08% of the respondents indicated that they were “very ready” to participate in voluntary disaster preparedness, and 14.65% showed “a little bit” of interest. The following was concluded: (1) Disaster volunteers’ social background variables were related to their willingness to participate in disaster preparedness. Compared to male volunteers, female volunteers were more willing to participate. Chinese Communist Party members were more willing to participate than non-members. (2) Providing accidental life insurance for the volunteers had a positive effect on their willingness to participate in disaster preparedness. Provision of more training had a negative effect on the volunteers’ willingness to participate, indicating a low quality of training. (3) Organizational identification was positively related to the volunteers’ willingness to participate. According to these results, we suggest that volunteer organizations should improve their standards and procedures for disaster volunteer recruitment and selection, and gain a deeper understanding of the needs of the disaster volunteers in order to better motivate them to participate.

scholarly journals Assessment of Income Generation from Non-timber Forest Products in Awka-North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
B. C. Ojomah ◽  
A. E. Ibe ◽  
J. U. Ezenwenyi ◽  
O. Chukwu ◽  
N. N. Adum
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Local Government Area ◽  
Anambra State ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Non Timber Forest Products ◽  
Over Exploitation ◽  
Rural Dwellers

Non-Timber Forest Products are important sources of income that can supplement farming and/or other activities to the rural dwellers. In spite of this, its potential to improve the standard of living and generate income to rural dwellers has not been known in Awka-North Local Government Area. The study was carried out from January to August, 2017. The study identified the variety of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) available to rural households, the level of income generated by households from these available Non-timber forest products and constraints to Non-timber forest products collection in the study area. Three towns; Achalla, Amansea and Mgbakwu were selected using multi-stage random sampling technique. A total of 100 copies of structured questionnaires were administered to obtain information from respondents who engaged in NTFPs based activities in the selected towns. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and 5-point Likert Type Scale. The study revealed that fish, snail, bush meat, spices, firewood, fruits, seeds and nuts, vegetables and honey are the Non-timber forest products available to the rural dwellers. Monthly income of ₦61,000 and above was generated by the rural dwellers who engaged in NTFPs sales. Lack of marketing, bush burning, deforestation, NTFPs scarcity, over exploitation, transportation, bad road network, distance from forest, market price of other products and unfavourable government policies are the constraints confronting the respondents in the collection of Non-timber forest products in the study area.

scholarly journals Economic value of community forest to local users : A case study from Barandabhar Protected Forest, Chitwan, Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-27
Author(s):  
R. Lamichhane ◽  
A. Sedhain ◽  
M. Maharjan
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Contingent Valuation ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Contingent Valuation Method ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Multiple Regression Model ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Management And Conservation

Barandabhar Protected Forest (PF) has provided numerous goods and services to the people living around the forest. Integrated evaluation of this PF along with its ecological and economic value is required for the conservation and sustainable management of its forest resource. The field study was carried out in two community-managed forests around the Barandabhar PF Market Price Method and Contingent Valuation Method were used to estimate the use and non-use values of the forest. Determination of the local users' willingness to pay for sustainable management and conservation of the natural resources was done through Contingent Valuation Survey. It was administered to 142 users. Multiple Regression Model was used to analyze the factors affecting the users' willingness to pay (WTP) value. The WTP value for the conservation and sustainable management of forest was found to be affected by the income and gender of the users and their time to reach the forest. The study revealed that the women were more willing to pay for the environmental services provided by the forest. Based on the household (HH) survey, the average HH-consumption of the forest products (timber, fodder and fuelwood) was estimated to be worth of NRs. 5,246 (US$ 46. 69) per HH per year and the specific use value of the forest was estimated to be NRs. 15,160,940 (US$134,931. 82) per year. The total WTP value for the sustainable management and conservation of the forests was estimated to be NRs. 1,341,153 (US$11,936. 20) per year; the users' average WTP value for the conservation and sustainable management of the Barandabhar PF being NRs. 589 (US$ 5. 24) per HH per year.  

scholarly journals Adoption and farmer’s perceptions of BARI Aam-3 Mango variety in selected areas of Bangladesh

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-311
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahrukh Rahman ◽  
Mashrufah Khatun
Keyword(s):  
Market Price ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Agricultural Extension ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Alternate Bearing ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Labour Costs ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Effect

The study was conducted to assess the level of BARI Aam-3 mango variety adoption, factors affecting adoption and farmer’s perceptions about this variety in four districts namely Khagrachori, Bandorban, Naogaon, and Satkhira of Bangladesh during February to March, 2018. A total of 128 BARI Aam-3 growers and 72 non-growers were selected using multi-stage random sampling technique. Logit model was used to assess the determinants of adoption. The study revealed that BARI Aam-3 was the most adopted variety (57%) than other and it covered 47.5% of the total mango production in the study areas. Most of the rice and vegetable fields are occupied by BARI Aam-3 and majority of the respondents practiced intercropping with BARI Aam-3. Family size, sex, training, and extension linkage had significant positive effect on adoption of BARI Aam-3 mango variety while age and farm size had negative effect. Three fourth (75%) of the respondents collected information about this variety from other neighbor farmers while about 43% learned from Department of Agricultural Extension office. More than half of the respondents (63%) have strong ambition to enlarge their BARI Aam-3 mango variety orchard in the future for its unique features such as non-alternate bearing and early fruiting. Climate change, price fluctuation, higher labour costs and access of Indian mango to the market prior releasing this variety were the major bottlenecks for wider adoption of this variety. The study concluded that there is an urgent need to create a sustainable market environment to ensure a better market price for the mango growers. In addition, training and extension services need to expand all over the country to increase the rate of adoption of BARI Aam-3 mango variety. Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.5(3): 301-311, December 2018

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