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The effect of working capital on profitability of poultry egg enterprise in Osun State, Nigeria
Views:130This study investigated the effect of working capital on the profitability of poultry egg enterprise. Primary data were collected from 180 poultry egg farmers using two-stage sampling technique. Data were collected on the socio-economic characteristics such as age, gender, educational qualification, farming experience and flock size owned, quantities of inputs and outputs. Descriptive statistics, farm budgetary technique and ordinary least square model were used to analyze the data collected. The results from descriptive statistics show mean values of 42 years, 9 years and 5 persons for age, years of experience and household size, respectively. Majority of poultry egg farmers (52.2%) used their personal savings to fund their businesses while, some had access to loan from co-operative societies (37.2%), from SEAP microfinance (6.7%) and from banks (3.9%). Poultry egg producers invested their working capital on feeds (64.8%), rearing of poultry birds from day old chicks to point of lay (14.8%), account receivables (13.6%), drugs & vaccines (2.4%) and variable overheads (4.4%). A total cost of ₦5,494,927.04k was incurred by the poultry egg producers. Cost of feed accounted for 71.89% of the total cost of production. A total revenue of ₦9,388,555.60k and the net returns of ₦3,893,628.56k were realized. The net farm income per bird from the enterprise was ₦1,698.05k while the gross margin per bird was ₦1,795.32. The ordinary least squares regression estimates revealed that inventory, account receivable, operating cycle and flock size have significant effect on the profitability of poultry egg enterprises. The study concluded that poultry egg enterprise is profitable and working capital has a significant effect on the profitability of poultry egg enterprise. In light of the findings, the study recommended the expansion of the poultry flock size as well as reduction in the number of days of inventories, account receivables and operating cycle in order to increase the profitability of poultry egg enterprise.
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Use of methods and tools for an effective small and medium-sized enterprise in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county in Hungary
Views:203Small and medium-sized enterprises form the engine of the Hungarian economy, both in terms of their number and their employment rate. Therefore, the efficient operation of this sector is in the interest of many economic actors. However, experience shows that today's SME sector still needs to develop in many ways to become efficient. This study aimed to analyze whether SMEs use the necessary methods and tools to be efficient. Planning and the development of strategy are very important methods and tools for efficient and organized work, as it defines and clarifies the direction taken by an enterprise. However, the survey and the in-depth interview showed that they are not necessarily considered important for the participating SME leaders. According to the interview, one of the reasons is that SME leaders have a better understanding of everyday tasks and their implementation than the managers of large companies. Furthermore, in most cases, the SME leader is personally involved in everyday work. This provides the advantage of having the opportunity to fully understand the enterprise, thus managing, and developing it more effectively, as he or she can intervene more flexibly, faster, and more accurately if necessary. However, due to the small size of the organization, the manager also must perform the tasks of several functions (marketing, management, finance, etc.), which require multidisciplinary knowledge and skill. In SMEs, due to their specificities, it is difficult to apply best practices in large enterprises in both management and various functions.
JEL code: M21
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Efficiency analysis of dairy farms in the Northern Great Plain region using deterministic and stochastic DEA models
113-122Views:143Running any dairy enterprise is a risky activity: the profitability of the enterprise is affected by the price fluctuation of feed and animal health products from inputs, as well as by the fluctuation of end-product prices. Under these circumstances, it is essential for the cattle breeders, in order to survive, to harness the reserves in management as effectively as possible. In this research the efficiency and risk of 32 sample dairy farms were analysed in the Northern Great Plain Region from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) by applying classical Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and stochastic DEA models. The choice of this method is justified by the fact that there was not such an available reliable database by which production functions could have been defined, and DEA makes possible to manage simultaneously some inputs and outputs, i.e. complex decision problems. By using DEA, the sources that cause shortfall on inefficient farms can be identified, analysed and quantified, so corporate decision support can be reinforced successfully. A disadvantage of the classical DEA model is that the stochastic factors of farming cannot be treated either on the side of inputs or outputs; therefore, their results can be adopted with reservations, especially in agricultural models. This may have been because we could not discover that many agricultural applications. Considering the price of inputs and outputs as probability variables, 5000 simulation runs have been done in this research. As a result, it can be stated that at which intervals of the input and output factors can become competitive and the fluctuation of these factors can cause what level of risk at each farm.
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Use of coordination spheres in food economics
69-71Views:156The coordination plays central role in the economics. The conventional economic theory looks at the market and enterprise (or hierarchy) as two different, separated manner of coordination of economic goods and services. However the modern organization theory, price theory and institutional economics show that different types (not only market and enterprise, but also several types of hybrid forms) of coordination (or governance structure) necessarily live together in the current economic system. Based on my previous research on the field of regional clusters in the food industry I came to the conclusion that the cluster is one of the spheres where economic coordination can occur.At the same time I pointed out that the ways of coordination can be ordered on an ordinary scale according to its normative or positive nature. I’ve also found that the choice between the coordination spheres (market, enterprise or cluster) is not arbitrary, but instead depends on the interest’s dimension which is represented by the exchange of goods and services in question.
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A study of the causes leading to the liquidation of agricultural enterprises
123-127Views:136The viability of agricultural enterprises is of paramount importance. Their liquidation has harmful effects on broad strata of society. The aim of my research is therefore to analyze the leading causes of liquidation of agricultural enterprises. The research was led on 17 agricultural enterprises. This may help in the prevention and treatment of their insolvency. The research results show that a long-term agricultural production is not sustainable with a low equity capital. For the long-term maintenance it is necessary that the investors establish the enterprise with a capital according to the type of the production.The loan can not replacethe entrepreneursown resources,it is only complementaryto it.Theownersof agriculturalbusinessesshould strive to ensurethatthe paid-up share capital is kept in the firm, because in case of payment difficulties, this can be an adequate financial provision. Companies with financial problems can avoid liquidation if the crisis is detected in time by the leaders. However, the owners must organize the management of the enterprise so that it should have the necessary technical and economic knowledge. With an appropriate management, and use of means of crisis management, the liquidation of the enterprise can be prevented.
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Learning Motivations, Styles and Expectations of Students – a Survey at the University of Debrecen
41-46Views:251Based on the experience of the authors, today's university students have different learning habits, expectations of learning and knowledge compared to previous generations. This raises the question of how traditional teaching, teaching methods effectively suited to their development. In this study, the authors examined with quantitative method the expectations of bachelor and master students concerning the business education at university. The survey was conducted among university students assessing whether students with different BSc/BA or MSc/MA majors show the willingness to continue their studies, and the authors were interested in their expectations concerning the business higher education. The authors also tried to find answers in the survey how well-prepared the students feel for the offered opportunities by today's market environment, or may prefer proceeding with their studies. Among the issues authors searched what are the most effective ways of learning for them, based on learning style, what motivates them to continue learning. What kind of education form is preferred by them to continue studying? They also respond the need of having theoretical and practical knowledge and the importance of developing practical life skills. In addition, it has also been surveyed what other expectations the students have in continuing their studies with regard to the institutions. The authors of this paper are working as team coaches at the Team Academy Debrecen. In the last six years, they worked with numerous teams and have experiences in developing students' skills in teams.
JEL Classification: A22
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The use of models in optimizing the field crop production in agricultural enterprise
105-108Views:126The full use of resource capacities of agricultural enterprises favorably affects the general increase in economic efficiency and rational production making them more competitive in the market. This creates the need for constant improvement of business strategies that uses all available resources to create the most profitable production. The main objective of this study was to find the ideal structure of production in agricultural enterprise and to enable the realization of maximum profit using the available production resources (land, mechanization, labor forces). As the basic method of planning, this study used the simplex method of linear programming which gives the most profitable sowing structure after detailed analysis of resources and achieved results, based on the limitations and gross margin. This work showed that the use of modern methods in production planning is one of the cheapest and safest methods for development of agricultural enterprises.
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Profit efficiency among catfish marketers in Lagos state, Nigeria: a Stochastic Profit Frontier Analysis (SPFA) approach
Views:231The study analyzed the determinants of profit efficiency among catfish marketers in Lagos state, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 120 catfish marketers, data were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics, enterprise budgetary technique, Shephered-Futrell method and stochastic profit frontier analysis (SPFA) model. The result of the gross ratio and net return on investment reveals that catfish marketing was a profitable and bankable enterprise. About 76.72% of sales revenue was taken up by the costs. The SPFA reveals that cost of catfish purchased and depreciation cost had positive (p<0.01) effects on profit while transportation cost (p<0.01) and labour cost (p<0.05) had negative effects. Furthermore, marital status and credit use (p<0.01) had negative effects on profit inefficiency, the mean profit efficiency of the catfish marketers was 74%. The study concluded that catfish marketers were inefficient, however, to improve the efficiency of the marketers and create more job opportunities; the study recommends that credit facilities that will enable the marketers increase their scale of operation, acquire better marketing resources and employ capable hands in catfish marketing should be made available and accessible. Policies that will help to provide good road networks and reduce the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) should be given adequate consideration.
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Examination of the organizational frameworks of sports enterprises in the light of good german practices
41-46Views:167In Hungary, with respect to the organizational issues associated with sports, there has occurred the demand for clarifying structural forms. The domestic development of sports raises the question in which fields the association-based sports model can be sustained, and operated further, and where organizational structures aligned with business models are viable. This article has described an example from German professional football, i.e. given an overview of the operation of Borussia Dortmund as a potential form for the enterprise and organizational solution. The strength of the demonstrated model is that the pursuance of business activities that cannot be or can be just hardly handled in the environment offered by associations is transferred to a setting dominated by economic conditions, whereas self-regulating civil values are not lost either, because the association remains the “parent company”.
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Green networks: Innovative capacity of SMEs in the Dutch greenhouse horticulture industry
43-50Views:169The Dutch greenhouse horticulture industry is characterized by world leadership in high-tech innovation. The dynamics of this playing field are innovation in production systems and automation, reduction in energy consumption and sharing limited space. However, international competitive advantage of the industry is under pressure and sustainable growth of individual enterprises is no longer a certainty. The sector’s ambition is to innovate better and grow faster than the competition in the rest of the world. Realizing this ambition requires strengthening the knowledge base, stimulating entrepreneurship, innovation (not just technological, but especially business process innovation). It also requires educating and professionalizing people. However, knowledge transfer in this industry is often fragmented and innovation through horizontal and vertical collaboration throughout the value chain is limited. This paper focuses on the question: how can the grower and the supplier in the greenhouse horticulture chain gain competitive advantage through radical product and process innovation. The challenge lies in time- to-market, in customer relationship, in developing new product/market combinations and in innovative entrepreneurship. In this paper an innovation and entrepreneurial educational and research programme is introduced. The programme aims at strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between enterprise, education and research. Using best practice examples, the paper illustrates how companies can realize growth and improve the innovative capacity of the organization as well as the individual by linking economic and social sustainability. The paper continues to show how participants of the program develop competencies by means of going through a learning cycle of single-loop, double-loop and triple loop learning: reduction of mistakes, change towards new concepts and improvement of the ability to learn. Finally, the paper illustrates the importance of combining enterprise, education and research in regional networks, with examples from the greenhouse horticulture sector. These networks generate economic growth and international competitiveness by acting as business accelerators.
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International outlook: The notes and business report in the frame of financial reporting
155-165Views:213Are the accounting reports to be prepared on a yearly basis suitable for indicating problems, possibly for informing the stakeholders about the declining phase of an enterprise? The information needs of the various market operators are different thus the question is whether the management of an enterprise or possibly the owners place an emphasis on the adequate information. We examine the issue of social responsibility from a special approach in which, in addition to the corporate lifecycle models, there is a focus on the information content of the Hungarian and international accounting reports, moreover the content of the further report that is to be prepared but does not form a part of the accounting report. The aim of our research is to compare the notes and the further reports which meet the Hungarian, Rumanian, Slovakian and international standards and corroborate the quantitative data of the accounting report. By paralleling the notes and the further reports, we draw attention to the fact that one of the most important accounting principles i.e. the going concern concept, which the other principles are based on, will be (or will likely be) affected insofar as content of the enterprises’ reports does not comply with the legislation. In addition to the addressees of accounting, the authors point at the issue of social responsibility based on those similarities which can be observed in the relations of the value-oriented corporate governance.
JEL. Code: M41
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Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR) in Polish food sector enterprises from Częstochowa region – empirical analysis
101-105Views:185The purpose of the paper is the assessment of implementation of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR) concept in Polish food industry in Czestochowa region. ECSR is an important part of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The food industry has many impacts on the environment and strongly depends on natural resources, that is why companies’ environmental consequences of their functioning are important part of corporate management. The most popular activities in the area of the CSR in Polish enterprises relate to the environmental protection. The analysis of the research results indicates, that 38% of the surveyed enterprises follow the ECSR rules, including mostly large manufacturing enterprises. The ECSR is seen as a tool for creating positive image and reputation of a company on the market and for enhancing the organizational culture of an enterprise. Unfortunately, surveyed enterprises have not perceived the ECSR concept as a tool for creating a competitive advantage on the market yet.
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Cost analysis of pig slaughtering: A Hungarian case study
121-129Views:249The scale of Hungarian slaughterhouses is small in international comparison and the cost of slaughter and cutting a pig of average live weight is relatively high at 16.1-19.4 EUR on average. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cost of pig slaughter and cutting through the case study of a medium-scale plant in Hungary. Based on data from the enterprise, a calculation was performed in relation to the “output” quantity of pig slaughter and cutting, as well as its value and the cost and cost structure of processing. The capacity of the examined plant and its utilisation were analysed and cost reductions were estimated for various increases of output. In 2015, the direct cost of slaughter and cutting was 18.9 EUR per pig for the medium-scale plant which processed 100 thousand pigs. When the purchase cost of pigs is excluded, labour costs accounted for the highest share (30%) of costs, followed by services (29%) and energy costs (21%). For this reason, the level of wages and employer’s contributions has a rather high significance. Analysis showed that significant increases in Hungarian minimum wage and guaranteed living wage in 2017 resulted in an estimated 7% increase in the cost of slaughter and cutting compared to 2015, despite the decrease of contributions. The capacity utilisation of the plant was a low 28% when compared to a single 8-hour shift considered full capacity. The cost of slaughter and cutting was estimated to be reduced to 14.2-17.0 EUR per pig if the plant operated at full capacity. This may be considered a lower bound estimate of cost because there are numerous restricting factors on optimising capacity utilisation, such as: 1) number of live animals available for purchase and related logistics; 2) cooling capacity availability; 3) labour availability; 4) market position of the enterprise and potential for marketing additional pig meat products. Enterprises of this scale are recommended to consider producing more value-added products and, accordingly, investing in product development.
JEL Classification: Q13, Q19
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The use of models in optimizing the field crop production in agricultural enterprise - MBA thesis
93-96Views:191The full use of resource capacities of agricultural enterprises favorably affects the general increase in economic efficiency and rational production making them more competitive in the market. This creates the need for constant improvement of business strategies that uses all available resources to create the most profitable production. The main objective of this study was to find the ideal structure of production in agricultural enterprise and to enable the realization of maximum profit using the available production resources (land, mechanization, labor forces). As the basic method of planning, this study used the simplex method of linear programming which gives the most profitable sowing structure after detailed analysis of resources and achieved results, based on the limitations and gross margin. This work showed that the use of modern methods in production planning is one of the cheapest and safest methods for development of agricultural enterprises.
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Quality-satisfaction-loyalty: consumer behaviour in catering
5-11Views:265Our study is the result of the initial research of a qualitative and quantitative research consisting of more stages. The survey was made between 2007 and 2013 and specially focused on the satisfaction of Hungarian customers of catering enterprises with hot kitchen as well as on factors influencing satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results proved that a well planned, central strategy cannot be prepared for the whole catering industry as even enterprises with the same profile (warm food kitchen) show significant differences. The most important task for an enterprise is to establish and know its appropriate clientele well in order to suit its services, selection to their requirements. Our assumption that customers of fast food restaurants, canteens have lower expectations from selection, personal relations, quality of services than customers of restaurants, public houses, wayside inns, brasseries with traditional methods of selling was proven. In the lattest, the main aspect of choosing a 'favourite place' was the quality of human relations, with the special role, besides other customers, of the staff. Establishing unique atmosphere to the liking of customers can be regarded as an important point of the operational strategy. It was also proven that the majority of regular customers of restaurants are men, coming from the economically active population. Other active users are youngsters, they mainly go to fast food restaurants. More impersonal advertisements hardly have any effect, while successful word of mouth propaganda can be achieved by consequent, high level work. Regular customers can be characterized by rather emotional than market-based attachment. Favourite units are mainly preferred because of their atmosphere, relationships with acquaintances and friends, not because of measurable features, selection or prices. Those visiting catering enterprises with hot kitchen more frequently are more critical and less satisfied, in spite of this, they are reluctant to part from their regular places.
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THE PROFIT EFFICIENCY OF MORINGA OLEIFERA PRODUCTION IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA
Views:227This study examined the profit efficiency of Moringa oleifera production by farmers in Osun State, Nigeria. Primary data were obtained from 150 respondents. Multistage sampling procedure was used for selecting respondents. The data were analyzed with the aid of descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and stochastic frontier production function. The findings revealed that male predominate moringa enterprise with about 55.3% male, most producers fall between the age bracket 41-50years with a mean age of 44.92 (± 13.168) years and the average farm size is 0.3 hectares whilst indicating that most producers had less than 0.1 hectares of land. Moringa production had a benefit cost ratio of ₦5.852, profit margin of ₦0.182, expense structure ratio of ₦0.107, net return on investment ₦4.857, rate of return of ₦5.482 and profitability ratio of ₦0.981. The average profit efficiency of moringa producers was 18.73% on the profit frontier. Family labour, hired labour and transport cost were significant and had positive coefficient while the seed cost, pesticide cost, level of education and farm size are also significant but bears negative coefficient. The level of education and farm size are amongst the inefficiency variables considered. This study concludes that Moringa oleifera production is highly profitable but producers have not been able to maximize profit efficiency. It therefore recommends that producers improve on adding value to moringa products and extend their channels of distribution considering the cost incurred on transportation.
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Information content of a sports undertaking’s statements serving different purposes – particularly with reference to the player rights
119-133Views:229In the 21st century, sport is not just a fun, social cohesive force but also a business; it has become an independent industry by now and several countries possess developed sport markets. According to estimates, sport accounts for 4% of the EU’s GDP. The actuality of our research is given by the fact that the economic aspect of sports develops continuously which is also due to that more and more amounts already stream into sports in our days. In Hungary, sport is mainly state aided and has mostly financing problems while the sport businesses existing in the more developed Western Europe are principally sponsored by the private sector. The government considers sport as a strategic branch (HERCZEG et al, 2015) and manages as such because they see the international breakthrough potencies in sport as well. Sport companies must also adapt the business-based thinking, which requires the strategic planning and operation (BECSKY, 2011). The research covers the subject of economic approach of the players’ rights. The task of accounting is to give a true and fair image about the property, income and financial situation of an undertaking. Information provided by accounting is essential for both the management decisionmaking and the market operators. In Hungary, the sports undertakings, as each managing entity, have to prepare their statements according to the Act C of 2000 on Accounting (AoA.) (NAGY – BÁCSNÉ BÁBA, 2014). The purpose of this research is to examine how a domestic sports undertaking demonstrates the value of available players in the books and how the incomes and expenditures incurred with the players are accounted for, based on the regulations of the Hungarian, international associations and the Union of European Football Associations (hereinafter: UEFA). In order that the leaders of the businesses can make quick and appropriate economic decisions, it is essential in this intensively changing world that an enterprise should have a well-functioning accounting system based on up-to-date information. International Financial Reporting Standards (hereinafter: IFRS) are intended to provide the comparability across borders. Firstly, we deal with the accounting reporting system, both the Hungarian, international financial reporting standards and, relating to UEFA, the investigation of the intangible assets to a great extent during analysing the balance sheets. Then, we examine the income statements from the viewpoint player transfers. To what extent the rules of a statement laid down by UEFA differ from the ones of a statement prepared according to AoA? What is the difference in domestic and international relations? In this study, we search after the answers for questions mentioned before.
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POTENTIAL USES OF BLOCKCHAINS IN HUMAN RESOURCES
Views:98Blockchain technology offers businesses many opportunities for more efficient operation and safer data management. It also becomes easy tostore and share employee data, while the blockchain guarantees that it does not fall into unauthorized hands. The management of financial transactions and the automation of the payment process are also a great advantage for businesses, which can manage the payment of wages andbenefits more efficiently. Another area of application of blockchain technology is the creation of more efficient workflows that can improve productivity and reduce costs. The management of work schedules and optimized work processes will also be easier with the help of the blockchain, so businesses can become more efficient and effective. In this article, the relationship between HR and blockchains was explored through a meta-analysis based on available related publications. -
The cost formation mechanism of milk and animal yield in dairy cattle-breeding in conditions of costs grouping by physiological classification
101-103Views:133This articles crutinizes the cost formation mechanism of milk and animal yield in dairy cattle-breeding in costs grouping conditions by physiological classification, it’s analysis allows to reveal "weak points " in production process of the enterprise and to direct point efforts to overcome negative consequences, and also enables to optimize and more exact prognosis of the company’s financial results.
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR
Views:158Humanity has made huge progress over the past millennia. We are working with technologies, robots that not only help us to work accurately, efficiently and quickly, but they work in a similar way to the human brain: they perceive, think, learn and solve problems.
In my research, I will focus on artificial intelligence, which is becoming more and more popular nowadays, looking at its past, present and future, its main trends in the corporate sector, and how it threatens people's job opportunities.
At the same time, one of my research objectives is to investigate how much the development of a country is related to the uptake of AI in the European Union, which I will test with correlation analysis, taking into account indicators of artificial intelligence penetration in the corporate sector from one side and the various AI indicators such as digital penetration, internet usage, computer culture, and economic indicators as GDP per capita from the other side.
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Analyzing the organizational questions of the elite youth academies by the case study of football academy of Debrecen
79-85Views:407Thanks to the effect of the resources flown in to the youth football, the previous, and more simpler structural scheme of the clubs went under a transformation. I will analyse the operation of the youth sport enterprises as economic companies, and the organizational scheme with the most important managerial questions faced in the firm. This will be based on the case study of the Football Academy of Debrecen. In the first part of my publication, I will investigate the evolution and the importance of the sport enterprises, with the relevant scientific literature. In the second part I will discuss the structural scheme of the Football Academy of Debrecen with the analysis of the separate departments. I will search for the differences between the youth sport enterprises and the organisations who are operating as a professional football club.
JEL code: Z2
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OPERATING RESULTS OF SILAGE ENTERPRISE OF A FARM - A CASE STUDY
Views:156Improvements in agriculture has been focusing on innovations to improve the efficiency of the activity by making the traditional production structure currently in use more flexible and by making the necessary technological changes for farmers with large areas and the necessary machinery and equipment. Farms with significant arable land are able to offset the effects of changes affecting efficiency and profitability. The decisive sector of agriculture in Hungary is crop production, therefore its performance is largely determined by the annual output of the crop sector and the volatility in prices. From the farm data, we calculated farm-level results that support the need for machinery modernisation efforts, as precision tools and improvements already started in maize production can be applied fruitfully even in the light of the increasing frequency of negative climatic effects. During the development of silage maize cultivation technology, the achievements of precision farming were applied. Differentiated nutrient replenishment and sowing operations were used, in addition to the fact that harvesting was also documented. We set ourselves the goal of analyzing the management data of the study period between 2019-2022 in order to reveal the nature of the changes that occurred in terms of production value, production cost, and income, as well as the components that shape them. The presented values are average values of such conditions which are also suitable for crop-level conclusions. At the same time, they can be used to identify sector-level challenges and trends.
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Analysis the advanced ICT usage of the Hungarian SME sector for preparing a domestic agri-food research
147-153Views:195In the Hungarian agro-food sector SMEs have a key role but regarding the tendency of the performance of SME sector, comparing to EU-28 average, the performance of Hungarian SME sector has gradually worsened between 2008 and 2015 while the EU average has an increasing trend. ICT can help enterprises and this article is an overview of the ICT situation of Hungarian SMEs. It is important to analyse in detail the ICT usage characteristics of agro SMEs in the food supply chain because these ICT devices, tools and services are crucial to smooth the information flow within the chain. For all these reasons our work aims to find out how Hungarian agro-food SMEs use ICT and how ICT adoption affect their business procedures, performance and development. A striking observation to emerge from the data comparison is the difference among SMEs and large enterprises regarding the usage of the different basic and advanced ICT solutions. A much bigger percent of large companies use advanced ICT then SMEs and mainly small enterprises are lagging behind as the attitudes of medium sized enterprises are rather similar to the large ones. In Hungary small enterprises in agro-food industry are in difficult financial state and for them free Cloud Computing services can offer good opportunities as they do not have initial costs. ICT adoption is very important to them as ICT sector is a dynamically growing sector and if customers and partners of an enterprise adapt faster to these technological innovations, it may have a negative effect on the different processes, performance and financial results of the organisation. In this article our aim was to determine the main question groups for our questionnaire which focus mainly on ICT solutions supporting the quality of communication and relationship between partners. As the basic IT tools are available in the major part even in the SMEs besides large companies, the two main issues will be the usage of advanced online services and the usage of high quality ICT solutions.
JEL Code: M15
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Management issues of cropping with sorghum in the production structure - a case study of Hungary
Views:240One 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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The motivations for the diversification of the Nigerian economy focusing on sustainable agriculture
7-13Views:235Agriculture is one of the major branches of the economy in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. It employs around 70% of the population and its contribution to the national GDP ranges around 45% (2012). In spite of the fact that most of the area is arable the majority of food, the Nigerian population consumes, comes from imports. The paper attempts to provide in insight to the reasons, why Nigeria could still not achievew self sufficiency from major food crops and livestock. Beyond the rapid growth of the population, one of the major reasons is the rich oil and natural gas reserves, the exploitation and export of which has been providing with the country with “easy cash” for the recent few decades. Another reason is that the agricultural holdings are small and scattered, and farming is carried out with simple tools and techniques. Modern and large-scale farms are not common. The political leadership and economic decision makers of the country already recognized the necessity of the development of the food and agricultural sector, which – contrary to the oil industry – would exercise a deep and positive impact on the rural society as well. Nigerian agriculture is being transformed towards commercialization at small, medium and large-scale enterprise levels.
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