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Results and potentials in agribusiness development – 10 years in the EU
5-13Views:116A decade has elapsed since our country joined the European Union. It is a historical period. In 2004 – when Hungary became the member of the EU – the world surrounding Hungary went through a transformation. Have we achieved our goals? Are we disappointed? The answers to these questions are limited in their scope today. However, the author is convinced that the feeling of unsatisfaction is not the result of our EU membership.
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Analysis of household crop commercialization in Nigeria
Views:265Nigeria is experiencing a gradual shift from subsistence to commercialized agriculture, thereby increasing involvement and activities at different nodes of agribusiness. Participation of farmers in markets is an important determinant of well-being and development, and one of the pathways towards economic growth. This study analysed household crop commercialization in Nigeria. The secondary data used were the General Household Survey (GHS, 2018) Wave 4. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, household crop commercialization index (HCCI) and ordered probit regression model.
Mean age of Nigerian farmers was 50.04 years (±15.22), majority (85.68%) were male, married (82.51%), and 72.14% had formal education. Farming is viable in all the geopolitical zones and majority (87.64%) of the farmers were from the rural sector, holding a mean total plot size of 12.61(±15.63) hectares, and planted 3 crops on the average. The most produced crop categories are cereals (46.75%), tubers (20.70%) and legumes (19.00%); legumes and cereals are highest in the North, and tubers in the South. Subsistence households were 32.81% (HCCI=0), only 1.71% of the households were fully commercial (HCCI=100), while semi-subsistence households (0≤HCCI≤100) constitute 65.48%. Years of education (p<0.05) and crop production in North East and North West zones (p<0.01) constrain commercialization, while at p<0.01, crop production in the rural sector and the South zones, and increased land holding are the drivers of household crop commercialization in Nigeria.
Nigerian farming households are mainly semi-subsistence and are diversified in crop production. Nigeria relies more on market participation of the semi-subsistence households, through their marketable surplus, to feed her teeming population and for exports. Further attention on rural infrastructure development in all geopolitical zones and awareness creation on producing market oriented products will increase agribusiness activities. This will generate green decent jobs that will take unemployed youths off the streets of urban centres. This is in tune with the economy diversification bid and the new Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
JEL CODE – Q13
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The role of beekeeping in production of oil crops
77-82Views:121Production of sunflower oil are expected to serve larger and larger extent – over the demand of food industry and chemical industry – biofuel production. This could be especially true for that areas where climate is not allowed to grow winter rape safely and economically. Ecological role of honey-bees can be considered undoubtful in preservation of biodiversity of flora and fauna. I analyse the following problems in our study:
• What is the significance of oil plants in European and Hungarian energy production?
• How influence pollination the yields and the safety of production of oil plants?
• What is the role of oil plants in the development of production structure of beekeeping?
• What are the economical advantages of the above-mentioned effects? -
Communication of trainers as one of the means for customer retention in fitness clubs
35-40Views:331Acquiring the adequate communication style is a vital element in trainers’ profession. This research aims to reveal the effects generated via the communicative style by trainers of fitness club customers. It also intends to explore whether communication style has any relation to the regularity of class attendance as well as to the length of training periods which is conceptualised in this paper as trainers’ economic efficiency. Data collection was carried out by structured interviews in a country-side large sport centre. Trainers with at least three training sessions per week (N=20) and their groups (N=160) were interviewed using Rudas (1994) communication style survey and additional selfdeveloped interview protocols. The results revealed that the examined trainers were distributed in all four communications styles, but showing dominance in aggressive and passive styles. The classes of trainers with aggressive and assertive communication style were those that showed the highest and maintained attendance rates. It seems, that classes held by trainers who communicate in a deliberate way and convey positive messages are attended more and in a sustained way. Accordingly, their precisely set targets and explanation of training sessions content correlated with repeated attendance and customer retention. It seems that groups with extended scope of communication are characterised by stronger group cohesion where social relationships could develop easier, which have relations to perseverance and commitment. Therefore development of trainers’ communication skills may be considered as an effective tool for fitness clubs for customer retention.
JEL code: Z20
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Certain elements of population retaining ability and the ability to economically provide for a population of the countryside
81-88Views:128According to the data of population density, most of Hungary’s territory has rural features. Achieving EU supports in order to focus on developing the most underdeveloped communities, and in order to lessen the differences between communities, to establish priorities and to determine the rank of rural communities based on their development potential is necessary.The need of measurability arises because of comparison and classification.A possible target area is an analysis of population retaining ability and the ability to economically provide for a population of rural areas.
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Economics of GM crop cultivation
7-19Views:153Asynchronous approval of new GM crops across international jurisdictions is of growing concern due to its potential impact on global trade. Different countries have different authorisation procedures and, even if regulatory dossiers are submitted at the same time, approval is not given simultaneously (in some cases, delays can even amount to years). For instance, by mid-2009 over 40 transgenic events were approved or close to approval elsewhere but not yet approved – or not even submitted – in the EU.Yet, like some other jurisdictions,the EU also operates a zero-tolerance policy to even the smallest traces of nationally unapproved GM crops (so-called low-level presence). The resultant rejection of agricultural imports has already caused high economic losses and threatens to disrupt global agri-food supply chains. The risk that feed supplies could be affected by a low-level presence of non-EU approved GM material could be resolved if the EU allowed a tolerance for this, rather than operating a strict zero tolerance as now. The Commission has undertaken to come forward with a nonlegislative technical solution to address the difficulties created by a strict zero tolerance policy. To what extent this would be helpful will depend on the nature of the proposed solution.
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The economic aspects of innovation in sheep breeding
97-104Views:118During my investigations, I highlighted three innovations, all of which serve the production of a final product, sheep kefir. This product contains a unique added value and involves several innovational opportunities. I examined the complex economic analysis of the innovations and technological elements investigated with respect to revenues from the sale of sheep milk, sheep cheese (kashkaval) and sheep kefir. The kashkaval-type sheep cheese does not contain sufficient added value to cover the costs of innovational investments. Investigating the innovational activity for developing sheep kefir and for its market introduction, its cash flow balance becomes positive already in the second year after realization, and is able to generate significant profit.
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Feeding the planet and the role of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
7-13Views:103Keynote speech held at the Second AGRIMBA-AVA Congress 2011 on Dynamics of International Cooperation in Rural Development and Agribusiness, 23-24 June, 2011, atWageningen, the Netherlands.
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The role of the time factor in the manager functions
101-108Views:122The role of the time factor in management is increasing. Change directs attention to the time factor from the point of view of the organisation,and management does the same from that of the person. I examined the time management practice of managers of organisations related to agribusiness, and the reaction time characterising the adaption ability of the organisations through a questionnaire survey. I analysed the collected data with scientifically established statistical methods. During studying resources, managing tasks, change, reaction time and effect I explored the features of time as resource, the significance of the time factor, the improvability of time efficiency in the different managing functions, the factors supporting and hindering the quick reaction of organisations, and what rearrangements can be seen in management work nowadays.
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Agriculture in the Netherlands: Its recent past, current state and perspectives
129-134Views:108The driving forces that determine the prospects of the agricultural sector are dominated by international and European developments related to the demand for and supply of products. In this context, European policy, (such as the CAP), and national policy (e.g. nature management) can greatly influence the development of the agricultural sector.A further reduction of the support by the government forms an important element in the expected future developments.
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Agriculture in the Netherlands: Its recent past, current state and perspectives
23-28Views:494The driving forces that determine the prospects of the agricultural sector are dominated by international and European developments related to the demand for and supply of products. In this context, European policy, (such as the CAP), and national policy (e.g. nature management) can greatly influence the development of the agricultural sector.A further reduction of the support by the government forms an important element in the expected future developments.
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A comparative analysis of the profitability of pineapple-mango blend and pineapple fruit juice processing in Ghana
33-42Views:246This study analyzes the profitability of fruit juice processing using data from Kudors Fruit Juice Limited at Kasoa in Ghana. The cost involved in fruit juice processing (which includes the capital cost and the operating cost) was obtained from the Company. This study compares the profitability of blend (i.e. fruit juice made up of pineapple and mango blend) with that of pineapple juice alone. The viability of the project was determined using the discounted measures of project worth: Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The empirical results reveal that pineapple juice processing had a BCR of 1.03 which means that going into the pineapple juice processing is profitable. The value of the NPV (GHS11,728.00) and IRR (23%) further confirms that pineapple juice processing is profitable because the NPV is positive and the IRR is greater than the discounted factor (21%). The results also showed that it is more profitable to invest in the blend (pineapple and mango blend) than the pineapple juice alone as it yields a BCR of 1.36 which was greater than the BCR of 1.03 for the pineapple juice only. Furthermore, the value of the NPV (GHS176,831.00) which is greater than the pineapple juice only, suggests that the blend is more profitable even though the IRR for both are the same. Moreover, it is also more likely to recover capital investment earlier in the processing of the blend than when one goes into pineapple juice processing only, because the net cash flow in year 2 (GHS 58,146.00) for the blend is more than triple that of the pineapple juice only (GHS17,826.00).These results have policy implications for the development of Agribusinesses in Ghana.
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Some possibilities for risk analysis in the decision support of crop production
79-85Views:118This article has been made according to my dissertation in which I present some opportunity of risk analysis and risk management in the decision support of crop production. Plant production is one of the most hazardous agricultural enterprises. Among risk sources seasonal fluctuation of average yields plays an important role in the assessment of enterprises. Therefore, I analyzed the production risk of the produced crops in Hungary compared to the European Union’s, after that I took into consideration the production site’s circumstances as well. Decision-makers must possess such means, by which they can measure, oversee and manage the effects and consequences of risk. In crop production linear programming models can be used to determine the optimal crop structure, by which income-sensitivity can be taken into account, but it does not reflect the behavior to risk. This deficiency can be avoided by using risk programming models. By the complementary usage of linear programming and risk programming models the optimizing and adaptive planning can be executed. It often causes a problem for the producers to decide when and how much to sell to realize a maximum turnover. The decision is mostly influenced by the selling prices, but also important factors are the financial status of the business, the amount of credit and its conditions, the stock piling opportunities and costs, and the short-term investment opportunities as well. For the resolution of the problem I set up a dynamic, simultaneous financial model by which the system-conceptual analysis of the above mentioned factors and a sound decision-making can be executed.
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Automated valuation model for livestock appraisal in loaning practice
37-42Views:99Actualization of loan security (mortgage) value is of major importance in Hungarian loaning practice. Due to the recession in economics, the value of agricultural portfolio of banks has decreased a great deal, though not to such a great extent as other branches of the economy. Depreciation of estate stock is compensated with additional collateral security. Besides other stock, often temporarily and out of necessity, livestock is presented as additional collateral security. From the loaners’ point of view, however, the registered inventory value does not guarantee security. The authors have set up an appraisal method giving professional guidance through automated valuation as to how dairy stock can be used as mortgage for loan security. Hereby we are to present the details of both the theory and the methodology of a model that is appropriate for the valuation of dairy livestock on an MS Excel basis. Thus, the process is fast and has more prospects for all parties in the loaning or leasing business. The method involves the features of livestock technology, the expected realized profit, and breed stock value. By the implementation of this method, the loaners can calculate the value of loan recovery (loan to value) with acceptable security.
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Assessing Readiness Levels of Production Technologies for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture
47-52Views:192The modern agricultural production is facing the problem of a growing society connected with the growing asking for food as well as different environmental threats. To solve this issue, agricultural production should be more sustainable and efficient which can be reached by using new technologies. In the paper the most important technologies, which were evaluated by different research methods to find how and when they could be used for a sustainable intensification of agriculture were highlighted by applying technology and market readiness models. By asking professionals from different fields of agriculture in practice as well as academia it was found that technologies that collect or utilize advanced data (sensors, drones) used for knowledge based management are more applicable for use, contrary to nanotechnologies where the costs of development and applications limits the readiness.
JEL Classification: Q16
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Some aspects of accounting and management accounting during economic downturns
33-35Views:149Economic slowdown and downturn creates new situation for every organisation, no one can avoid facing to new situation created by the global financial-, and economic crisis.All of the organisational function should reconsider its own role within the company due to the new circumstances, Accounting and Mangement Accounting can not be exception, but they have more complex and emphasized role in these difficult times. In the following paper I can not avoid to mention some general statement about importance of accounting and accounting principles, while there are a number of criticalaccounting and financial reporting issues that accountants and auditors should consider.In the framework of the paper I can not face with all relevant issues of the topic, but after some general statement I would like to highlight some special area regarding to management accounting, which can be more important during these challenging time for decision makers and accountants.Regarding to balance sheet analysis its important to mention current debate about fair value comparing with historical cost from accounting point of view, on the other hand from the view of management reporting system I would like to highlight the importance of working-capital indicators. More practical topic is the crucial role of budgeting and forecasting during economic downturns, and at the end I would like to show why it is more important monitoring price variance and indirect cost allocation in these uncertain business circumstances.
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The value of quality
21-27Views:153The significance of quality production and quality improvement is widely acknowledged by many but few specify what should be improved and what quality should be produced. The reason may be that there are different quality categories in the process of the value chain. Moreover, the issue of quality costs, i.e. economically optimal quality has not yet been explored yet. The present study raises problems in the pigmeat verticum, but similar studies are needed in other animal husbandry sectors as well. It is reasonable to treat the quality categories of animal products in a complex way, as this allows the full satisfaction of consumer expectations at the certain stages of the value chain and solvent demand as well.
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Economic analysis of some agrotechnical factors in maize production - a Hungarian case study
5-16Views:385This paper focuses on the economic and statistical evaluation of the production technology findings of the polyfactorial maize production experiments carried out between 2015-2017 at the Látókép Experiment Site of the University of Debrecen, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management. The examined agrotechnical factors included irrigation, previous crop, tillage, crop density, hybrid and N nutrient supply, while the effect of different crop years was taken into consideration. In addition to descriptive statistical methods, we used multivariate regression analysis during the statistical evaluation. In the course of the evaluation, we examined three models that differed in terms of tillage methods and the consideration of crop year. In our best fit model, the factors were 71% responsible for the change in yield value. We carried out efficiency and comparative analyses in the course of the economic evaluation.
Averaged over the three examined years, it can be stated that nutrient supply and crop year had an outstanding effect on yield, while irrigation had a minimal effect. However, global warming may justify irrigation in the future, not only from a biological point of view, but also from an economic aspect.
Ideal tillage is also greatly affected by crop year, too. Altogether, of the examined tillage systems, subsoiling proved to be the best from an economic point of view.
Our investigations confirm that it is better to perform intensive farming under more favourable market conditions. The optimum of N fertilisation is probably outside of the range we examined, if the extreme changes in maize and fertiliser prices are ignored.JEL Classification: Q16, Q12, Q13, O32
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The situation of the Hungarian agricultural higher education
73-77Views:105The knowledge-based, competitive economy places a great emphasis on the education system. The responsibility of higher education is to impart knowledge of high standard which is in harmony with the continuously changing environment. Higher education has a special role in the knowledge-based economy since it does not only have to fulfil educational but also research an innovation tasks. The decrease in the traditional role of agriculture as well as international tendencies facilitate diversification, i.e. the emergence of new roles and the relevant activities. Due to the diversification of agriculture fields like environmental protection, bioenergetics, and rural development have become more emphatic. The growing importance of these new fields is also significant from the point of view of education. Well trained professionals are of vital importance for the agriculture. A significant number of fresh graduates are not employed in their profession; they find a job in other areas or continue their education in a different field of interest. This research is based on a representative survey amongst agricultural graduates. Its objective is finding facts about how the graduates of the past five years assess higher education training and also about the factors employers take into consideration when employing a fresh graduate.
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The operation of the Hungarian broiler product chain
47-50Views:140The general objective of this paper is to present the inner connections of the broiler product chain and the process of value generation in the economic situation of 2007. I introduce the input-output model of the broiler product chain adapted from macro-economic analysis, in which I calculated the direct connections of the product chain phases and between the national economic branches outside the chain. Then I point to the disproportion of the product chain through the profit distribution. Moreover, to evaluate the process of the value generation I demonstrate the value added generated along the value chain (year 2007). On the basis of the results 825 EUR of value added is realized to one ton of ready product (chicken meat), from which the major portion is shared by processing. The paper also determines the added value and the major factors influencing its ratio within the product chain.
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Management issues of cropping with sorghum in the production structure - a case study of Hungary
Views:177One of the goals of the developments is to improve the efficiency of the activity by making the currently used traditional production structure more flexible and by making the necessary changes to the technology in the case of farmers with large agricultural land, having necessary machinery and equipments required. Farms with larger arables land are able to offset the effects of changes affecting efficacy and profitability. The main sector of Hungarian agriculture is crop production, so performance is largely determined by the annual output of the crop production sector and the price development of crop products. In the course of our analytical work, we defined a farm of 2100 hectares, for which we examined crop production, crop machinery and economic aspects. From the enterprise data, farm level results compiled according to the crop structure were calculated. Sorghum is suitable for replacing corn in the crop rotation in areas with unfavorable conditions, so a stably growing crop can be added to the crop rotation of autumn ears of corn, rape, and sunflower, instead of corn. It does not hinder the machinery modernization efforts either, since the precision tools and developments already started in corn production can be used well, and it does not require a special equipment park. At the same time, in light of the increasingly frequent negative climatic effects, sorghum’s integration into the plant production structure is encouraging, because we have to count on 3-4 drought years in a decade. Based on our analysis, the inclusion of sorghum in the crop structure does not significantly reduce the available income, which is acceptable in the given economic environment. However, its stability can significantly contribute to improving the resilience of farming, especially in comparison with corn.
JEL Code: Q12
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An application of the error correction model in analyzing the long run equilibrium between Ghana’s exports and imports
57-62Views:121This study investigates the long-run relationship between Ghana’s exports and imports for the period of 1948 to 2012. Using the Engle Granger two-step procedure we find that Ghana’s exports and imports are cointegrated. However, the slope coefficients from the cointegration equations were not statistically equal to 1. Furthermore, application of the error correction model reveals that 1% increase in the imports will significantly result in 0.56% increase in exports, suggesting that the exports’ responsiveness to imports is low. The estimated error correction coefficient suggests that 32% of the deviation from the long run equilibrium relation is eliminated, leaving 68% to persist into the next period. These results suggest persistence in the trade deficit and an option of curbing the deficit is to re-order the relationship between imports and exports with a view to reducing imports demand. These results imply that though Ghana’s past macroeconomic policies have been effective in bringing its imports and exports into a long run equilibrium, it is yet to satisfy the sufficient condition for sustainability of foreign deficit.
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Members of a supply chain and their relationships
131-134Views:208Today, companies do not compete individually on the market, but as members of a supply chain, delivering their goods or services to customers through shared collaboration. The main objective of the members in the chain is to satisfy customer needs, in the interest of which they cooperate in value adding processes. The main objective of the present study is to characterise the members of a supply chain, their relationship and to measure performance. The most relevant literature published on this topic states that investigation of the performance measurement in supply chains from the side of relationships is considered ‘uncharted territory’. However, the operation of a supply chain cannot be described without investigating its relationships.
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Reporting companies’ performance – in respect of the international financial reporting standards (IFRS)
107-112Views:170The role of information became more important due to rapidly changing technical conditions, market and economic regulations in our globalizing world. Several regulations tend to provide the framework for reporting performance and income of the companies, but in different statements performance is inconsistently presented and many kind of evaluation method exist in the practice. These facts led to the demand of properly assess the financial health of an organization, and created a commonly accepted rule-system, which name was International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In this paper I tend to present the statements, definitions and factors, which can have great influence in representing the performance, income of the company in the frame of the IFRS, and reveal the differences between the other accounting regulations (EU directives, Hungarian Accounting Act) in this field.
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Willingness to pay for locally produced organic foods by urban consumers in Sri Lanka
15-22Views:401Organic food consumption is gradually increasing among Sri Lankan consumers due to an increased awareness on healthy food. Some consumers ready to pay more for organic food, but it varies according to many factors. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the urban consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for organically produced food in Sri Lanka. The specific objectives of the research were to investigate the socio-economic factors, the level of awareness on organic food, the present situation of buying, and the level of additional price ready to pay and analyze the impact of socio-economic factors on consumers’ willingness to pay. The research was conducted in urban Sri Lanka, covering capital cities of six urban districts of the country; Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Kandy, Kurunegala, and Rathnapura. Data were collected from November 2016 to May 2018, from 600 consumers, by selecting 100 consumers per city. Data analyses employed were a descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression. Results revealed that, the most of the consumers were females, married, and with a comparatively higher level of education and monthly income. Most consumers had a significant level of awareness about organic food. A lesser proportion of consumers (24%) buys organic food at present, while the majority (52.4%) was willing to pay an extra price. Out of these consumers, the highest percentage (29.3%) prefers to pay 26% to 50% premium prices. As per the results of logistic regression, age, gender, monthly income, and education were the deciding factors for consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price for organic food. Results of this research are helpful for the development of production and marketing strategies and awareness programs for urban consumers on local organic food products.
JEL CODE: Q1, Q13
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