Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products Supply Chain under Social Preference and CSR by Big Data Analysis

Purpose- The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social preference on quality improvement of the agricultural products supply chain composed of agricultural products producer and processor (A3P) and supermarket by theoretical analysis and empirical evidence. Methodology- This paper sets Stackelberg game model under A3P’s CSR by considering supermarket’s altruistic reciprocity and A3P’s fairness conern, respectively. By comparative analysis, we study the effect of CSR, altruistic reciprocity and fairness conern on the quality improvement of the agricultural products supply chain. Then, we adopt the empirical evidence to analyze the correlation between CSR, altruistic reciprocity (fairness concern) and quality improvement and the mediating effect of altruistic reciprocity (fairness concern) by investigating the agricultural enterprises.

Construction and Optimization of Green Supply Chain Management Mode of Agricultural Enterprises in the Digital Economy

Digital economy is a rapidly developing economic form under the background of the information age. This article introduces the construction and optimization of the green supply chain management model of agricultural enterprises under the digital economy, and intends to provide some ideas and directions for the development of green supply chain management of agricultural enterprises based on digital economy. This paper proposes the construction and optimization research methods of the green supply chain management model of agricultural enterprises under the digital economy, including the overview of green supply chain management, the construction of the optimization management model of the green supply chain of agricultural enterprises, and the digital economy under the construction of a green supply chain management practice index system for agricultural enterprises. Experimental results show that average Cronbachα value of each scale factor of the optimized management model in this paper is 0.876, and optimized decision-making coordination mechanism has high internal consistency.

Perceptions on irrigation water supply and utilisation by smallholder agricultural enterprises in Vhembe district of Limpopo Province, South Africa

The study investigated perceptions on irrigation water supply and utilisation by Smallholder Agricultural Enterprises (SHAEs) in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. More (55.4%) SHAEs depended on surface water as the main source for irrigation. Surface water supply was ranked moderate in the majority of SHAEs, both for summer (58.6%) and winter (69.7%) irrigation and was regarded as always available (51.3%). Groundwater was the main source in 44.2% of SHAEs and was ranked very high for summer (55.7%) and winter (34.4%) irrigation. Groundwater was perceived to have the advantage of being always available in 83.6% of SHAEs while 64.9% complained about higher pumping costs. One in three (33.9%) SHAEs revealed they irrigated two to four times a day while one in five (18.7%) irrigated once every eight to 14 days. The mean amount of water used to irrigate was estimated at 5 300,88l +/- 20 762,91l. Almost two in three (62.6%) SHAEs experienced competition for water. Statistically, signification association was observed between the main source for irrigation and monthly income (X2 (1) = 7.10, p < 0.013) after the Bonferroni adjustment. It was determined that 51,3% of SHAEs with income </= R5000/month used surface water as the main source for irrigation compared to 69.6% with income > R5000/month.

Grant support for the development of peasant farms: the experience of the Trans-Baikal Territory and key problems

The article considers the current state of small and medium-sized businesses in rural areas of the Trans-Baikal Territory. In the region, the largest share of agricultural products produced falls on the personal subsidiary farms, while there is a destruction of large-scale commodity production, evidenced by a decrease in the number of agricultural enterprises and organizations. Presently, the Government of the Trans-Baikal Territory is interested in transforming personal subsidiary farms into the status of peasant farms, since they are able to ensure more efficient functioning of small forms of farms. Special attention is paid to the state support of small farms in the region. In the course of the study, the problems of the effectiveness of the use of state support for small forms of management were identified. The priority direction of state support is grant subsidization of peasant farms, while the distribution of grants in the context of municipal districts of the region is uneven. In general, the mechanism of grant support for peasant farms is effective only for areas of the region where animal husbandry traditionally constitutes the basis of agriculture. There are also problems associated with excessive requirements for obtaining grants and insufficient consulting assistance from potential grantees.

Labour Costs on the Vegetables: A Research on the location effect on salaries in Jiangsu Province, China

ABSTRACT: In this study, the labour requirement and labour cost of common vegetable cultivation were investigated to help agricultural enterprises and family farms establishing reasonable “working hour” management systems in Jiangsu Province. The labour requirement of each step of three type of producers, agriculture enterprises, family farms, and private vegetable growers, in three regions in Jiangsu Province, named north, middle and south Jiangsu, was investigated by on-site observation or questionnaire survey during 2018 and 2019. The labour cost of each step and each vegetable was counted according to the labour requirement and the salary level. The results indicated that “residue cleaning”, “soil preparation and bedding”, “plant regulation”, “auxin treatment of tomato flowers” and “hand pollination” accounted for higher proportions of labour cost amongst the entire vegetable culture process. No significant differences in the labour requirements of the investigated vegetables were reported amongst three regions in Jiangsu Province. However, the order of labour cost is south Jiangsu > north Jiangsu > middle Jiangsu, due to the salary difference amongst three regions. Watermelon, broccoli and chive are more suitable for growing by agricultural enterprises since they have relatively low unit labour and high prices. We established a method to calculate and analyze labour requirement and cost of vegetable production in Jiangsu Province, which also may be instructive for other regions. In addition, our results provided useful data for various vegetable producers to improve their labour management.

Optimization of the capital structure of an agricultural company in the Czech Republic

The topic of optimizing capital structure is very important for a company to work efficiently and reliably. It is important for every company to optimize everything so that they have the highest possible efficiency. Entrepreneurs also try to make this optimization last them as long as possible. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine the optimal capital structure of an agricultural company operating in the Czech Republic. The base source of data is the closing data of individual agricultural companies from the Albertina database of Bisnode. More than 9,000 agricultural enterprises operating in the given sector of the national economy in the Czech Republic are recorded in this data set. The calculation of the WACC method and the level of debt of individual agricultural companies are used. Subsequently, the equation for calculating the cost of capital is determined using power regression. Here we also obtain the value of reliability, which in this particular case is not ideal, but still reasonable. A line chart is used to determine the optimal interval for the agricultural company. The optimal debt interval comes out to 20 to 25%, at which the cost of capital is declared to be from 22 to 24%. If agricultural companies had higher or lower debt ratios, it would be inefficient for the enterprise.

Determinants of Women’s Entrepreneurial Performance in Kerala

Women entrepreneurs have significant impact on the economic development in global aswell as national context. Capacitating women with entrepreneurial qualities have remainedkey to social transformation especially in developing countries. The paper presents theresults of a study conducted in Kerala during 2020-21 to analyse the determinants ofwomen’s entrepreneurial performance related to agricultural enterprises. Seventy womenentrepreneurs involved in agricultural ventures randomly selected from the 14 districts ofKerala formed the study sample. Analysis of data collected based on a pretested structuredinterview schedule indicated mushroom and value addition enterprises as the most successfulenterprises among women. It was estimated that these enterprises took three and six monthsrespectively and production levels of 1872 kg and 1462 kg each in the order to reach break-even points. Mass media contact and stage of enterprise were the factors which weredelineated as the factors that contributed significantly to the period taken to achieve thebreak-even point by the women led enterprises.

Research on the Impact of Social Credit Improvement on the Debt Financing of Agricultural Enterprises

This study takes China’s A-shares agricultural companies as the research subjects and examines the influence of social credit environment on the debt financing of agricultural enterprises. This study has found that the improvement of social credit environment can significantly increase the debt financing scale of agricultural enterprises. After a placebo test, the replacement of explained variables, and the control of industry fixed effects, the results obtained are still significant. The mechanism test found that the scale of the enterprise has a complete intermediary effect; that is, the social credit environment can increase the scale of external financing of agricultural enterprises by increasing the scale of the enterprise. This article focuses on the impact of informal institutions on corporate debt financing, which is conducive to enriching relevant research on agricultural enterprises and has important practical significance for promoting the development of the agricultural industrial chain as well as “village revitalization.”

ESTIMATION OF FINANCIAL STABILITY OF AGRARIAN ENTERPRISES IN UKRAINE

In this paper the system of factors influencing the formation of financial solvency was investigated, the financial sustainability of agricultural enterprises of Ukraine was evaluated, and an approach was developed to define and help ensure the financial sustainability of enterprises in the face of contemporary economic and market challenges. According to the research, the main principles for maintaining financial sustainability are: responsiveness to internal and external changes; governance systems; risk management; analysis of financial ratios; real assessment of the financial solvency of the enterprise; integration with the overall management system; orientation towards achieving the strategic goals of the enterprise; use of qualitative methods to inform financial decisions in the face of uncertainty and risk.

The Use of Surfacing Materials to Increase the Durability of Disc Harrow Working Elements

Introduction. For surface tillage operation there widely used disc harrows, working bodies of which are discs wearing out during operation. The wear intensity of discs depends on the wear resistance of their working surfaces, working modes and properties of the cultivated soil. It has been found that an effective way to increase the life of discs is surfacing them with wear-resistant materials. The aim of the work is to study the wear out of surfacing materials, which can be used to harden discs and to make recommendation for the use of these materials in the repair departments of agricultural enterprises. Materials and Methods. Surfacing with electrodes T-590 and powder wires PP-Np200Kh15S1GRT, VELTEK-N560.02 and PP-Np280Kh9F7SG4 were taken as test materials. For wear tests of materials in abrasive mass, there was used an apparatus to simulate the moisture content and composition (sandy loam or loam) of the soil. In the disk-pad tests, the effect of abrasive particle size, load and sliding friction velocity on the wear of the materials was studied. In field tests, wear of the disks made of 65G steel, surfaced toothed and solid disks were monitored. Results. Laboratory studies of the materials revealed the effect of soil moisture and composition, load, abrasive grit and sliding friction velocity on wear. The main factor determining the wear resistance of materials is their structural state. The indexes of wear resistance of surfacing were determined during the laboratory tests and confirmed by field tests. Discussion and Conclusion. Surfacing with flux-cored wire PP-Np280Kh9F7SG4 has the highest wear resistance of the studied materials. The technology of hard-facing disks with modern materials, in particular with flux-cored wire PP-Np280Kh9F7SG4, can be implemented in repair departments of agricultural enterprises when they have the equipment for hard-facing and sharpening of working surfaces.