Sustainability of Agricultural Diversity in the Farm Households of Southern Tibet

Farming systems in Tibet are undergoing significant change as farm households are encouraged to shift from more subsistence-oriented staple cereals to more intensive, diverse, and integrated forage crop livestock systems reliant on engagement with external input and product markets. This is occurring at a time of rapid agrarian transition with more and more of the livelihoods, income, and expenditures of farm households dependent on off-farm sources. Modernizing an agricultural sector that can sustain the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and meet the demands of an ever more discerning customer base all within the confines of a limited resource base has proved a major R&D and policy challenge for Tibetan and Chinese officials, let alone the farmers and market actors impacted by these developments. In this paper, key drivers impacting diversity in Tibetan farm households, including agrarian transition and demographic, infrastructure, and food price developments, are outlined. The impact on household economics and on the environment of the more intensive and diverse farming systems are then discussed, along with the attitudes of farm households to the changing farming systems and to their future in farming. The paper finds significant labor and environmental challenges that farm households and policy makers must grapple with if the farming system and agrarian transition trajectories are to be sustained.

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SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ RESOURCE ALLOCATION DECISIONS IN A MAIZE-FARMING SYSTEM UNDER CLIMATE RISKS IN MALAWI

AGROFOR ◽

10.7251/agreng2101086m ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ruth MAGRETA ◽

Henderson NG’ONG’OLA ◽

Julius MANGISONI ◽

Kennedy MACHILA ◽

Sika GBEGBELEGBE

Keyword(s):

Resource Allocation ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Farming Systems ◽

The Body ◽

Research Station ◽

Climatic Data ◽

Climatic Risk ◽

The Impact ◽

Allocation Decisions ◽

Resource Allocation Decisions

Using household data from Lilongwe districts, along with crop phenology, agronomic management and climatic data from Chitedze Research Station, the Target-MOTAD and DSSAT-CSM models examined the resource allocation decisions of smallholder farmers in maize farming systems under climate risk in Malawi. Specific aims were to evaluate the ability of DSSAT to predict and collate DTM and non-DTM yields under climatic risk and to use a bio-economic procedure developed using DSSAT and Target-MOTAD to explore the impact of climatic risk on allocation of resources to DTM and non-DTM production. The paper argues that higher average yields observed from DTM varieties make it the most optimal maize production plan, in maximizing household incomes, food security, and minimizing deviations from the mean while meeting the set target incomes of farmers compared to non-DTM varieties. The multidisciplinary nature of this paper has contributed to the body of research by providing a powerful analytical procedure of modelling farmers’ resource allocation decisions in maize based farming systems in Malawi. This study necessitates the use of a combination of biophysical and economic procedures when evaluating promising lines prior to variety release in order to identify the high yielding variety that will continuously bring sustained profits to the farmers amidst climate change.

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Effect of Livelihood Interactions on Farmers' Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change: Insight from Medenine Governorate, Southeast Tunisia

International Journal of Environment and Climate Change ◽

10.9734/ijecc/2020/v10i1230319 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 422-430

Author(s):

Fatma Aribi ◽

Mongi Sghaier

Keyword(s):

Adaptive Capacity ◽

Policy Development ◽

Capacity Planning ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Principal Component ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farm Households ◽

Sustainable Livelihood ◽

Livelihood Capitals ◽

The Impact

The Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) assumes that all capitals are complementary and that more capital assets would lead to greater adaptive capacity. However, the SLA neglects the interactions and transformations between different livelihood capitals. This paper suggests a methodological approach to understand how different capitals may be structured, transformed, and used to improve the farm households’ adaptive capacity to climatic stresses. Data for this study were gathered by means of a questionnaire survey during 2018 from 100 farm households representing the main farming systems of Medenine governorate, Southeast of Tunisia. The analyses were carried out using three tools following a stepwise approach. First, to understand the interactions that exist between the different capitals, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried out. Then, the adaptive capacity was calculated using the PCA results. Finally, using the Pearson's correlation index, the impact of livelihood assets on adaptive capacity was tested. The results demonstrated that households are trying to compensate for the lack of certain assets through interactions with others in order to improve their adaptive capacity. Moreover, human, natural and financial capital seem to better influence the adaptive capacity of farmers, while the impacts of physical and social capital are relatively less important. These results have improved our comprehension of the livelihood capital purpose for strengthening the existing approaches that enhance the adaptive capacity. Finally, this study has demonstrated that exploring the interactions between livelihood capitals is a first concern, which should be incorporated into adaptive capacity planning and policy development.

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Adaptation and mitigation strategies for dairy cattle: Myths and realities in Indian condition -A review

Agricultural Reviews ◽

10.18805/ag.v36i4.6665 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Sumit Mahajan ◽

Janailin S. Papang ◽

Shivraj Singh ◽

K. K. Datta

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Farm Households ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Change Impact ◽

Vector Borne ◽

The Impact ◽

Adaptation And Mitigation

The anticipated climate change will adversely affect the productivity of livestock directly due to increased heat stress, indirectly it will affect the livestock by causing feed and fodder shortages, reducing biodiversity, water availability and increasing the incidences of vector-borne livestock diseases. On the other hand, the livestock keeping farm households mainly small farm households will be affected directly as they rear livestock for their livelihood. Interestingly, over the years, the livestock keeping households have increased at a tremendous rate for the small and marginal, medium and semimedium farm household categories as they reduce the risk arising from extreme climate conditions. So, it becomes imperative to adopt adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of climate change on livestock given their importance in smallholder farmers’ livelihood in India. Some of researchers in past have recommended certain adaptation and mitigation strategies for reducing the climate change impact on livestock. But, are these adaptation and mitigation strategies applicable or viable in the context of smallholder farmers in India? This remains an unsolved puzzle. This paper tries to demystify certain myths associated with these strategies as well as explore the ground realities. The present policy of indiscriminate crossbreeding of local cattle with exotic cattle should be reviewed and reoriented for smallholder dairy farmer especially, in dry and rainfed regions where there is scarcity of fodder and water which are required heavily by crossbred cattle. The study clearly reflects that the adaptation research should be country specific as the strategies suitable for one country may not be viable for the others as there is considerable difference in local conditions of different countries.

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The impact of AACSB accreditation on the autonomy and costs of limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/jarhe-06-2013-0024 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 358-374 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Richard Bieker

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Limited Resource ◽

Resource Base ◽

Content Type ◽

Business Source Premier ◽

The Subject ◽

Research Questions ◽

Implicit And Explicit ◽

The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of AACSB accreditation on the autonomy and costs of limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate the research questions, a content analysis of all publications in the EBSCO Business Source Premier Database for the period January 1, 1990 through December 15, 2012 was conducted. Findings – The findings indicate that in the process of becoming AACSB accredited, faculty members of the subject institutions shift their focus more toward research and less toward teaching activities, and that the institutions become less autonomous and more like their benchmark AACSB institutions. In addition, the costs of AACSB accreditation are likely to be significant for the subject institutions. Research limitations/implications – The findings of the study point to the need for additional theoretical and empirical research related to the research questions. First, there is a need to formulate a conceptual framework for clearly identifying and measuring the implicit and explicit costs, including all of the opportunity costs, associated with accreditation. In addition, there is a compelling need to develop a conceptual framework and measurement system that will allow business schools to better assess their quality and productivity. For limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching this system should comport with the schools’ teaching missions. Practical implications – The findings suggest that the subject institutions seeking AACSB accreditation should carefully consider a number of questions before pursing accreditation. First, is the institution's mission congruent with AACSB standards or will its mission have to be changed? If AACSB accreditation is deemed to be appropriate, how will the associated changes in resource needs and resource allocation serve to further the institution's mission? And, what are the incremental costs of accreditation, and does the institution have the resource base to sustain accreditation? Originality/value – The study is the first to conduct a detailed content analysis to evaluate some of the costs and benefits of AACSB accreditation for limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching.

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Missing the Target: Brazil's Agricultural Policy Indirectly Subsidizes Foreign Investments to the Detriment of Smallholder Farmers and Local Agribusiness

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2021.796845 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Graciella Corcioli ◽

Gabriel da Silva Medina ◽

Cristiano Alencar Arrais

Keyword(s):

Supply Chains ◽

Multinational Corporations ◽

Agricultural Policy ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Direct Foreign Investment ◽

Foreign Companies ◽

Family Farmers ◽

Transnational Companies ◽

The Impact

Currently there is controversy about the effect of direct foreign investment in the Brazilian agricultural sector, mainly due to the impact it has on small farmers, land use, the environment, and food security. In this context, Brazil finds itself in an even more delicate situation, since in order to remain a bulwark of the economy, Brazilian agribusiness depends heavily on public policies that directly impact its treasury. This suggests there is an indirect transfer of public resources to transnational companies involved in agribusiness production chains. This paper assesses the allocation of agricultural credits in Brazil and the market share held by Brazilian groups, vis-à-vis multinational corporations in the agribusiness supply chains. The study was carried out analyzing the three largest supply chains established in the country: soybean, corn, and cattle. Results reveal that 75% of the operating credit (crédito de custeio), which represents 60% of the total government credit in Brazil, goes directly to soybean, corn, and cattle farmers. Most of this subsidized credit budget goes to the soybean farmers, which are mostly encompassed by large farmers. Results also reveal that 76.1% of the soybean supply chain in Brazil is controlled by foreign multinational corporations. These findings suggest that resources invested in large farmers that take part in supply chains controlled by multinational foreign groups end up indirectly financing foreign companies to the detriment of local smallholder farmers and domestic agribusiness. This highlights the need for restructuring Brazilian agricultural policy in favor of family farmers and domestic agribusiness.

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Post-NAFTA Changes in Peasant Land Use—The Case of the Pátzcuaro Lake Watershed Region in the Central-West México

Land ◽

10.3390/land9030075 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 75 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marta Astier ◽

Quetzalcóatl Orozco-Ramírez ◽

Robert Walker ◽

Yankuic Galván-Miyoshi ◽

Carlos González-Esquivel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Animal Feed ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Field Research ◽

Animal Husbandry ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Trade Agreement ◽

Beef Production ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Maize Varieties ◽

The Impact

Rural life in México has changed drastically over the past several decades in the wake of structural reforms in the 1980s and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) implemented in 1994. Researchers predicted dire consequences for smallholder farmers following trade liberalization and in certain respects the prophecies have been fulfilled. Indeed, many regions experienced significant out-migration as smallholders, unable to compete with global maize imports without price subsidies, sold or abandoned their lands, making way for the expansion of industrial agriculture into forests, secondary vegetation and primary crops. Nevertheless, many smallholders have adapted to the new economic environment with farming systems that manage risk by diversifying portfolios to incorporate commercialized maize and livestock production. This article examines the evolution of smallholder farming systems since the mid 1980s, when the impact of neoliberal reforms emerged, using data collected from field research on 130 smallholder farms in the Pátzcuaro Lake Watershed (PLW) in the State of Michoacán. Farmers in the PLW have been characterized as traditional peasant farmers, planting crops for subsistence, including a diverse array of domestic maize varieties and practicing limited animal husbandry with chickens, turkeys, pigs, an oxen and a cow or two for milk. But the results presented in this article show that the traditional peasant farming systems in the region have changed substantially to a highly diversified agriculture-cattle-forest system. Most notable changes include the use of fertilizers and pesticides; and the increase in livestock herd and reorientation to beef production. The results demonstrate the resilience of smallholder farmers, while at the same time raising potential concern that increased reliance on livestock and beef production specialization, might lead to shifts in farming systems that replace domestic maize varieties with hybrid corn used primarily for animal feed and thereby leaving vulnerable the genetic reservoir of traditional maize landraces.

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Crop–livestock diversification in the mixed farming systems: implication on food security in Northern Ghana

Agriculture & Food Security ◽

10.1186/s40066-021-00319-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gideon Danso-Abbeam ◽

Gilbert Dagunga ◽

Dennis Sedem Ehiakpor ◽

Abiodun A. Ogundeji ◽

Edinam Dope Setsoafia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Systems ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Development Planning ◽

Northern Ghana ◽

Household Food Security ◽

African Countries ◽

Resource Base ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Achieving food security is a global priority and a concern for most African countries, including Ghana. Food systems providing varied and healthy diets without compromising the natural resource base, such as integrated crop–livestock diversification, are important for development planning and policy. Using cross-sectional data obtained from 1284 smallholder households in northern Ghana, we used a double-censored Tobit model in a conditional mixed-process (CMP) framework to estimate the impact of crop diversification on household food security. Results The results showed that household-specific, socioeconomic, and institutional factors influence crop–livestock diversification and food security in northern Ghana. Moreover, we found that higher intensity of crop–livestock diversification translates into a greater probability of achieving food security. Conclusions Crop–livestock diversification is essential to Ghana’s pursuit of the zero-hunger global agenda as it enhances food security without adversely affecting biodiversity and ecosystem health. Therefore, it should be incorporated into Ghana’s ongoing agricultural programme dubbed, planting and rearing for food and jobs.

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Climate Variability on Growing Season Rainfall and Temperature: its impact on sustainable agriculture in Imo State, Nigeria

Journal of Geographical Research ◽

10.30564/jgr.v4i1.2531 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ajiere S

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Moving Average ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Growing Season ◽

Imo State ◽

Recent Trends ◽

Rural Dwellers ◽

The Impact

Rainfall and Temperature are important factors in agriculture especially in Nigeria where rain-fed agriculture is practiced extensively and agriculture contributes to food security and provides employment for urban and rural dwellers. Therefore, climate variability poses a big threat to agriculture by altering the growing season rainfall and temperature, thereby resulting to serious danger in the sustainability of food. This is why all nations of the world are concerned about the effects of climate variability on agriculture. This work therefore, examined the impact of climate variability on growing season rainfall and temperature in Imo State, South Eastern Nigeria. The rainfall and temperature data were obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) for a period of 30 years which was analyzed using descriptive statistics, decadal distribution, trend graph anomalies and 5 year moving average. The analysis showed increasing trend in annual mean maximum, minimum temperature and decrease in mean rainfall, The third order polynomial trend shows a decrease in the anomaly of annual mean rainfall (y = -0.0002x4) and a persistent increase in the mean temperature anomaly especially in the second decade (1996-2007).The findings show that there is a notable variability in the pattern of rainfall and temperature which revealed an increase in temperature and decrease in growing season rainfall. This calls for serious attention as people in this part of Nigeria critically depend on rainfall for agricultural practices. It is recommended that government should support the agricultural sector by providing mechanized farming systems such as irrigation and drilling of water borehole in farm sites for agriculture, especially for the rural farmers and create awareness to the farmers on recent trends in climate issues to achieve sustainability of food.

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IS INPUT SUBSIDY STILL USEFUL FOR INDONESIAN AGRICULTURE?

Jurnal Ekonomi Pembangunan ◽

10.14203/jep.28.1.2020.17-28 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 17-28

Author(s):

Gilang Wirakusuma

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Sector ◽

Agricultural Productivity ◽

Government Policies ◽

Farm Households ◽

Rice Farming ◽

Subsidy Policy ◽

Analysis Process ◽

Agricultural Performance ◽

Agricultural Census ◽

The Impact

Government policies in the form of input subsidies have become an essential instrument for improving the performance of the agricultural sector and overcoming the limitations of resources owned by farmers. However, there are still questions about how effective this policy can be in boosting agricultural performance. This study aims to examine the impact of channeling input subsidies on agricultural productivity. Using the 2014 Agricultural Census microdata, 26,079 rice farm households were included in the analysis. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) is used to examine the impact of input subsidies on agricultural productivity represented by the productivity of rice farming. PSM was chosen because it can overcome the selection bias that could potentially arise in the analysis process. The analysis showed that the PSM model succeeded in reducing bias and confirmed that input subsidies had a significant effect on the productivity of rice farming. Thus, the input subsidy policy is an important and relevant instructor to improve the performance of the agricultural sector.

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Smallholder farmers’ knowledge of mobile telephone use: Gender perspectives and implications for agricultural market development

Progress in Development Studies ◽

10.1177/1464993417735389 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 36-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Alex Barimah Owusu ◽

Paul W. K. Yankson ◽

Stephen Frimpong

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Information Dissemination ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Mobile Telephone ◽

Market Information ◽

Agricultural Marketing ◽

The Impact

Recent growth in mobile telephone and mobile-based information services in many developing countries provides opportunities to reduce costly and incomplete information dissemination in the agricultural sector and ensure efficient functioning of markets. But in order to successfully use mobile phones for the optimal development of agricultural markets, understanding the impact of social structure on mobile phone adoption, its uses and perceived impacts are invaluable. Although global assessments of capacity in the use of information communication technology (ICT) devices have been considered, such assessments mask significant geo-spatial variations among local farmers—male and female—with respect to their capacity to effectively use basic mobile phone functions. Documenting and recognizing this is important for the development of national agricultural ICT policies, as well as programmes aimed at increasing farmers’ knowledge and use of ICT for agricultural marketing. This article’s contribution to agricultural marketing and the use of ICT in developing countries (such as Ghana) is anchored in the assessment of the technical capacity and mobile telephone-based market information access to farmers in selected rural districts of Ghana. The selected districts are where most households are poor and heavily dependent on farming as their mainstay, and furthermore, where market information which mobile phones facilitate is crucial to maximizing their incomes.

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