The landowner role in beginning farmer/rancher land access: exploring predictors of landowners' views of extra-familial farm transfer to a BFR

PurposeBeginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs) are more likely to access land through an unrelated landowner than through family. Thus, farm and ranch owners who might transfer their land or businesses out of family are potential sources of land access for BFRs and are the most frequent participants in incentive programs to facilitate land transfer to BFRs. To assist in identifying landowners who might transfer out of family, the paper aims to explore similarities and differences between landowners according to their expectations for intra-familial versus extra-familial farm transfer.Design/methodology/approachPairwise and regression analysis of USA Midwestern and Plains landowners' responses to an online survey (n = 322).FindingsLandowners who might transfer out of family were likely to need the proceeds from a land sale to finance their retirement. Landowners' financial needs interacted with their widespread interest in transferring to a BFR such that 97% of owners who expected extra-familial transfer wanted to transfer to a BFR. There were also statistical patterns around the size of owners' landholdings in relation to their transfer plans.Research limitations/implicationsThis exploratory inquiry suggests patterns for future research to examine, especially around landowners' juxtaposition of their retirement income and their interest in transferring to a BFR and how to align these priorities and values.Originality/valueBy exploring the characteristics of landowners who are the most likely to provide land access to BFRs, the authors begin to examine how to target these owners in program outreach. Patterns for further exploration point to landowners' financial needs in relation to their interest in helping a BFR to get started in agriculture.

Promoting Green Behavioral Intentions of the Tourists for the Growth of Sustainable Tourism Development in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh

The Sundarbans, the single largest mangrove forest of the world is one of the prime tourism destinations of Bangladesh. Due to lack of awareness and proper planning, tourism is causing severe threat to the ecosystem of the Sundarbans. It is therefore utmost important to ensure that the natural environment of the Sundarbans doesn't deteriorate further. Promoting green tourism may be a viable way to achieve it. This study was designed to identify the ways to promote green (environment-friendly) behavior among the stakeholders, especially the tourists – traveling into the Sundarbans. A convenience sampling technique was used in the study that included both domestic and foreign tourists. A structured questionnaire was developed that incorporated 30 Likert-scale questions based on four variables, namely 'awareness program', 'incentive programs', 'interpretation' and 'government interventions'. The four variables and their corresponding items were developed in the light of extant literature and adopted based on the socio-cultural atmosphere of Bangladesh. The survey was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020 and 320 valid responses were obtained. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the proposed research model. The result shows that out of four independent variables, government intervention and incentive programs are significantly influential factors in achieving the green behavior of the tourists. The study findings are aligned with the previous studies. The findings will provide guidelines to the tourism service providers, destination hosts, local communities, government bodies and policy makers in achieving green behavior of the tourists that in turn will yield sustainable tourism in the Sundarbans.

Prospects and Challenges of Geothermal Energy in Uganda

This paper explores geothermal energy use as a renewable energy option in Uganda. It is discussed in pursuit of sustainable development. Uganda has been undergoing fast economic growth particularly as demonstrated by its resilience against the effects of COVID-19, it must develop its renewable energy resources to match this growth. In this paper, we present the findings of an exploratory research to ascertain potential of geothermal energy for Uganda of 1500MW (3.6% of overall energy potential). The prospects and challenges of geothermal energy development are discussed. In concluding remarks good policies with strong political will, manpower training, financial support for research, and financial and subsidy incentive programs.

Incentivizing wellness through community supported agriculture: Reflections on shareholder impacts of an employer-based CSA voucher program

Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs are emerging as popular consumer options for pro­duce acquisition. While many researchers have dis­cussed the impacts of CSA on economies, commu­nities, and the environment, others are interested in documenting how produce-based CSA shapes health. In this paper, we evaluate whether and to what extent CSA incentive programs, funded by diverse employer groups in central Kentucky 2015–2018, impact shareholder wellness. To evaluate impact, we use two distinct types of data: we com­pare shareholders’ perceived frequency of food lifestyle behaviors from pre- and post-season sur­veys, and we examine anonymized medical claims from a subset of these participants to determine if CSA participation impacts short-run usage of medical services. From survey data, we observed statistically significant changes in some shareholder behaviors. For instance, CSA shareholders per­ceived that they consumed vegetable salads more often while decreasing their intake of processed foods and snacks. From medical claims data, share­holders are billed less in diet-related medical claims following CSA participation compared to a control group from the same employer organization. In short, we find that CSA is generally beneficial and participants view their experience as providing motivation to reshape their relationship to food. We conclude by offering strategies for institutions and organizations to effectively develop and support CSA incentive programs.

Private Sector Engagement in the Self-Governance of Urban Sustainable Infrastructure: A Study on Alternative Fueling Infrastructure in the United States

Greenhouse gas emission reduction and decarbonization goals drive citizens’ interests in alternative fuel vehicles and have created fast-growing demands on alternative fuels. While governments are promoting the transition to alternative fuel vehicles, the lack of refueling and recharging infrastructure for the vehicles is a key barrier to the adoption. At the same time, the public sector cannot solely provide needed alternative fueling infrastructure due to limited financial resources. Consequently, governments in the U.S. have been working on facilitating the private sector’s investment in alternative fueling infrastructure. The most common approach was financial incentive programs and policies, but the U.S. also promotes self-organized collaborative governance of alternative fuels across sectors at the local level. This paper asks whether these two approaches stimulate the private sector’s engagement in providing alternative fueling infrastructure. This study uses the case of the Clean Cities program that targets the reduction in petroleum usage, adoption of alternative fuels and creation of self-governance at the local level. Local private businesses, local government agencies and non-profit organizations voluntarily participate in the local transition to alternative fuels. Therefore, this governance aims at facilitating more sustainable actions and business choices in the private sector. This paper tests the hypotheses of whether the local self-governance of Clean Cities increases privately-owned alternative fueling infrastructure using panel fixed-effects Poisson regression models. Based on the data of counties in 12 states from 2004 to 2015, the results of empirical analysis suggest that both self-governance and financial incentive programs are effective in increasing the engagement of private actors in providing alternative fueling infrastructure.

Employee engagement and its relationship to the organization’s motivational programs

The topic of the article is relevant due to the fact that most organizations use certain incentive programs, but do not know how to properly assess their effectiveness. The article examines such an indicator of the effectiveness of motivational programs as the involvement of employees in their work. After all, employee engagement plays such a big role in today’s competitive business world. And rightly so - the failure or success of an enterprise mainly depends on their employees [1].

Using common practices to establish a framework for mobile produce markets in the United States

Access to affordable fruit and vegetables (F&V) remains a challenge within underserved communities across the United States. Mobile produce markets (mobile markets) are a well-accepted and effective strategy for increasing F&V consumption in these communities. Mobile market organizations share similar missions that focus on food, health, and empowerment, participate in incentive programs, offer nutrition education, utilize grassroots-based marketing strategies, prioritize local produce, and sell competitively priced produce through a market style. While mobile markets have become increasingly prevalent, models vary widely. Establishing standardized practices is essential for ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of this important food access program. This research seeks to identify common practices of established mobile markets and describe the resources they rely on.

Correlation between electric energy use and CO2 emissions in a university campus in Brazil

The purpose of this article is to examine the correlations between greenhouse gas (GHG) by CO2eq emissions and the use of electricity on the Praia Vermelha campus of the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) located in Brazil. The study favors understanding and management for the sustainability of the campus operations. The research used electricity consumption data from 2017 to 2019 and quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2020, through online research applied at Praia Vermelha campus. An exploratory and descriptive study, providing familiarity with the problem and deepening knowledge about the phenomenon, seeking a correlation between variables and proposing reflections. We observed a reduction in electricity consumption on the campus in the period surveyed from 2017 to 2019, however, there wasn’t proportional and significant reduction CO2eq emissions in the period between 2018 until 2019. During this period occurred fluctuations in the dispatches of the different power generating plants, considering renewables and fossils sources. We also found that most of survey respondents agree with to implementation of incentive programs and the dissemination of information about GHG emissions on campus to promote the engagement of the academic environment in the efficient use of electricity. We found few peer-reviewed studies dealing with GHG emissions generated in South American universities. Through a bibliographic review, we investigated the commitment of the universities to sustainability and the management of efficient use of electric energy, as well as the methodology for calculating indirect GHG emissions, in CO2eq, related to purchase energy from the System National Interconnected System (SIN) of Brazil.