Search
Search Results
-
Future role of agriculture in multifunctional development of rural areas
29-37Views:132In the paper the changes in agriculture in terms of falling share of agriculture in gross domestic product and decrease in the share of persons employed in agriculture in total employment in Poland and selected countries are discussed.The main driver of these changes is a faster pace of development of non-agricultural activities and continually deteriorating relations between the costs of production factors and prices of agricultural products. The rate of growth in labor costs and prices of the means of production for agriculture is much faster than the rate of increase in prices of agricultural products.This causes the decline in profitability of agricultural production which increases the size of farms. The pace is dependent on the level of economic development of the country. The study also identified trends in the structure of farms, functions and systems of agriculture in the generational perspective. The polarization of the farms will deepen.A strong group of commodity farms and a group of so-called self – subsistence social farms will emerge. Agriculture in Poland will have a dual nature. In addition to the production function and social services agriculture will expand the scope of service functions for the environment and society.
-
Education, scientific-research and consulting work in agriculture of Serbia
11-18Views:142Serbia has small number of producers2 which have encircled production system (from primaryproduction to processing), which do business successful, introduce marketing strategy and production standards, registered their products' mark of origin, succeed to export on EU market, use internet or has its own internet domain, etc. For creation of such, competitive and modern agricultural producer, there is necessity for production specialization, any kind of cooperation and better organization. In same time, there is more space for bigger financial support of state, as expert and consultative support „created“ through strong partnership between public and private sector, i.e. tough and constructive cooperation of state and farmers sector, like as institutions of education, science, research and consultative work. In the paper was given review of number and territorial dispersion of educational institutions, current scientific-research work and consultative functions in agriculture in Serbia, than was pointed out main problems in their functioning and previous work and also proposed concrete suggestions for overcoming of existing limitations, as for modernization /reorganization of those institutions, in a way to be more useful for agricultural producers.
-
Greener cement sector and potential climate strategy development between 2015-2030 (Hungarian case study)
65-74Views:387Advancing the domestic industrial production towards a sustainable, resource-preserving direction can become an important pillar to support competitiveness in the European Union, as well as in Hungary. Reaching the de-carbonization goals for industrial production via lowering the production volume may result in less desirable macro-economic effects, so decisions which concern the industry require a lot of attention from the climate policy as well. In the case of the cement sector, economic actors have to be motivated to make energy-efficiency investments and technology developments, which also show promise in terms of business efficiency. In the more natural-resource-intensive branches of the industry, both innovations and technological developments will be required to reduce the amount of used non-renewable energy resources, keep it in the industrial cycle, and reduce environmental load. The importance of greener cement will be essential in the near future to reduce the sector’s CO2 emission levels. We need to identify more sector branches which relate to sustainability, which can aid the country in establishing long-term competitiveness that points towards the de-carbonization goals. The cost-efficiency aspects of this development process are the most tedious questions in today’s business planning.
JEL classification: Q55
-
Comparative yield risk calculations of sour cherry and pear varieties regarding risk aversion
111-116Views:132Fruit production in the world is increasing continuously. Though in the past few years China and some South-American countries have extended their fruit producing areas, Europe remains to be one of the greatest fruit producers in the world. In the middle of Europe Hungary has to face several challenges as competing for market. Since yield risk has an important role in Hungarian fruit production we investigate the yield risk of two of the most important sour cherry varieties (’Újfehértói fürtös’ and ’Oblacsinszka’) grown in Újfehértó (1984-2005), moreover, two of the most important pear varieties (’Bosc Beurre’ and ’Williams’) grown in Bánfa and Zalasárszeg (1984-2009). In the examined periods we analyse yield risk with different comparative methods such as E,V-efficiency, first and second degree as well as generalized stochastic dominance methods. We conclude that the production of sour cherry variety ’Oblacsinszka’ in Újfehértó is more preferable compared to the other sour cherry varieties and pear variety ’Bosc Beurre’ in Bánfa is more advantageous than the other pear varieties and sites.
-
The possibilities of energetic applicability and economic evaluation of grape in the Szentantalfa township
25-32Views:126Energy production has become one of the key problems in the recent years. Hungary is lacking fossil fuels, but could play a leading role of biomass utilization in Europe. In the concept of biomass not only main-, but by-products (e.g. grape) are be included. Since farmers face a variety of difficulties in disposing of garpe from plantation sites it would be beneficial to encourage grape use in energy production. In our opinion due to varying transportation costs it is crucial to investigate the amount of potentially usable grape both for the whole country and in local township levels. Our economic studies were done on the Szentantalfa Township’s Balatonfüred-Csopak Vine Region. According to our findings the total amount of grape generated in the township theoretically amounts to 5.28 TJ exploitable that would operate a 360 kW boiler for a whole heating period (6 months). In our opinion the appearance of local energy production based on grape could significantly raise the ability of the future potential income of townships.
-
Economic analysis of some agrotechnical factors in maize production - a Hungarian case study
5-16Views:450This 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
-
Renewable energy resources in Hungary – solid biomass utilization in terms of necessity and opportunity
75-78Views:155In the 21st century a country’s success significantly depends on how it can solve the problems (supply safety, growing prices, climate change, etc.) induced by the application structure of the fossil energy sources with the means of energy saving, energy efficiency and the utilization of renewable energy resources. The utilization of renewable energy sources has positive effects on five key areas: environment protection, energy policies, fulfilment of EU expectations, agriculture and rural development and on the whole of the national economy. The bioenergy – beside fulfilling the national economic aims – it is putting up the value of the role of agriculture and rural development. The role of agriculture is multi-functional in the process. The agricultural sector has an important task in the area of bioenergy to ensure the proper quality and quantity of raw materials for the increase of bioenergy utilization. This also means new sales perspectives and opportunities for the producers. Above all this, the agricultural policy aims for the agriculture and the rural development segment to be the unambiguous winner of the new bioenergy sector and for most of the available profit to stay with the agricultural sector, with the rural players. For this reason encouraging the raw material production it wishes to encourage the producer their primary process and their local utilization. One of the fundamental objectives of the measures is that agriculture should go beyond the raw material production and take steps towards processing and utilization. The multifunctional role in the product chain might mean extra income and more added value for the producers and the active players in the process. The other objective is to promote the local utilization, the scatter of the environmentally friendly energy sources in rural areas, to change the energy is “lying on the ground unutilized” principle while local processing and promoting the utilization, to achieve a lower energy dependency and to optimize and disseminate cost efficient solutions. To realize all this means a great task and a huge challenge for the agricultural government as well as the rural societies and micro regions but might lead to a successful rural development. The range of the tools and measures to fulfil the aims might be very broad, from the regulating instruments to the various subsidies, coordination and dissemination tools. Part of the subsidy schemes are direct production-type of subsidies (the so called direct payments, for example the area based subsidies) and the other main forms are the investment-type subsidies which are for technology development, promotion of competitive production and local processing and for establishing a green energy industry. In the period of 2007-2013 the key elements of the development schemes were drafted in the frame of the New Hungary Rural Development Programme (ÚMVP) and the Environmental Energy Operational Program (KEOP). The available raw materials and the conditions are taken into consideration while designing the development schemes because a successful realization of a product chain means the assurance of the inputs and outputs. The starting point of determining the development direction is the principle of an operation which is sustainable and economical on the long run. In addition such developments are considered reasonable which are viable on medium and long term and bring numerous rural development, environmental and societal returns.
-
Assessing Readiness Levels of Production Technologies for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture
47-52Views:229The 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
-
Profitability of cassava production in the Ashanti region of Ghana
66-69Views:746Cassava is a crop that is massively produced and consumed in Ghana even though it is produced by subsistence farmers. The aim of this study is to analyse the cost and returns of cassava farmers. Farmers profitability was accessed using the gross margin, net present value and the benefit cost ratio. SWOT analysis was conducted to access challenges faced by cassava farmers. Data was collected by personal interview from fifty (50) cassava growing farmers in the Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The Costs and returns analysis show gross margin of USD 22.75 per acre. It was concluded that cassava is cultivated for both consumption and revenue. Even though there is low investment of capital in cassava production, it helps farmers to make use of available resources (personal savings, land and labour) which would have been idle. Further should compare profitability of crops that compete for use of famers land.
JEL. CODE: Q13, Q19
-
Analysis of household crop commercialization in Nigeria
Views:306Nigeria 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
-
Integrated agribusiness in the dairy industry of Ukraine: main characteristics and success factors
59-68Views:138Ukraine belongs to the TOP 20 global producers of milk. Despite its position, the Ukrainian dairy industry is suffering from a permanent deficit of raw milk supplied for processing. on average, in 2007–2011 over half of the produced raw milk did not reach the processors. one of the reasons behind this lasting trend is that the structure of initial production of raw milk is dominated by households (having a share of 80%); the latter produce milk mostly for their own consumption and leftovers are sold at marketplaces where they can get more attractive prices. nevertheless, already today we observe results of largescale investments into the industrial production of milk made in the last few years. This article stresses an important place of the dairy industry in the agriculture of Ukraine, as it provides the population of vital food products, many of which are strategic in the export potential. Authors present essential characteristics of the concepts “agro-industrial integration” and “agroholding”, discloses their role and place in the agrarian sector of the economy, and justifies the necessity of the creation an integrated production in the Ukrainian dairy sub-complex. The study aims at identification and description of latest trends in Ukraine’s dairy market. Moreover, authors present a successful Ukrainian example of Milkiland N.V. as one of the TOP 5 players in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) dairy market.
-
Produce certification and income risk management strategies of cocoa farming households in South-West Nigeria
75-79Views:217Agricultural produce certification is synonymous to farm assurance of which cocoa certification is an example; dealing with issues of Good Agricultural, Environmental and Social Practices (GAP, GEP and GSP) in cocoa production. Essentially, GAP, GEP and GSP packages had in-built mechanism that can aid farmers mitigate factors that could lead to farm income risks in cocoa production. Consequently, this study examined the influence of cocoa certification on income risks of cocoa farming households in South-west Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 180 cocoa farming households from whose heads data were obtained with interview schedule in Southwest Nigeria. Data were analyzed with Chi-square Statistic, Income Risk Management Diversification Index (IRD) and Mann-Whitney-U Test Statistic. Chi-square analysis shows that (52.3%) certified cocoa farming households employed more risk management strategies than (94.2%) uncertified cocoa farming households (p<0.01). The Mann-Whitney-U test revealed a significant difference (p>0.05) between the income risk management practices of certified and uncertified cocoa farming households. Therefore, produce certification has been helping cocoa farming households in mitigating farm income risk in cocoa production through the employment of diverse (risk) management strategies. Hence, stakeholders should intensify efforts in encouraging farming households to embrace (cocoa) produce certification.
-
Examination of pig farm technology by computer simulation
25-29Views:162Agricultural production is among the riskiest production activities. Similarly to other branches of agriculture in animal breeding the finished product is the result of complex procedures. The biological technological procedure, the creation of the product is affected by an outstanding number of environmental factors which also cause uncertainties. In the North Great Plain Region of Hungary, sows, gilts and slaughter pigs are produced on a corporate farm. The reliable operation data of this company provide a stable basis for and estimating future costs and revenue and their distributions. Monte Carlo methods are one of the generally accepted tools for modeling risks. The significant independent variables, their ranges and probability distributions, and the correlation between them were inputs to the model. The values of the variables were produced using a random number generator. The computer simulation was performed using @Ris (PalisadeCorporation) software. The study concentrates on the factors affecting the number of off spring (piglets). Model inputs were the mating, mortality and farrowing rates; the costs and the income values based on these rates have been analysed as the output data of the model.
-
Adaptations to potential impacts of climate change in the “New Hungary” Rural Development Programme
133-137Views:169There are evidences that the climate is changing and the effects on agriculture and wildlife are discernible. Spring is occurring earlier and autumn later, all of which have impacts on agriculture and forestry. Climate change is also predicted to result in more frequent droughts, increased flooding in Hungary, but the relationship between agriculture and climate change is more complex. Climate change has physical effects on farming and farm based wildlife. Agriculture needs to adapt to climate change by exploring, which crops and farming systems are best adapted to the changed conditions. Land management also needs to adapt to preserve biodiversity by protecting valuable habitats and species and helping them in the changing environment. With better management, agriculture and forestry can also mitigate climate change by reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from land use, land use change and forestry, by producing crops as a source of renewable energy and by protecting carbon stored in soils and in manure. The HRDP comprises of a series of funding based on the following overarching priorities: (i) enhance the environment and countryside, (ii) making agriculture and forestry more competitive and sustainable, (iii) enhancing opportunity in rural areas, whether in the farming sector or the broader rural economy. Actions discussed in this paper are based on the New Hungary Rural Development Programme (2007–2013) and focused on reducing the effects of climate change in rural area. Establishment of agro-forestry systems and integrated pest management help mitigation goals and increase climate change adaptation potential. Minimizing unwanted side effects of agriculture by reducing the use of fertilizer and increasing the safety for environment (soil, water, and air) and human health have positive effects on adaptation potential. Restoration of agricultural production though diversification of agriculture and pastures management, improvement in drain age and irrigation equipment are good examples of adaptation for climate change. Integrated production, which is oriented to controlled cultivation of crops, vine, fruits and vegetables, and improvement of animal rearing conditions to increase production standards and overall welfare are preferred and ecologically sound methods of adaptation.
-
HEDONIC PRICE OF FREE-RANGE EGGS IN COSTA RICA
Views:154Eggs are a highly consumed animal product in Costa Rica. It is grown in different production systems and differentiation attributes, although there is little information about consumption and consumer preferences for grazing production. This study aimed to determine the effect of free-grazing on the price per kilogram of eggs paid by the consumer in Costa Rica. The results show a positive effect of 19.77% on price of eggs produced in free-grazing systems, but preference for other attributes such as nutritional fortification, egg size and brand names were also determined. Incorporating free-range technologies to replace caged poultry production can contribute to animal welfare and balance with nature, and producers can opt for differentiated prices in local markets.
-
Complex problem analysis of the Hungarian dairy farms
93-100Views:241Hungarian dairy farms went through significant changes in past two decades. The most significant changes were caused by our accession to the European Union in 2004. In Hungary milk production remarkably declined after EU accession due to the decreasing level of support and decreasing milk prices. Size of our dairy herd has been practically reducing since the political transformation (1989); meanwhile the relative yields per cow have been continuously increasing. Relatively low prices, high production costs and tightening quality requirements ousted several producers – mainly small farms - from the market in past years. Feeding cost represents the highest rate in cost structure of production, but animal health expenditures and various losses are also significant. Applied technology of the Hungarian dairies lags behind theWestern-European competitors’; in addition they have handicaps in efficiency and product innovation. Moreover Hungarian milk and milk product consumption is about half of the Union average. In 2007 at the University of Debrecen the opportunities and the problems of this sector were discussed in the framework of a research and development project entitled “Project-generating based on sector-specific innovation”.At this workshop farmers, experts and advisers shared their ideas which were all gathered. The main objective of our paper is to provide useful information for the decision makers and the most important members of the sector. Using the practically successful ideas plus the ideas based on previous experience a new strategic concept was created. To reach the objective of this paper we collected, synthesized and analysed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the dairy farms and performed a SWOT analysis. On the basis of this SWOT analysis we set up a well organised problem hierarchy which would help to identify the main weaknesses of the sector. This analysis gives a great framework for the researches and it also gives a useful tool for the decision makers to improve the competitiveness of the Hungarian dairy sector.
-
The Position Losing of Animal Husbandry in Agriculture
63-66Views:85The author in the presentation deals with the fact that what caused the decline of animal husbandry in contrast with plant production; how this unfavourable ratio of 60:40 could evolve when comparing plant production and animal husbandry What the reason is for the decreasing animal stock; and how the effect of changes in the elements of the economic efficiency such as yields, prices, subsidies, production value, inputs, costs, profits can be evaluated in case of more important animal husbandry enterprises highlighting several significant animal products.
-
Investment analysis of plum brandy production – methodology approach
103-105Views:148The major prerequisite of successful entrepreneurship venture is quality of decision-making process. Decision in investment is the most important financial decision. It is a part of both long-term business planning process and strategic business definition. Using available investment appraisal methods, entrepreneur should make positive or negative investment decision. Within the development of the economic theory and the practice many of methods made decision-making process rational and gave the scientific and practical base for successful project evaluation.
-
Rural resilience and the role of social capital among farmers in Kirundo province, Northern Burundi
121-125Views:150In Burundi, more than 90% of the active population is engaged in family agriculture, which plays a vital role in food production and constitutes more than 50% of the GDP. Before the civil war of 1993, Kirundo was deemed the “breadbasket of the country”, as the region fed many parts of Burundi through growing particular foods such as legumes and cereals. Family farming was market-oriented. Kirundo alone includes 8 lakes which offer opportunities for field irrigation. Today, this region is the first province in Burundi which shows a high rate of malnutrition, as poverty has increased and a sharp 53.9 % decline in agricultural production has been witnessed between 1996 and 2009. The aim of this article is to analyse the role of social capital through the local association network in improving family agriculture and the resilience to climate change and conflict crisis. In this study, 73 farmers were surveyed in Kirundo province through means of a questionnaire, and the study was completed by collecting secondary data. Analysis of the data reveals that, despite recurrent droughts in that region which caused deaths due to famines and displacement of people to neighbouring countries such as Rwanda and Tanzania, 44% of the farmers who were surveyed were shown to have resilience to climate change. The analysis of data shows that these farmers were members of well organised local associations, and had learned about specific topics such as financial management, processing and storage of agricultural products and livestock. The social capital network positively influences their income and their resilience to climate change and conflict crisis.
-
An Agro-Food Waste Commercial Utilisation Behaviour Lens among Urban Agro-producer Households in a Developing Economy
Views:161Small-urban farm businesses utilise agro-food waste emanating from own production and other levels of food supply chain activities to supplement conventional inputs. Out of these, the food produce surplus from agro-producer households is offloaded to the urban market. As such, the aim of the study was to assess the determinants of agro-food waste commercial utilisation behaviour among urban agro-producer households. An electronically-designed research tool was administered to 456 agro-producer households to collect self-reported estimates of their agro-food waste utilisation behaviour. Results indicated higher budget share towards conventional inputs (0.73) compared to agro-food waste (0.27) but the observed suboptimal production intensification could be rectified with increased use of agro-food waste. Structural equation modelling results indicated that attitude, environmental awareness and concern, motivation and perceived moral obligation had positive significant influence on commercial utilisation intention. The adopted constructs for the model could explain 79.1% of the commercial utilisation behaviour variance. Furthermore, commercial utilisation intention, risk perceptions and perceived behavioural control had significant influence on the commercial utilisation behaviour. Findings are an indicator that agro-food waste commercial utilisation intentions among small-urban farm businesses would likely transition to commercial utilisation behaviour. Since behaviour can be learnt and developed, aspects that contribute to commercial utilisation intentions and behaviour would need to be stimulated. As a strategy of reducing the collectible waste, urban authorities may introduce tailor-made programs meant to stimulate commercial utilisation intention and behaviour in small-urban farm businesses. In valuation of agro-food waste, methodologies that could factor in utility would provide more precise insights in its commercial utilisation.
-
Free Trade Agreement: Impacts on the Costa Rican Dairy Market
83-90Views:191According to the Free Trade Agreement with Central America, Dominican Republic and United States signed in 2008, milk import tariff reliefs will stagger down from 59,4% to 0% by 2025. This study determined milk demand and supply curves in the Costa Rican domestic market. Several variables and two different models were conducted to estimate milk demand and supply: Ordinary Least Squares and Two Stages Least Square simultaneous equations. In both cases, demand was estimated by income and milk prices as independent variables; while supply was estimated by input and milk prices. Nonetheless, the best fit was obtained by TSLS model because it accounts for endogeneity among price and quantity. Based on this model, if domestic prices are supposed to decrease due to increasing quantities of imported lower-priced milk, then national demand would increase (9% average) and national production is expected to decrease (26% average). The gap between national milk demand and supply is expected to be filled by milk imported from United States; assuming 0% tariff, no transaction costs and constant share of exports within national production.
JEL Classification: F1, Q17
-
A Value chain analysis of Sesame (Sesame Indicum L.) in South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia
Views:242Sesame is the main cash crop in Ethiopia and it is mainly produced in northern and southern part of the country especially South Omo Zone. In the zone sesame is highly produced, but it production is not known regionally and at a country level. So this study was aimed to research sesame value chain of the Zone. Simple descriptive statistics and value chain approach were employed for data analysis during this study. It attempts to deal with mapping and identifying sesame value chain actors and their roles, examines marketing channel, cost margin structure and assessing challenges and opportunities within the study area. The results of the study indicated that out 5589.3 quintals were supplied to markets for various actors and five alternative marketing channels were identified to transact the sesame product through intermediaries. The most important volume of sesame (4900.8 quintals) was marketed through channel V and the lowest volume in channel I. producers get the highest share in channel IV and the lowest in channel II. Barriers to entry traders into the market are that the capital requirement and therefore the wholesalers govern by volume transacted and internal control criteria within the market. Fertile land and high demand for the product were essential opportunity. Pests and disease, Low level of input utilization, Shortage of input supply and high price of inputs were the challenges of sesame production whereas lack of market information, price variability, delay of buyers, low bargaining power and poor product quality were the challenges sesame marketing.
-
Impact of Terrorism on Agricultural Business in Borno State, Nigeria
117-124Views:262This study examines the impact of terrorism on agribusiness in Borno state. Terrorist activities in Borno state dates back to 2009 where a group of Islamic extremists popularly known as Boko Haram (meaning western education is a sin) became violent in their activities. The group operates significantly in north-eastern Nigeria where Borno state is located and since 2009. The presence of the group has led to collapse of socio-economic activities in Borno state among other states. Millions of people have been displaced fromtheir homes and forced to live in camps in neighbouring states. As a result, this study examines the impact of insurgency related activities on agribusiness in BornoState. Agricbusiness in Borno state can be measured using four different parameters, amount of area cultivated, annual crop production, rearing of livestock and fish farming. These are the major agricultural business residents of Borno state are engaged in. However due to unavailability of data, rearing of livestock and fish farming are dropped, thus focusing on area cultivated and annual crop production. As a result of these two variables, two models are developed. The first model measures the relationship between amounts of crop produced with insurgency related killings, while the second model measuresthe relationship between total areasof farmland cultivated with fatalities resulting from terrorist activity. This study employs Ordinary Least Squares methodology and finds that both relationshipsreveal negative results thus indicating statistically significant negative impact of terrorism on agribusiness in Borno State.
JEL Classification: Q10, Q18, Q12
-
An ICT-based traceability system in compound feed industry
59-64Views:199The term traceability refers to recording of flow of products along the food chain from production to consumption with inclusion of all intermediate applications involved in processing/packaging stages. The aim for establishing traceability in the food chain is to provide the timely identification and recall of batches of product from the market when a risk threatens the health of consumers. Since compound feed products are basic inputs in livestock and poultry production, ICT-based feed traceability systems can be considered as a initial step in food traceability management. These systems are simply information recording systems that are designed to trace and track the flow and characteristics of animal feed along the feed supply chain. This paper describes the architecture and some functional properties of a feed traceability system called as the “feed TRace”, focusing particularly on compound feed and integrated poultry meat industries. The feedTRace aims to improve compound feed supply chain management, to increase feed safety and quality control, and to gain marketing competencies with traceable products in compound feed industry. The system is currently under beta stage, and is tested in two high capacity feed milling plants and an integrated broiler company located inAdana province of Turkey.
-
Economic, practical impacts of precision farming – with especial regard to harvesting
141-146Views:161Today agricultural practice is faced with a paradigm shift. In terms of natural resources, the World’s growing population calls for rational management and environment-conscious behaviour. Precision farming may provide a solution for the above mentioned criteria and problems. It has an array of technological equipment, elements and complete systems which are in themselves suitable to create conditions for efficient farming, to reduce environmental load and to provide farmers with optimal return on their investment. Agricultural production has started to focus mainly on efficient crop production and machine operation. Due to this trend, machinery exploitation emerges as a secondary priority for agricultural enterprises. The underlying reason behind this shift is primarily the rise of machinery operation costs. Efficient machinery operation can provide farmers with a solution to reduce their expenditure and through better logistical organization they can obtain extra returns. On the leading edge of my research is to introduce, quantitatively underpin and to justify the application of precision technologies. Our fundamental research methods rely on scenarios and economic calculations.
Keywords
