Potential impact of groundnut production technology on welfare of smallholder farmers in Ghana

This study was conducted to assess the potential impact of applying a new groundnut planting density on welfare of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. We used data from on-farm experiments, focus group discussions, and a household survey. We followed three steps in our analysis. First, we conducted cost-benefit analysis in which we showed the economic advantage of the new technology over the farmers’ practice. Second, we predicted adoption rates along timeline using the Adoption and Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool (ADOPT). Third, using the results of the first and the second steps, we estimated the potential impact of the technology on poverty at household level using a combination of methods such as economic surplus model and econometric model. The cost-benefit analysis shows that increasing plant density increases farmers’ financial returns i.e., the benefit-cost-ratio increases from 1.05 under farmers’ practice to 1.87 under the best plant density option, which is 22 plants/sqm. The adoption prediction analysis shows that the maximum adoption rate for the best practice will be 62% which will take about nine years to reach. At the maximum adoption rate the incidence of extreme poverty will be reduced by about 3.6% if farmers have access to the international groundnut market and by about 2% if they do not have. The intervention will also reduce poverty gap and poverty severity. The results suggest that policy actions which can improve farmers’ access to the international market will enhance farmers’ welfare more than the situation in which farmers have access to domestic markets only. Furthermore, promoting a more integrated groundnut value-chain can broaden the demand base of the produce resulting in higher and sustainable impact of the technology on the welfare of groundnut producers and beyond.

Challenges and approaches to accelerating the uptake of conservation agriculture in Africa and Europe.

Over the past few decades the concept of Conservation Agriculture (CA) has spread globally, and almost exponentially, with an adoption rate of around 10 M ha per year in the past few years. This uptake has, however, been experienced rather unequally throughout the different regions. Whereas in the Americas and Australia the share of cropland under CA is considerable, in Africa and Europe both the area under CA and its share of total cropland lag far behind. This chapter provides an overview of the most recent figures available on CA adoption for Africa and Europe, and identifies the major challenges faced by the spread and adoption of CA. Different reasons are identified for the lagging behind of these two continents as a result of huge contrasts between Africa and Europe in terms of agroecological conditions, infrastructure, education and agriculture. Other challenges, however, such as farmers' mindsets, missing or inadequate policy frameworks and institutional support, are common. Yet encouraging opportunities do exist, namely with regard to the political agenda that, if followed up subsequently, could result in concerted efforts towards the expansion of truly sustainable agriculture, including the concept of CA. To be successful in the two continents, however, approaches to mainstream CA need to be tailored to the different regions, and even locally.

Human Resources Accounting Disclosure Practices (HRADP)

The objective of this paper is to determine the benefits and challenges of valuation and disclosure of human resources based on prior art. The study found low adoption rate of HR accounting, no standard method for valuation of human resource, no legal provision for the adoption of it, and disclosure of the same in the annual reports of the organization. The study recommended adopting the HRAP as there is evidence of an increase in the profitability and increase in the efficiency of the employees.

Analysis on Adoption of Blackgram Growers in Periyar vaigai Command Area of Madurai District

The IAM Project will bring the policy and institutional development achieved under IAMWARM project to a new level and will serve as the key vehicle for implementing the Tamil Nadu Government agenda in further enhancing water and agriculture productivity in a sub basin framework. Madurai District of Tamil Nadu was purposively selected for this study because Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project was conducted under Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The foremost objective of the study was to assess the adoption level of respondents in study area. Majority of the TN-IAMP beneficiaries (81.70% had medium level of adoption followed by nearly less than one-sixth of the total beneficiaries (15.80%) possess low adoption and only 2.5% of the beneficiaries had high level of adoption rate in this study.

How Can We Encourage Older Adults to Adopt Digital Services?

Majority of older adults (OA) do not use technology frequently. For example, 84% of Singapore OA own a smartphone, however, only 22% have tried apps like online shopping. Similarly, 42% of US OA own a smartphone, yet one-third of them have never used the internet. Past research indicated poorly designed user interfaces as a barrier to technology use. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we hypothesize that OA-friendly user interfaces can increase perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of technology, which would translate into increased digital services adoption rate. Forty healthy participants aged 65 to 86 (6 males, 34 females, mean age = 72.3) were recruited through OA activity centers in Singapore and assigned to either control or experimental groups. Both groups used an online website to perform specific shopping tasks and answered a TAM questionnaire. The control group used a website modeled after current websites while the experimental group used an OA-friendly website designed based on literature review and pre-survey, with features like OA-friendly mode, tutorial and online helpdesk. Data analysis was conducted using an independent sample t-test and bootstrapping. The experimental group showed a significantly higher proficiency in performing tasks (p=0.037), PEOU (p=0.049), and PU (p=0.044) than the control group. This suggests that user interfaces friendlier to OA increases their acceptance of technology, which could translate into a higher digital service adoption rate. Therefore, this research sets the basis for further research on digital services guidelines for older adults, including for telehealth and others.

Sorghum Production Constraints, Trait Preferences, and Strategies to Combat Drought in Tanzania

Sorghum is an important food crop for people in drought-prone areas of the world. The production in Tanzania has been ≤1 t ha−1 for a decade. The study was conducted in Iramba, Ikungi, and Kongwa districts to identify factors influencing the sorghum production, adoption rate, and strategies to address drought in Tanzania. The study involved 240 respondents for individual interviews and focus group discussions. Thirty respondents participated in individual interviews while ten farmers participated in the focus group discussion per village. Our study found that birds, poor soil fertility, and drought were the major constraints across the study districts. Drought tolerance, high yield, and early maturity were the most preferred traits by farmers across the study areas. Farmers addressed drought stress in sorghum by practicing early planting early maturing varieties in November and using drought-tolerant varieties. However, most farmers failed to name the diseases and pests affecting sorghum. This study highlights basic information for plant breeders to incorporate traits preferred by farmers in breeding programs when developing new sorghum varieties for sustainable production. The study shows the importance of involving farmers to identify the problems and solutions of sorghum production to increase the adoption rate.

Comparing Voice Assistant Risks and Potential with Technology-Based Users: A Study from Germany and Spain

Currently, voice assistants (VAs) are trendy and highly available. The VA adoption rate of internet users differs among European countries and also in the global view. Due to speech intelligibility and privacy concerns, using VAs is challenging. Additionally, user experience (UX) assessment methods and VA improvement possibilities are still missing, but are urgently needed to overcome users’ concerns and increase the adoption rate. Therefore, we conducted an intercultural study of technology-based users from Germany and Spain, expecting that higher improvement potential would outweigh concerns about VAs. We investigated VA use in terms of availability versus actual use, usage patterns, concerns, and improvement proposals. Comparing Germany and Spain, our findings show that nearly the same amount of intensive VA use is found in both technology-based user groups. Despite cultural differences, further results show very similar tendencies, e.g., frequency of use, privacy concerns, and demand for VA improvements.

AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF ADOPTION AND INNOVATION OF THE PORTABLE BANKING TECHNOLOGY IN KENYA

The study investigated the appropriateness of innovation diffusion in understanding and explaining the adoption rate and acceptability of portable bank technology in Kenya through the assessment of the factors that influence the adoption of portable banking technology. The study employed a sample of 115 portable bank technology adopters based on a purposive sampling technique and tested the five attributes of innovations, namely relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. The study found that relative advantage, compatibility, Trialability, and observability positively impact adoption. Trialability and complexity were found to have a lesser significant effect on adoption. Complexity hurts adoption. More specifically, the regression model revealed that compatibility is the most significant determinant of adopting portable bank technology with t=4.21 and p ≤ 0.001. Trialability has a significant positive impact on adoption with t= 4.27 and p ≤ 0.001. Observability has a high explanatory value with t = 4.45 and p ≤ 0.001. Relative advantage has returned a positive explanatory coefficient at t=4.50 and p ≤ 0.001. Finally, Complexity had no significant impact on the adoption of portable banking technology. The study has uncovered useful trends in portable bank technology adoption in Kenya. The study recommended that future research should focus on broader variables and carry out comparative studies on both homogeneous and heterogeneous settings to gauge the net effect of technical attributes on technology adoption.

Bitcoin as an Investment and Hedge Alternative. A DCC MGARCH Model Analysis

Volatility and investor sentiment have been factors for the slow adoption rate of Bitcoin (BTC) that was first recognized in 2008 as a potential store of value, investment vehicle and a hedge alternative to gold during a recession. The purpose of this applied mathematics study will use a multivariate DCC GARCH model. Bitcoin holds its ground in volatility. This study examines Bitcoin as an investment and hedge alternative to gold as well as the major stock index. To perform the research to explore the viability of Bitcoin as an investment and hedge alternative to gold, the authors conducted a DCC GARCH model analysis. The findings of this research paper confirm Bitcoin’s cyclical performance between volatility and adoption. The findings give a strong ground for Bitcoin as the new digital currency, store of value, medium of exchange, and a unit of account and incentivize further research by theorists, scholars and examiners. The significance of this applied mathematics research and analysis will allow an unstoppable, incorruptible, and uncontrollable store of value, and investment vehicle, without governmental or institutional intervention. This study contributes by comparing and contrasting volatility stability based on the return levels of each Bitcoin on major indexes traded with BTC (based on fiat currencies) and gold.