PLURIACTIVITY, FARM STRUCTURES AND RURAL CHANGE

Peri-urban food insecurity and coping strategies among farm households in the face of rapid urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia

ObjectivesPolicies designed to support the sustainability of farming are multiple, although developed with little knowledge about the intricacies of farming households. To inform policy and support strategies, more information is needed about the families involved, including their characteristics, economic circumstances and resilience. MethodsDe-identified data on farm households from the Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection (AD|ARC) is utilised within the SAIL Databank. AD|ARC contains characteristics of the farmer, farm household (all children and adults living in the household) and farm business, for all members of households in Wales living at an address for which a farm business received a subsidy payment in 2010. The population comprises approximately 18,000 farm businesses and linked farm households in Wales, and a comparison group of non-farming rural households. The demographic, household and self-reported health characteristics of individuals in the two groups was compared. ResultsDescriptive and bivariate statistics will be used to describe farm households in Wales in terms of the farmer (e.g. farmer’s age, gender, ethnicity, education), farm household (e.g. household members age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment, income, household composition, total income, deprivation), and farm business (e.g. number of farmers and non-farmers, employed workers, agricultural training, farm activity, area of land, total subsidy payment) characteristics. The profile of farming households in Wales will then be compared with those of the rural control group held in the AD|ARC data set. Through bivariate and multivariate statistics and generalised linear models, the analysis will highlight characteristics specific to the farming community or reflective of rural communities in general. ConclusionThis research investigates the characteristics, economic circumstances and resilience of farming households in Wales. The findings have important implications for agricultural policy, and for health and other services, and will aid policy makers and farming stakeholders in anticipating the diverse impacts of policies across the farming community.

ObjectivesTo produce a ‘farm spine’ to support the creation of a de-identified research-ready dataset (RRD) of farming individuals and households in England. To publish the RRD in the ONS Secure Research Service to be utilised by accredited researchers to generate evidence to support policy development. MethodsONS’ Linkage Team identified the data acquisition needs of the AD|ARC team. June Agricultural Survey and Rural Payments Agency data from 2020-2022 were provided by DEFRA and linked by ONS’ ADR Linkage team using farm identifiers, addresses, and contact information to create a “farm spine”. This spine, comprising two sources of address and contact information for both businesses and individuals, enhanced the matching potential when linking to the 2021 Census and the Inter-Departmental Business Register. Exact matching and deterministic linkage methods were used to match farms with associated households and businesses to create a unified linked dataset. ResultsThe ‘farm spine’ product provides researchers with geographic and farm activity data, subsidy payment and business ownership and turnover information, and social characteristics of those living in farming households. This presentation will include details of the data preparation, challenges encountered, and solutions utilised at each stage of building this complex dataset. ConclusionThe presentation will report on the resulting RRD, its benefits to accredited researchers, and crucial position in the UK-wide project with RRDs in each of the four nations. We will reflect on lessons learned with regards to navigating data acquisition and governance, and developing a strong cross-organisational relationship. To the best of our knowledge, the AD|ARC RRDs are the first datasets linking agricultural data to individual- and household-level data at a population level. The AD|ARC RRD provides an invaluable resource that will inform policymakers seeking to support agricultural and rural communities, as the sector adapts to economic pressures and new policy priorities. The multi-organisational approach will allow us to reflect on lessons learned during the preparation of the RRD.

This study examines farm households’ risk balancing behavior in Korea. We use a SUR (seemingly unrelated regression) model to reflect the interdependence in farm households’ risk balancing behavior where they adjust their financial structure, off-farm work decisions, and consumption level, etc. We find that Korean farm households make strategic farm financial risk decisions, off-farm business decisions, and consumption adjustment in response to exogenous changes in expected farm risk or business risk. This study also shows that large farms make more use of off-farm risk balancing, while small farms appear to make more use of financial risk balancing and adjusting consumption level.

Heterogeneous effects of improving technical efficiency on household multidimensional poverty: evidence from rural Ethiopia

This study was conducted in Khanakul-I block in Hooghly district of West Bengal. The agricultural households in a village were completely enumerated in respect of area under different crops. Fifty agricultural households were randomly selected as sample households from 117 agricultural households by the technique of Simple Random Sampling Without Replacement (SRSWOR). Three summer crops like boro paddy, sesame and groundnut were taken in the purview of the study. Necessary primary data on various aspects of these crops were collected from sample agricultural households. The concept of cost C was used in cost of cultivation of these three crops. Values of main product and by-product were taken into account while estimating gross returns of these crops. Size class wise comparison among these three summer crops was attempted in respect of costs, gross returns and net returns. The reference period of the study pertained to 2015-16 agricultural year. The study revealed that sample farmers belonged to either marginal size class or small size class. Both the size classes of farms cultivated other crops like aman paddy, mustard, potato besides groundnut, sesame and boro paddy. Percentage of net sown area under groundnut was higher in marginal size class than in small size class of farms. A reverse picture was noted in the case of sesame and boro paddy. The results of the study also indicated cultivation of groundnut and boro paddy in leased-in land besides owned land. As a whole, net sown area under groundnut was 61.52 of the total net sown area. The corresponding figures for sesame and boro paddy were 9.69 per cent and 28.79 per cent respectively. Per hectare cost of cultivation of groundnut was slightly higher in small size class as compared to that in marginal size class of farms. Per hectare cost of cultivation of sesame was also recorded higher in small size class of farms. A negligible difference in per hectare cost of cultivation of boro paddy was found between two size classes of farms. Comparison among these crops indicated the highest per hectare cost of cultivation in groundnut. The lowest cost of cultivation was recorded for sesame in this study. As regards gross return relative positions of these three crops were same as those for per hectare cost of cultivation. Gross return per hectare of groundnut was 57.44 per cent higher than that of boro paddy and 136.16 per cent higher than that of sesame. Return cost ratio was highest for groundnut and it was lowest for boro paddy. Net return per hectare of groundnut exceeded boro paddy and sesame by amounts of Rs. 43393 and Rs. 44183 respectively. Due to risk situation arising from cyclone and undesirable sudden rainfall in summer season farmers followed diversified farming in this season.

In the present economic climate farmers have to diversify their current programmes for cattle, sheep, and cereal production. One form of diversification which is rapidly growing in popularity is to farm red deer. This article reviews the economic, health, and breeding problems involved, and concludes that the prospects for the future are good.

This study was conducted to find out agricultural production diversity and household diet diversity in farming households and examine their statistical relationship. Data on production, consumption, and socioeconomic factors were collected from the cross-sectional survey using the semi-structured questionnaire in 2018, in which 120 respondents (60 from Kailali district and 60 from Syangja district) were interviewed. Agricultural production diversity was defined from species count for each household, and household diet diversity was obtained from dietary diversity score (DDS) using 12 food groups by the FAO in preceding 24 h recall period. Data analysis in the SPSS showed that the average species count of each household was 11.79 with average crop and livestock count of 7.95 and 3.88, respectively. Average DDS was 7.7 with minimum value 4 and maximum value 10. Agricultural production diversity and household diet diversity were positively correlated (0.249**, at 0.01 level). Household diet diversity was positively correlated with size of landholding and size of kitchen garden. The consumption behavior shows that 100% of household have consumed cereals, 75% have consumed milk products, 52% have consumed fruits, and only 21% of the respondents have consumed meat and egg in the last 24 h recall period. Percentage of household consuming milk and milk products were higher in Syangja, whereas households consuming meat, egg, and fish were higher in Kailali. Wheat items were major alternative staple food in Kailali, whereas maize, millet, and wheat items were common alternative staple foods in Syangja. This study suggests that diversified agricultural production system is a promising strategy to provide diversified diet and ultimately improve food and nutrition security of farming households.

Farmers’ risk perception, vulnerability, and adaptation to climate change in rural Pakistan

Purpose Climate shocks are one of the major causes of persistent food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa, through their negative impact on the performance and progress of the agricultural sector. To enable farm households to adapt to these shocks, the adoption of agroecological practices that enable sustainable production is considered one of the best alternatives. Yet little work has examined the contribution of this technology in the Sahelian zone of this region. This article aims to analyze the effect of adopting agroecological practices on the food security of farm households in Burkina Faso in the context of climatic variability. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on a linear regression model with endogenous treatment effects, using data collected from 2,000 farm households by the current Thomas SANKARA University. Findings The results show that, in the context of climatic variability, adopting agroecological practices is part of the production strategy of rural households and has a positive effect on food security. This effect becomes more significant when these practices are combined, and the most common combinations are crop diversification/association, soil and water conservation techniques, and organic manuring. Research limitations/implications Given the persistence of extreme weather events, the research findings suggest that authorities should adopt a holistic approach to extending agroecological practices to strengthen farmers' resilience and food security, rather than a piecemeal approach. Originality/value The study highlights the food security achieving role of agroecological practices for rural households. Unlike previous studies, the results show that households are adapting to climate variability by adopting agroecological practices, thus ensuring their food security. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2024-0753

Financial literacy is recognized as a useful tool for making financial decisions. The better a person's literacy, the better their financial management including in making investment decisions, including farmers. This study aims to uncover a future agenda to investigate the role of financial literacy in shaping investment decisions for farmers which is very useful in business development and agricultural development in general. The next goal is to present empirical evidence as an agenda for further investigation into human resource management practices. They use a literature review study approach with a systematic review paradigm. Involving around 38 major journals that discuss financial literacy and investment decisions in the agricultural sector, supported by other journals that discuss resource management practices. The analysis results show that the study analyzes the role of financial literacy in shaping investment decisions for farmers and agricultural development in 16 countries, spread across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The agenda for discussing future research that interests researchers is focused on four things. First, factors that influence/drive investment decisions. Second, factors that shape financial literacy in agricultural business development. Third, household finances. Fourth, is the level of financial literacy. Specifically, human resource management practices that need to be further proven are regarding financial literacy, cognitive bias, and emotional bias in reflecting investment decision-making. Theoretical implications are that financial literacy has been proven to contribute to shaping the knowledge of the community (farmers and business actors) when making investment decisions. To strengthen this, further evidence is needed, along with factors that influence (including barriers) financial literacy. Farmer households are the most frequently suggested subjects. Practical implications are that the Government and other parties involved in financing agricultural businesses must participate in providing scenarios and infrastructure (technology and innovation) to support financial literacy for farmers and the general public. Keywords: Financial literacy, decision making, investment, farmers, farmer household, human resource management, review, future agenda.

A non-linear mathematical farm business optimisation model, that is set within a spatial economic framework, has been developed. The model incorporates factors such as location, spatial market orientation and technology use, and identifies the business strategy that is optimal in different market and policy environments. Farm household time-use is incorporated centrally within the model, enabling it to examine how on-farm and off-farm activities compete for limited farm household human resources. The model is applied to a beef and sheep farm that can choose between selling livestock to meat processors or processing on-farm and selling direct to consumers. Model simulations reveal when it is optimal for the farm business to innovate in this way and how this decision is affected by changes in key parameters. The farm business model is solved using the GAMS/LINDOGlobal mathematical programming software package. While traditional nonlinear programming and mixed-integer nonlinear programming algorithms are guaranteed to converge only under certain convexity assumptions, GAMS/LINDOGlobal finds guaranteed globally optimal solutions to general nonlinear problems. The model and model results are discussed within the context of theoretical underpinnings, model tractability, and potential applications.

This article examines the introduction of teamworking in the pharmaceutical industry. It was found that the organisation of work contained a mix of benefits and costs. The balance between the two was not random; employees' response was influenced by and connected to prior experiences and expectations, management's business strategies and approach to industrial relations and HRM. The article argues that there was a new dynamic, but one cast within the familiar terrain of management seeking to maintain control and generate consent.

The global empowerment of women has been, and remains to be, a continuing issue, especially within the workplace. The agribusiness industry is no exception, where continuation of gender bias and stereotypes positions women as under-represented. Whilst the significance of women in farm businesses is evidenced, their relative invisibility in policy discourse is clear, despite the number of women developing careers in the industry increasing. This qualitative study examines the self-identified roles of women in United Kingdom (UK) farm businesses by interviewing individual participants in the sector (n = 8). The literature highlights four roles: the farmer, farm manager, off-farm income careerist and entrepreneur with an on-farm diversified business which forms a theoretical framework to structure the interviews. Findings show five emergent self-identification of role characterisations as being the mother, a decision-maker, a supporter, a labourer and an entrepreneur within a personal role profile. Thus, whilst externally identified roles consider women's status and contribution in a siloed job role structure, the multiplicity of roles that women undertake are much more nuanced and contiguous. The research contribution is an understanding of the variance and multiplicity of tasks undertaken which indicate the extensive work and contributory efforts that women instinctively provide to the farming business and the farm household structure. Findings contribute by establishing a new conceptualisation of the contributions of women to farm businesses informing rural policymakers, to consider the roles of women at farm household level rather than simply focussing on the gender characteristics of the principal farmer.

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the euro's birth and failure. The euro was supposed to strengthen the union between European nation states by allowing the poorer ‘peripheral’ countries to catch up with the richer core, increasing prosperity for all, as well as permanently channelling the growing strength of a reunified Germany into a common European destiny. Instead, the periphery found itself abandoned by financial markets and fell into an economic black hole. The call for more German money put Berlin firmly in the driver's seat of European policymaking. In the rest of Europe, voters, creditors and debtors alike felt angry and disempowered. Rather than being the crowning glory of Europe's successful reconciliation, the common currency came to look more like a millstone around the continent's neck.