Theory-Based Problem Formulation and Ideation in mHealth Analysis and Recommendations

This article reports on an investigation into how to improve problem formulation and ideation in Design Science Research (DSR) within the mHealth domain. A Systematic Literature Review of problem formulation in published mHealth DSR papers found that problem formulation is often only weakly performed, with shortcomings in stakeholder analysis, patient-centricity, clinical input, use of kernel theory, and problem analysis. The study proposes using Coloured Cognitive Mapping for DSR (CCM4DSR) as a tool to improve problem formulation in mHealth DSR. A case study using CCM4DSR found that using CCM4DSR provided a more comprehensive problem formulation and analysis, highlighting aspects that, until CCM4DSR was used, weren’t apparent to the research team and which served as a better basis for mHealth feature ideation.

Prospects of fish supply-demand and its implications for food and nutrition security in Egypt

Aquaculture plays an increasingly important role in meeting the rising global demand for fish fuelled by economic and demographic growth. However, in many middle income countries, the growth of aquaculture is constrained by rising labor costs, limited input supply, environmental concerns, and infectious diseases. In this paper, we developed a multi species, multi sector equilibrium model and applied it to the fishery sector of Egypt, a leading aquaculture producer in Africa, to examine these barriers. Projection results show that rising wage rates would slow down the growth of labour-intensive aquaculture compared to those that use relatively less labour. The demand for feed, seed inputs and water use for aquaculture would substantially increase. The results also show that disease outbreaks would possibly affect production sectors via output reduction and also consumers via increases in fish price. Our findings suggest that stabilising the prices of feed and seed, investments in disease control and input use efficiency improvement technologies, including water use, are important while the overall effectiveness of tax instruments is modest. Though calibrated to Egypt, our approach can be applied to other middle size national aquaculture industries.

Effects of Insurance Adoption and Risk Aversion on Agricultural Production and Technical Efficiency: A Panel Analysis for Italian Grape Growers

This article aims to evaluate the effect of insurance on production, technical efficiency, and input use of Italian specialised-quality grape growers. A panel instrumental variable stochastic frontier approach is applied over the years 2008–2017 using data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network. The results show the requirement to correct for the endogeneity that stems from insurance adoption. Insurance has an enhancing effect on production and efficiency and reduces the use of intermediate inputs. It suggests that insurance helps to diminish the risk-averse farmers’ suboptimal input use due to the presence of uncertainty. Crop insurance leads risk-averse farmers to behave as if they were risk neutral and employs the profit-maximising input vector. Therefore, by reducing the risks linked to the uncertainty of outcomes, crop insurance leads grape growers to go in the direction of profit maximisation.

Innovating Traditional Production Systems Through On-Farm Conservation Agriculture and Agroforestry Research

Maize (Zea mays L.), the staple crop of Mexico, is often produced by smallholder farmers on sloping terrains. Historically, little agronomic research has been performed under the conditions of these farmers to support them in the sustainable intensification of their production systems. We set up trials at two locations in the state of Oaxaca to evaluate conservation agriculture and agroforestry in collaboration with local farmers. Crop diversification through crop rotations, multicropping, relay cropping or agroforestry increased system yields the most, by up to 1.4 t ha−1 in Teopoxco and 1.7 t ha−1 in Tamazulapam. Increased input use through increased fertilization or liming did not increase profitability enough to justify their use. Zero tillage and residue retention increased yields and reduced production costs. Conservation agriculture with agroforestry was a high-yielding, profitable system that also reduced farmers' risk by providing several harvests per year. The most profitable combinations of agroforestry and conservation agriculture could produce up to $4,854 USD ha−1 in Teopoxco and $2,143 USD ha−1 in Tamazulapam, while the control treatments in the same sites and years produced $175 USD ha−1 and $92 USD ha−1 respectively. In several years the main crop failed, while the trees were able to produce due to their different growing season compared to maize. Through adaptive investigation under farmers' conditions, sustainable intensification of traditional production system is possible with low-cost changes that are locally adapted and within farmers' possibilities.

Conceptualization of a framework of decision support system for agriculture in hilly region

Decision support system (DSS) in agriculture helps farming community to take appropriate decision as per the situation to maximize economic return by enhancing productivity and reducing the cost of inputs. The prime most purpose of DSS is to enhance the input use efficiency by applying the input when it is needed most. The requirement of DSS in the hilly states is being felt more as environmental conditions vary greatly in tempo-spatial domain. Climate change associated with increasing probability of extreme weather conditions has further deepened the need of DSS. There have been many attempts in the past to use / develop DSS in the hilly regions. The serious efforts in this direction were initiated by fine tuning the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) in Indian conditions. DSSAT helps to take appropriate decisions on selection of cultivar, sowing time, irrigation, fertilization and harvesting of crops. Of late geospatial technology alone and in combination with crop simulation model has also been used to develop DSS. Present paper underlines the efforts of researchers / academicians to develop DSS in hilly states with their usability and limitations. Paper also conceptualizes a framework of DSS for hilly regions by integrating a forewarning system and agriculture expert system.

Entry, Variable Markups, and Business Cycles

The creation of new businesses declines in recessions. In this paper, I study the effects of pro-cyclical business formation on aggregate employment in a general equilibrium model of firm dynamics. The key features of the model are that the elasticity of demand faced by firms falls with their market share and that adjustment costs slow the reallocation of employment between firms. In response to a decline in entry, incumbent firms' market shares increase, their elasticity of demand falls, and they increase their markups and reduce employment. To quantify the model, I study the relationship between variable input use and revenue in panel data on large firms. Viewed through the lens of my model, my estimates imply that for large firms, the within-firm elasticity of the markup to relative sales is 25 percent. I use the calibrated model to study shocks to entry, finding that a fall in entry can lead to a significant contraction in employment. A shock to entry that replicates the decline in the number of businesses during the Great Recession generates a prolonged 2.5 percent fall in employment in the model. Finally, I show that the declining correlation between revenue and variable input use over the past 30 years implies that the effect of entry on the business cycle has become stronger over time.

The role in agricultural decision making in the upper Citarum watershed, Indonesia

Women as a labor force share a significant role in farming, included in the most degraded Citarum watershed, Steep slopes, soil sensitivity to landslides, erosion, and relatively high rainfall are the limiting factors that are dangerous for farmers, especially for female workers participating in farming activities to support the family economy. However, the role and remuneration system for women in farming, in general, has not received serious attention. This paper aims to analyze the role of women and the factors influencing decision-making in farming activities. The research was conducted in the upstream area of the Citarum watershed in 2 districts, namely Bandung and West Bandung, in 2019. A total of 499 sample farm households were randomly selected. The data were analyzed statistically and descriptively. The results show (1) women participate in almost all agricultural activities except irrigation, but at the same activity and working time get lower wages than men; (2) there are differences of opinion between women and men regarding the roles in the decision-making process of farming activities. According to men, they play a more dominant role, while women prioritize joint roles without being dominant. The results also show that age, education, and experience of women in farming do not directly affect decision-making as long as not impacted to income, but affect women’s role and decision-making process in input use. Increasing women’s knowledge and skills are the keys to accelerate their participation and role in family decision-making in the agricultural sector.

TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF ORGANIC RICE IN SUMBERNGEPOH VILLAGE, LAWANG SUB DISTRICT, MALANG DISTRICT

Rice plants have a proportion of 6 percent or fifth in the world's classification of organic cereal crops (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, 2017). The problem in organic rice farming is that production and productivity tend to be lower than those of non-organic rice. In addition to the transition from agriculture to organic farming, the factor of input use also has a big influence. This study aims to analyze the level of technical efficiency and the value of organic rice input. The census sample consisted of 45 organic rice farmers. The data used is data in the 2016-2017 rainy season. The data analysis method uses DEA analysis with the assumption of CRS Input. Based on the results of the analysis, farmers are not yet technically efficient because they have an average technical efficiency value of less than 1, which is 0.879. The number of technically efficient farmers with a TE value of 1 is 13 farmers, while the number of farmers who are inefficient is 32 farmers with a TE value of <1. There are slack values such as seeds 3.15 Kg/Ha, solid organic fertilizer 276.58 Kg/Ha, liquid organic fertilizer 1.07 L/Ha, green manure 505.10 Kg/Ha, vegetable pesticides 1.25 L/Ha, and 6.67 daily workers/ha. In addition, there are projected input values, namely seeds 28.66 Kg/Ha, solid organic fertilizer 2170.30 Kg/Ha, liquid organic fertilizer 10.23 L/Ha, green manure 7048.76 Kg/Ha, vegetable pesticides 9.61 L /Ha, and Labor 185.80 daily workers/Ha. Furthermore, the projected value of this input is a recommendation to farmers so that they can be technically efficient.

The Effect of Agricultural Extension Access on The Performance of Smallholder Sugarcane Farmers in Indonesia

Agricultural extension plays a crucial role in the Indonesian Agricultural Revitalization Program for the 2005-2025 periods, where sugarcane is one of the fourteen priority crops. The provision of an agricultural extension was aimed to increase the income and productivity of sugarcane farmers. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of agricultural extension access on smallholder sugarcane farmers' performance in Indonesia. This study used data from the 2014 Indonesian Sugarcane Farm Household Survey, consisting of 8,831 farmers. This study employed propensity score matching to estimate the effect of access to an agricultural extension on several outcome variables. These variables were gross value-added (GVA), net value added (NVA), labor productivity (LP), land productivity (LDP), net income (NI), and remuneration of family labor (ROFL). The result shows that having access to an agricultural extension increases GVA by 40.5%, NVA by 40.3%, labor productivity by 42.8%, and NI by 40.2%. However, access to agricultural extension insignificantly affects ROFL due to the differences in family working units. Also, farmers with Agricultural Extension access have 13.7% lower land productivity than non-Agricultural Extension farmers since the former has lower input use intensity than the latter. These results suggest that providing agricultural extension service is adequate to improve sugarcane farmers' economic performance.