Occupational Health and Safety in Agricultural Production

Agricultural production is one of the leading sectors in the world and in our country in terms of employment rates. Agricultural production activities, the importance of which is increasing day by day due to the increasing world population, is an important strategic element for every country. The economy of many countries, including our country, still depends on the products they obtain because of agricultural production. Appropriate agricultural policies should be implemented to increase the productivity in agricultural production, to protect the employed workforce and to ensure its continuity. In addition to establishing appropriate agricultural policies, employed workers should also be protected by laws, regulations and directives. It is a fact that most of the people employed in agricultural production in our country must work under dangerous and harsh conditions without being under legal protection, without union formation and union rights, as in other sectors. Protecting the health of agricultural production workers working under very difficult conditions due to variable climatic conditions, ensuring safe production and ensuring that the necessary Occupational Health and Safety measures are taken should be among the priority items when forming our state’s policies. In this study, the situation in the world and in our country was examined under the title of occupational health and safety in agricultural production. The hazards and risk factors to be encountered in agricultural production have been determined and the Occupational Health and Safety measures to be taken against them have been tried to be explained.

Rural Structural Transformation and Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria

Rural structural transformation is best defined as structural changes in the rural areas occasioned by government policies and programmes with the intention of altering the contributions of major sector of the economy for the enhancement of agricultural sector. The study aimed at investigating the impact of rural structural transformation on agricultural productivity in Nigeria. The methodology adopted for the study was Structural Autoregression (SVAR). Six variables of expenditure on education (EXPE), expenditure on health (EXPH), expenditure on electricity (EXPEL), expenditure on telecommunication (EXPTC), expenditure on roads and construction (EXPRC) and expenditure on agriculture (EXPA). Of the six explanatory variables only expenditure on agriculture was found to be negatively related to agricultural productivity, while the others were positively related to it. Several reasons of which of official corruption by the handlers of agricultural funds could possibly be one of the reasons for the negative relationship between expenditure on agriculture and agricultural productivity. Among many other recommendations was the need to provide clinics and health centres to the rural areas, provision of good and accessible roads, provision of electricity and internet facilities. This will act as motivating factors in curbing rural-urban migration, and by extension improve the lots of agricultural productivity in Nigeria. Keywords: rural, structural transformation, agricultural productivity, agricultural policies and structural VAR

A Comprehensive Review of Agricultural Policies in India

India has been an agrarian economy since ancient times; despite the diminishing value added of agricultural activities to total domestic production or GDP, the agriculture sector has remained the largest employer and thus proved to be the driver of growth and poverty reduction. Moreover, in the recent period of a pandemic where every economic activity came to a halt and showed a negative growth rate, agricultural activities, on the other hand, grew positively, employing job losers in these challenging times. However, agriculture in India faces lots of obstacles due to its limitations in policy formulation and implementation. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide an outline of Indian agriculture growth – reviewing its agricultural policy reforms and observing the fundamental concerns that have shaped the expansion of the agriculture sector.

Investigating the leading drivers of organic farming: A survival analysis

ABSTRACT: This research evaluated farmers’ decisions to adopt organic farming. It was first introduced by developed countries to minimize environmental impacts originated by intensive use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to enhance production yield. Although, organic farming offers environmentally sound methodologies for crop production, but Asian farmers are reluctant to adopt organic farming. In this study, a survival analysis (SA) was employed to determine the reasons for and the time is taken by farmers to adopt organic agriculture. This research studied the farmers’ goals, agricultural policies, and attitude towards risk, as covariates in the survival analysis. A multiple criteria decision-making method based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to evaluate the farmers’ goals. Data were collected from agricultural farms located in three districts in Punjab, Pakistan. A questionnaire was used to collect empirical evidence. This study reported that the farmers’ goals were crucial to their acceptance of organic farming; furthermore, young farmers and farmers with risk-inclined attitudes were more prone to adopting organic farming. The study also determined that change in policy and introduce special package for organic agriculture can encouraged the adoption of organic methods.

Role and Trend of Agricultural Finance Institutions in the Inclusive Growth of Farmers in Rural India

Purpose: The study is to evaluate the development of agricultural credit in India, exploration of the agricultural development and also to examine the various policies implemented by the Government of India. The paper emphasizes on the development in agriculture finances, new methods, techniques and technologies with a focus on how they lead to improved agricultural growth and greater financial inclusion. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study is grounded on secondary data compiled from different journals, web sites and related information from newspapers, annual reports of NABARD and RBI. Findings: The study has discovered that, informal credit has decreased as a percentage of total debt, while institutional credit to agriculture has exaggerated over time as a result of institutional agencies volunteering into rural areas, nationalization of foremost commercial banks and the establishment of regional rural banks through Reserve Bank of India initiatives. Originality/Value: This study is unusual in that it attempts to trace the agricultural financial institution in India, as well as the numerous agricultural policies that have been enacted as a result of agricultural finance. Paper Type: Case Study

Innovativity in Legislative, Political and Organizational Frameworks of Sustainable Land Management in Benin

Agricultural lands are increasingly degraded due to various human actions (overgrazing, intensive use of chemical inputs) and the consequences of climate change. In Benin, 62% of agricultural land were degraded in 2017. In this regard, Sustainable Land Management measures are highlighted by various public decisions. This study analyzed the political, legislative, and organizational frameworks of Sustainable Land Management in Benin. It was carried out through content analysis of laws, decrees, and Sustainable Land Management policy documents to highlight the place of innovativity in institutional and organizational framework in Sustainable Land Management in Benin. Results reveal that the various frameworks analyzed are oriented towards developing practice-based innovations through the implementation of Sustainable Land Management measures, support to actors in the implementation of Sustainable Land Management innovations and the monitoring and evaluation of Sustainable Land Management strategies. The capacity to innovate is also promoted through the strengthening of the technical, institutional, material, and financial capacities of the actors. On the other hand, the propensity to innovate component of Innovativity is hardly addressed in Sustainable Land Management public policies in Benin. It is therefore necessary to direct agricultural policies towards an institutionalization of the strengthening of the propensity to innovate of agricultural producers for a long-term appropriation of Sustainable Land Management measures in Benin.

The Janus Face of Agricultural Policies, Kisans and Sethias: Local and Global

Indian agriculture is at a crossroads. We can plan out the phasing of reforms or force the pace and mess up the process. The Supreme Court had taken a practical stand on the Farm Trade Laws—implement them after consultation and with a well-defined framework spelt out. They had also appointed an expert amicus curiae. But this was not acceptable to the agitating farmer organisations in view of the stated views the experts had. It is possible that experts can re-examine their position as the Court said, but not highly probable. So going back to direct negotiations led to the stand the government has taken of holding the laws in abeyance for a year or a year-and-a-half. This will provide time for discussion of the details of agricultural reform which was needed since the laws were passed in a hurry on a single day. To begin with, it has to be understood that in a continental country one-size-fits-all will not work. The policy bind India is in is therefore a difficult one, even if the arguments are not ideologically anti-trade or those that lack policy interest. If a feasible alternate transitional policy set exists, a sensible approach would be to try to establish a roadmap of economic policies for, say a few major crops, and see if feasible alternatives exist.