Perceptions of Smallholder Farmers towards Organic Farming in South Africa

In South Africa, smallholder farming is an important aspect of livelihood. More so, organic farming is increasingly becoming popular among farmers. However, many studies undertaken focused on the trade possibilities of the industry leaving the farmers’ perceptions underrepresented. This study, therefore, aims to capture the farmers’ opinions by evaluating the critical factors and policy implications of organic farming in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A total of 220 semi-structured questionnaires were administered to smallholder farmers in the province. The results revealed that organic farming is gaining recognition according to 82.8% of the participants, and 86.6% believed that organic farming has high-profit returns. However, 88.4% of the respondents agreed that the required standards for organic farming are too restrictive while a further 74.6% indicated that organic farming certification is difficult to obtain. The results also indicated a statistically significant difference in the perceived benefits of organic farming (p ≤ 0.001) and access to markets (p = 0.042). Based on the results, the study suggests more awareness, training and ease of certification as a way forward in changing the perceptions of the farmers in the province.

ANALISIS FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI KETEPATAN WAKTU PELAPORAN KEUANGAN PERUSAHAAN MANUFAKTUR YANG TERDAFTAR DI INDEX SAHAM SYARIAH INDONESIA (ISSI)

ABSTRAKKetepatan waktu publikasi laporan keuangan merupakan faktor penting dalam memengaruhi kegunaan informasi yang dibutuhkan untuk para pengambil keputusan. Studi ini dimaksudkan untuk menganalisa faktor-faktor yang mampu memengaruhi ketepatan waktu pelaporan laporan keuangan tahunan yang terdaftar dalam Index Saham Syariah Indonesia (ISSI) 2015-2019. Pengambilan sampel sebanyak 75 perusahaan mempergunakan teknik purposive sampling dan metode analisis data regresi logistik. Hasil analisis menyimpulkan adanya hubungan positif signifikan antara variabel profitabillitas, leverage serta ukuran perusahaan terhadap ketepatan waktu pelaporan keuangan. Hubungan yang positif menunjukkan tingginya laba, leverage serta besarnya aset perusahaan mampu mendorong perusahaan agar mempublikasikan laporan keuangan secara tepat waktu. Namun, terdapat pula hasil yang mencerminkan tidak adanya hubungan signifikan antar kepemilikan publik serta umur perusahaan dengan ketepatwaktuan pelaporan keuangan.Kata Kunci: Ketepatan Waktu, ISSI, Pelaporan Keuangan, Analisis Regresi Logistik. ABSTRACTThe timeliness of financial reporting is considered to be an important factor to affects the usefulness of information that is required to a decision maker. This study examines the factors that can affects the timeliness of financial reporting listed in the Indonesia Sharia Stock Index (ISSI) 2015-2019. Sampling was obtained as many as 75 companies using purposive sampling technique and logistic regression data analysis methods. The results showed that there is a significantly positive relationship between the profitability, leverage and company size with the timeliness of financial reporting. This positively proven that the high profit or leverage and the size of the company’s assets can encourage the companies to be timely in reporting the financial reports. However, it is also found that public ownership and company age do not significantly towards the timeliness of financial reporting.Keywords: Timeliness, ISSI, Financial Reporting, Logistic Regression Analysis.

Impact of Transportation and Supply Chain of Manufacturing Industries: A Case Study of Sulfo Rwanda Industries (2016-2018)

This research analyzed the perceptions on impact of transportation on supply chain of manufacturing industries in Sulfo Rwanda, Kigali city. The purpose of the study is to know the effects of transportation on supply chain in manufacturing specially Sulfo. The study adopted the descriptive and correlation designs in order to get the understanding of the findings from the respondents who were the employees of sulfo and some customers. The population of this study was totalised 136 respondents. The sample size was 58. The findings demonstrated that there is a relationship between transportation and supply chain management. This is confirmed by a Pearson correlation of .970 between transportation and supply chain. Thus, the conclusion was that transportation have effects on supply chain management. The researcher recommended that SULFO management should continue to building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally, providing on having sufficient raw materials which are used in production, by finding others suppliers so that in case there is shortage of raw materials, others suppliers provide. Finally, Sulfo should manage production cost for getting high profit. It is suggested that the model can be used for shippers in negotiating service improvements with carriers and by carriers in negotiating service improvements with shippers.

Methodological problems of BEPS analysis

The article is devoted to the issues of the methodology of the analysis of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) for the development of managerial approaches to counteracting these destructive phenomena in Ukraine. Eleven types of data sources identified by the OECD that can be used for BEPS analysis are determined. It is shown that most sources of information for the purposes of analyzing the scale and effects of BEPS have significant limitations: their absence or limited representativeness in some countries; regulatory restrictions on access to data; lack of most financial data to reflect the activities of multinational corporations (MNCs). The indicators that testify to BEPS or dangerous phenomena of financial abuse, which are reflected in reporting, are analyzed, namely: 1) disconnect between financial and real economic activities; 2) high profit rates of low-taxed affiliates of top global MNCs; 3) high profit rates of MNC affiliates in lower-tax locations; 4) MNCs vs. "comparable" non-MNC effective tax rate differentials; 5) profit shifting through intangibles; 6) profit shifting through interest. It is proved that for Ukraine the calculation of a number of indicators can be complicated due to the delay in the publication of official data; lack of appropriate statistical reporting. In general, indicators show that they provide limited information about financial transactions and cannot reliably relate any changes and their reflection to BEPS. Therefore, the implementation of measures to combat BEPS should be based not only on the results of calculations of OECD indicators, but also on other empirical studies that provide reliable information on the development of income transfer between countries.

Investment in Commodity Stocks as Way to Minimize Risks in Crisis

Managing stocks in crisis is an effective method of providing sustainable functioning of the company and maintaining sales on the necessary level. To arrange this process it is essential to identify groups of products bringing high profit, products being in demand and products, which should be denied, as their sales are no higher than 2% of the total sales. The authors consider management of finished commodity stocks as a method to provide sustainability in crisis, in particular, pandemic. At the same time they highlight the key factors of stock monitoring, including possibility to build-up moderate stocks of free cash, methods of building-up and gaining commodity stocks, keep the balance between stock costs and costs of their maintenance, etc. To raise the efficiency of stock management the authors propose the following solutions for accumulating cash: crediting as the easiest way of raising funds to get stocks, which can affect negatively the finance sustainability of the organization; emergency meeting of proprietors and informing them about the strategy of crisis counteracting, including delay of paying dividends; building-up the urgent reserve and discharging unnecessary employees or transferring them on parttime work; discounts and sales, which can clear stock-houses and get needed funds. The article gives classification of products proceeding from 5 groups: leading products, accompanying products, substitutes, complex products and status products, each of the groups was characterized.

The Order Selection Strategy of Polluting OEMs under Environmental Regulations

Under environmental regulations, the government restricts the economic activities of polluting OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) in order to improve ecological and economic efficiency. The most direct measure is to limit the production capacity of the companies. Under the condition of limited capacity, the order selection strategy of OEMs will be the direct determinant of the company’s own profits. In the foundry market, there are many low-profit orders, while the number of high-profit orders is limited and uncertain. Companies who choose to wait for high-profit orders must bear the waiting costs and the risk of losing a certain profit. Therefore, it is of great significance for the long-term development of the company to select orders to obtain the best profit under the condition of limited production capacity. This paper takes polluting OEMs as the research object and studies the optimal order selection problems of companies under environmental regulations by establishing order selection decision models for different foundry cycles under the condition of limited production capacity. The study found that in the single foundry cycle, there will be an optimal waiting-time threshold for high-profit orders. Based on this optimal waiting-time threshold, the corresponding order selection strategy can be effectively formulated. However, in the multi-foundation cycle, since the optimal waiting-time threshold of high-profit orders is affected by the long-term average profit, the company’s optimal order selection strategy is based on the long-term average profit maximization.

Analysis of Financial Business Sustainability Study on Conventional Banks, Islamic Banks and Coop

The sustainability of the financial business at conventional banks, Islamic banks and cooperatives is emphasized on indicators of socio-culture and society, business profits and the natural environment, research is carried out by conducting studies on literacy derived from previous studies and data released by local authorities. The results showed that the potential for business sustainability of conventional banks in Indonesia is still very good as evidenced by the high profit, the potential for saving people is still very large and the increase in assets and credit distribution, even though Islamic banks are affected by the pandemic, the contraction is very small, besides that Islamic banks are also very low. Good efficiency as well as a very large potential for the Islamic market or around 90% of the total population of Indonesia. Meanwhile, cooperatives in terms of profitability are not good enough, the dominance of millennials and generations who are less interested in cooperatives is an obstacle to the development of cooperatives.

A multiple criteria decision analysis for agricultural planning of new crop alternatives in Turkey

Agriculture is a crucial and strategic sector for developing countries. The agricultural sector in Turkey has been suffering from regression in recent years due to several reasons. In an attempt to reverse this process, we analyze the cultivation possibilities of high profit-margin crops in Turkish lands and develop a ranking among eight alternative crops. To perform a comprehensive analysis encompassing several dimensions, three MCDM methods are utilized; namely fuzzy AHP to determine the weights of evaluation criteria, and TOPSIS and PROMETHEE to develop a ranking among the crop alternatives. The crop alternatives are evaluated against several economic, technical, social and environmental criteria. The results favor the cultivation of soy bean, goji berry and buckwheat, while tamarind appears to be the least favored crop among the considered alternatives. The analysis results are enhanced with a sensitivity analysis.

The Manufacturer Decision Analysis for Corporate Social Responsibility under Government Subsidy

Charitable donation and energy-saving R&D are two common approaches to fulfill corporate social responsibility (CSR). A recent survey in China shows that most firms prefer donating to investing in energy-saving research and development. To understand firms’ preference, we develop a game model to investigate the optimal CSR decisions and profit of the firm, which considers donation and energy-saving R&D approaches, respectively. Then, we analyze how the government subsidies for CSR, as well as the unit production cost and the R&D cost of energy-saving product, affect the firm’s CSR decisions and the CSR rate of return. Finally, we study the triple bottom line approach, i.e., considering donation and energy-saving R&D approaches simultaneously, and investigate the interaction between the above two approaches. The results show the following. (1) Government subsidy is an important driver for the firm’s CSR fulfillment and the triple bottom line approach is optimal if the government simultaneously provides two subsidies. (2) When the government subsidy for energy-saving product is moderate, the firm will choose the approach with high profit and high CSR rate of return. (3) The CSR rates of return of different approaches are also compared to reveal the efficiency of the CSR fulfillment and the firm may sometimes choose an approach with low CSR rate of return to pursue high profit. We identify why and when firms prefer charitable donation to energy-saving R&D approach and determine the threshold of the firm engaging CSR for the government to formulate CSR subsidy policies.

Determinasi Praktik Penghindaran Pajak: Studi Pada Perusahaan Terkategori Jakarta Islamic Index

This study aimed to examine the effect of growth sales and company profits on tax avoidance practices in companies listed on the Jakarta Islamic Index in period of 2015-2019. The method in this research uses a quantitative approach. Population and sample come from the annual reports of companies listed on the Jakarta Islamic index with the sample criteria that have been determined using the purposive sampling method. Data analysis using multiple linear regression. The proxy for tax avoidance practice uses the effective tax rate. The analysis results showed that the sales growth variable does not affect tax avoidance. It is caused by decreased sales growth and makes company profits. Also, the company decrease does not need to do tax avoidance. Meanwhile, company profit affects tax avoidance. It indicates that the high profit of the company will make management carry out careful tax planning. In the end, it will produce an optimal tax that will be distributed to the state.