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Analyse the financing structure of agricultural enterprises in 2002–2006
91-94Views:149The capital structure of agricultural enterprises notable modified since the change in Hungary’s economic system. The study discusses the capital structure of agricultural enterprises in Hungary and analyses the most significant indicators, that we can use to describe the financing situation of the firms. My empirical analysis is based on data containing 192 agricultural enterprises between 2002 and 2006. I try to assess the reasons of the changes in the structure of resources of enterprises in order to find the determinants effecting the capital structure. Furthermore, I assess the index numbers illustrating the management of the enterprises.
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Management issues of cropping with sorghum in the production structure - a case study of Hungary
Views:209One 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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Agricultural development and government expenditures in the new EU countries
21-35Views:143The main ambition of this paper is to analyse agricultural developments in selected new EU member states with particular emphasis on government expenditures in agriculture. The main objective is to identify the relationship between government expenditures development on one side, and agrarian sector performance (the value of production) in selected member states on the other. The conclusions drawn from this analysis are that the agricultural sector has changed its structure and position within the national economy of selected new EU member states significantly in the 20 years since the early 1990s. Member states included in the analysis reduced both the size of their agricultural sector (number of people working in agriculture, total arable areas, number of animals, etc.), and the value of agricultural output. Despite the significant reduction of the agricultural output, member states became more efficient – and in particular their productivity per farmer increased significantly. Selected country’s agricultural sector, its structure and production value development are closely related to government expenditures. Significant correlation is apparent between agricultural government expenditures and the change in the number of economically active persons in agriculture, development of agricultural production, agricultural area, agricultural GDP and agricultural capital stock. Regarding the elasticity of new EU member states’ agricultural sector in relation to changes in government expenditures, significant elasticity is apparent in the case of the number of economically active persons in agriculture, agricultural production (especially livestock production), area of arable land, agricultural GDP and capital stock.
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Ownership Structures within Hungarian Family Businesses – Theories and Practice
35-40Views:230We can talk about family business if the notions of family, ownership and business are closely connected to each other, namely if the business is in the possession of the family, managed and controlled by the family members. A family owned company is a business where a family has the majority ownership and/or the majority management and at least one family member actively works in the firm, the family owns the business. The study contains the results of research on ownership structure of family owned businesses. The examined family businesses are interested in longterm preservation of values, thus succession of generations plays a key role in their case. They attaches great importance how the ownership structure develops. The methotology to know more about the ownership structure of family businesses 11 expert interviews were made between november 2016 and september 2017 with owners and next generations of family owned agri-food enterprises in Hungary. A case study has been prepared too in this topic with the participation of companies with different activities (production, service, trade). In order to classify the analysed companies six categories of ownership were developed. These are non-owner, emotional owner, partial owner, controlling owner, majority owner and exclusive/ sole owner. Each generation of the analysed FBs were classified to these categories. According to the results the analysed family owned companies even are sharing the property within family. There are only two interviewed companies whose case we can talk about exclusive/sole ownership.
JEL Classification: G32
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Use of coordination spheres in food economics
69-71Views:144The 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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Economic modelling and analysis of Hungarian wheat production in the marketing year 2011
63-67Views:150In the framework of the present study I analysed the wheat production sector. In order to evaluate the situation prevailing in the sector I conducted an economic analysis which I based on primary data collection. The year of investigation was the production year of 2011. Long-term implications for different crop sectors can only be based on multi-annual analysis, so in this article I only attempted to analyse the sector with respect to 2011. To evaluate wheat production I compiled its cost structure and assessed it. To evaluate its position in comparison to other crops I also carried out calculations to determine the gross margin (revenue minus variable cost)1 By gross margin I mean the gross margin (C), which is production value (PV) minus direct cost (DC), by definition (C=P-DC). of maize and rape. I observed that the gross margin attainable on one hectare was the lowest in the case of wheat. I applied two types of gross margin, because I consider it important that a given sector should also be profitable without subsidies. In the case of the gross margin including subsidies it is essential to emphasize the role of subsidies, since their ratio varied between 30 and 47% of the total revenue. The importance of subsidies was the most significant in the case of winter wheat.
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International students in Hungarian higher education
113-132Views:305Overall, higher education in Hungary is popular with students from abroad, even if there are significant differences in terms of its structure. The ever-faster increase in the annual headcount of the international student body serves as proof to this statement. The expansion of the size of the body of international students is of special importance in higher education since in 2016 the Hungarian government set the objective of having 40,000 international students by 2023 (EMMI, 2016).
Numerous studies have been published on this topic, usually focusing on specific issues, including, for example, the countries from which we receive most of the students, the most popular majors, possible economic advantages due to the presence of a great number of international students, and how internationalization takes place in higher education in Hungary.
By means of processing data published by the Hungarian Educational Authority [Oktatási Hivatal], this paper aims to present the changes in the number of international students in Hungary over the past ten years. This also includes the discussion of the structure of these changes related to a variety of issues such as relations, types of institutions and their ownership, levels and types of programs, as well as gender proportions. However, even with this effort, the officially available statistics are suitable for presenting a properly detailed assessment of the situation only to a limited extent.
JEL code: I23
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The use of models in optimizing the field crop production in agricultural enterprise - MBA thesis
93-96Views:183The 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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The economic and social role of private farms in Hungarian agriculture
33-41Views:172The situation and importance of private farms in Hungary have significantly changed and are still changing due to the political and economic regime change of 1989-90 and subsequent events. The aim of this study is to provide – unlike the practice of the last two decades – an impartial review of the social and economic role of Hungarian private farms. To demonstrate the changes occurring in private farms, we rely on the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO-KSH)such as the General Structure Surveys, the Farm Structure Surveys, and tables from the online stADAT database.
From the point of view of methodology, time series analyses (2000–2010) were performed in the framework of this secondary research. Our hypothesis that private farms in Hungary deserve much more attention than previously, from the perspective of the output of Hungarian agriculture, food consumption and, last but not least, employment (the environmental factor was not examined this time) has been clearly confirmed. The role and significance of this group have also been exceedingly important since EU accession, particularly in the fields of horticulture and animal husbandry, and the strengthening of these positions is indisputably a national economic interest. -
Selection of agricultural land for multifunctional agriculture
49-52Views:126The modern concept of rural development implies the use of agricultural resources, primarily agricultural land, for other (non-agricultural) activities besides its agricultural purpose. The integral aim of this concept of rural development is the maximization of economic results, besides the sustainable development of rural areas, environmental protection and the production of strategic (staple) agricultural products. The objective of this paper is to define the general, theoretical, quantitative model for the determination of the size and quality of agricultural land which, considering the above-mentioned demands (criteria), is optimal for the utilization in agricultural production in certain regions. The remaining agricultural land would be available for the non-agricultural purposes. The economic optimal model for the selection of agricultural land in the traditional agriculture is the model of linear programming. The criteria of the land selection for traditional agriculture are the economic effectiveness (measured by net income or by gross national product) and the economic efficiency (measured by the production economy). The maximum economic effectiveness is determined by the standard method of linear programming and the maximum economy by the method of broken linear programming. The solution of compromise can be determined by multi-criteria programming, based on the minimum differences. The limitation groups in the mentioned variations of the model are: limitations of production quotas of agricultural products, minimum quantities of staple agricultural products, limitations of processing plants in a region (minimum and maximum), limitation of crop rotation, limitations of the needs in animal husbandry for bulky for age and limitations of agricultural land according to various types of utilization. By quantitative defining of the structure and size of agricultural land for traditional agriculture, “the surplus” and structure of agricultural land available for non-agricultural purposes is automatically determined.
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The use of models in optimizing the field crop production in agricultural enterprise
105-108Views:111The 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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The role of chamber system in development of agricommerce in Serbia
79-82Views:113This research is carried out in order to be determined the role of Chamber system in development of agricommerce along with successful preparation of Serbia for EU accession. On February 28, 1857 Prince Aleksandar Karaðorðeviæ signed the Decree, called THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TRADE. By this Decree, the first BusinessAssociation in Serbia was constituted. Under the Law on retail stores passed in June 1910, the first chambers were established. Those were the following:
• The Chamber of TRADE
• The Chamber of CRAFTS
• The Chamber of INDUSTRY
• The Chamber ofWORKERSToday, in conditions of economic and social reforms and transfer toward market oriented economy, chambers in Serbia chose to reconsider their role, by using experiences of chambers in countries with developed market economy.The chamber strives to be organized as independent, business oriented and expert association of economic operators. The structure of economy, from the aspect of important economic indicators (total revenue, profit), shows dominant share of manufacturing andagro-industry, trade, financial and other services sectors, transport, telecommunication, and construction industries. By generating over 30% of GDP and employment, Belgrade plays vital role in the economy of the whole Serbia. That is an advantage, but also the responsibility to constantly stimulate faster development and higher living standards by inciting the positive changes in economic and overall environment.
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The economic performance of tourism in Northern Hungarian Region, with special regard to Heves County
99-102Views:111The study shows the economic performance of public accommodation establishments (especially in Heves County) in the period of 2000–2008 in the context of basic touristic indicators like the number of public accommodation establishments, capacity, arrivals, bednights, average length of stay, revenue (structure of revenue), and the role of local tourism tax revenues. According the study, we can conclude that on the basis of the capacity, number of guests and number of bednights of public accommodation establisments, Heves County (as compared to other counties of the region) played a pivotal role in the tourism of Northern Hungary in the studied period. Knowing these facts, it is worthwhile to make further investments and developments in tourism in the county.
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Cost analysis of pig slaughtering: A Hungarian case study
121-129Views:225The 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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Future role of agriculture in multifunctional development of rural areas
135-143Views:120In 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 in creases 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.
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A Value chain analysis of Sesame (Sesame Indicum L.) in South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia
Views:202Sesame 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.
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The conditions of security in sustainable rural economics
51-57Views:126This work aims to map the potentials of safe rural economy. This topic cannot be separated from the processes of globalization and localization, affecting each other, whose positive and negative effects have been focussed on, especially in terms of the protection of security and sustainability or their damaging. In Hungary, sustainable rural economy cannot be achieved only by the rural economy’s systematic stabilization but its present structure and the security system, accompanying the process, also needs to undergo some drastic changes. Sustainable rural economy means a modern economy that aims to keep the rural inhabitants while increases the wealth of the whole society. The legal security of the sustainable local economy is guaranteed by the state in Hungary. The security of the rural areas is provided by the police as an armed force, the auxiliary police, the public place supervision, the local agricultural rangers, the environment wardens, and by the fish- and game-keepers. The Police Act allows cooperation with the further organizations of the society to preserve public order, and to protect property and prevent and detect crimes. The purpose of my thesis is to present security as one of the most important factors to improve the rural areas. I also aim to map the possibilities of improving security (such as cooperation, naming the resources assisting strategic tenders and participation in rural development programs).
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Agricultural policy and rural development
105-112Views:134The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a cornerstone of EU policy relating to rural areas. Initially, it aimed to provide a harmonised framework for maintaining adequate supplies, increasing productivity and ensuring that both consumers and producers received a fair deal in the market. These priorities have shifted to environmental and animal welfare concerns, as well as food safety and security aspects. As a consequence, the CAP has gradually moved from a production-based structure of subsidies to a market-oriented system, integrating standards for food, environment and biodiversity, as well as animal welfare. In 2010, the EU launched an extensive debate on the future of the CAP, as the European Union needs a better tailored, reformed Common Agricultural Policy to answer the challenges of food, growth and jobs in rural areas. The European agriculture must address the expectations of rural society and demands of the market concerning public goods, the environment and climate change. This raises questions of whether the CAP payments in the past have been effective in achieving their objectives and whether direct payments should be continued for supporting agricultural environmental issues.
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Work organization and economic examination of breadwinning of rurality
37-39Views:114Agriculture has been and probably will be a significant branch in the south part of the Great Plain in the future as well. Besides the mass products and in many cases instead of them when forming the agricultural structure, this region has to pay more attention to the branches that were important in the past. Hungarian experts who are famous in foreign countries as well deal with these branches and they provide excellent products. The rules referring to these products are more liberal in the market places of the European Union and their development is not controlled by strict quota systems. In the south part of the Great Hungarian Plain a lot of unique products of excellent quality are produced. Here in this essay we would like to find the answer to the question how the two significant products of the southern part of the Great Hungarian Plain can provide the families with the income that they can live on.We aim at the economical examination of the cucumber grown in Méhkerék and asparagus of Homok. To do this we will apply the so called Standard Gross Margin. The agriculture of the states of the European Union is measured with the help of this method. It can also help us in the future to decide whether the different farms belonging to families are economically viable in Hungary.
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Bread consumption habits in the gluten free diet
113-119Views:383Gluten is a protein found in many grain products. Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disorder characterized by sensitivity to gluten. When a person with celiac disease consumes gluten, his/her immune system perceives the gluten to be a harmful substance and reacts negatively. The only treatment for individuals with celiac disease is lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. It is one of the most frequent and well defined of all lifelong diseases. In Hungary, 1-2 % of the population is said to be affected, but only every 10th has been diagnosed. Bread is a basic and frequently consumed food made principally from wheat. Gluten is the main structure-forming protein in flour, and is responsible for the elastic characteristics of dough, and contributes to the crumb structure and appearance of many baked products. Gluten removal results in major problems for bakers. Currently many gluten-free products available on the market are of low quality, exhibiting poor mouth feel and flavour. People wishing to eat bread in the gluten-free diet basically have two options: buying or baking the bread for themselves. There are several gluten-free bread brands are available on the Hungarian market. The price, ingredients, texture, colour, softness of the available breads are different. There is a rather good choice in gluten-free flour mixtures on the Hungarian market, as well. The composition of these mixtures are also different. The aim of our empirical research was to investigate the gluten-free bread consumption habits of people following gluten-free diet. The research was carried out using Google forms in January 2017. Size of the sample is 196. The online form was shared in four closed gluten free Facebook groups in Hungary since they are really active in sharing information concerning gluten-free lifestyle and diet. Summarizing, in this study we wish to examine how evolve the world pork meat production, trade and consumption, and to demonstrate the main consuming countries, highlighting the role of China, as it is the most populated country in the world with its 1.4 billion inhabitants.
JEL Code: M31
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Future role of agriculture in multifunctional development of rural areas
29-37Views:125In 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.
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An examination of the organizational culture at the policing
43-50Views:235The subject of this thesis is presentation of the examination related to the organizational culture of the Police, the special law enforcement body which guarantees internal order and public security. The police, at the same time, as armed law enforcement body ensure the order of the economy and its legal security. Security is not only important for the citizens and social organizations, but also for the profit and non-profit organizations. The Police carry out official work, but also provide services that presuppose two types of contact system and modes of management. There were a number of changes in the body of the Police over the past two decades (e.g. accession to the EU, accession to the Schengen area, integration of the Police and the Border Guards, outsourcing certain activities, regionalization of sponsorship activities), in which I have taken part as a manager of the developmental programs. These changes have not only affected the police organization and the approach of the employees, but also the organizational culture. The changes cannot be considered as closed: the Ministry of Interior, governing the Police, takes decisions on organizational changes, but also the managers at the Police play an important role in this process. Under „change” I do not necessarily understand a change in the structure, but also a change in the organizational culture to create support for the reform process, and the option to co-ordinate the diverse structures. The changes have obviously affected the thinking of the managers and the employees, as well as their relationship to the organization. The official duties, including the detection of the crimes (including agricultural and economic crimes), cannot be performed without the day-today cooperation with the bodies of the civil law enforcement, through which the Police may increase the effectiveness of detection of such crimes and thus the citizens’ subjective feeling of security. Therefore, the present thesis aims at the examination of the Police’s organizational culture and its management methods.
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THE PROFIT EFFICIENCY OF MORINGA OLEIFERA PRODUCTION IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA
Views:131This 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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Smallholder Food Marketing Behaviour: Exploring the Role of Informal Credit and Traders in Stabilization of Food Crop Prices
67-82Views:125Many farmers in Africa sell their produce at low prices immediately after harvest because they need cash. They could solve temporary liquidity constraints by use of credit and store their produce to sell when prices are high. However, due to various reasons such many poor farmers have been excluded from formal financial services. In response, the informal financial market has expanded, but the question why informal credit has not facilitated storage to enable farmers benefit from intertemporal arbitrage opportunities remains largely unanswered. To answer this question, we investigate the role of informal credit markets and traders in stabilizing seasonal food crop prices. Our analysis is based on a household survey data, and in-depth interviews with key players in the informal credit market and grain traders in rural southwestern Uganda. We find that community-based self-help savings and credit associations provide credit for the majority (62%) of farmers. Informal credit still excludes the very poor and is not sufficient to enable farmers benefit from intertemporal arbitrage opportunities. Thus, poor farmers continue to ‘sell low and buy high’. The study also addresses a related fundamental aspect of food marketing: why is there no competition between traders bidding up prices after harvest and eliminating seasonal price fluctuations? We analyse traders’ costs and profit structure in the study area, and shed some light on imperfections in the grain market and the barriers that limit competition between traders. We find that grain trade is not highly competitive. High transaction costs and limited access to credit are the main barriers limiting competition. Supporting community-based self-help savings and credit associations to raise their portfolio can enable more farmers to borrow at the same time. Investing in infrastructure, organising and supporting small scale farmers to bulk their produce might lower transaction costs, promote competition and dampen price fluctuations.
JEL Classification: D53, O13, O16, Q12, Q13
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Opportunities and obstacles of areabased partnerships in rural Hungary – main features of the operations of leader local action groups based on a nationwide survey
109-117Views:176Based on the results of our questionnaire survey, our study presents the major operational features of LEADER LAGs established in Hungary in the second half of 2007. Our national survey indicated that most of the partnerships established do not have experience in the implementation of community-based rural development programmes and there are no traditions and practices for development cooperation, which may cause problems as the success of programme implementation highly depends on the preparedness of local society, on the cooperation of local people. The survey indicates that the development of areas covered by LAGs is hindered by so-called soft factors characterizing human resources (rural people and communities). Therefore human resources are not only factors of the rural economy but areas for development as well. Having examined the tasks of LAGs,it can be established that they deem it to be their principal task to grant support funds.Inouropinion, performance of this task is obviously necessary but far from sufficient to fulfil their catalyst role expected in local developments. For this purpose, it is essential for action groups to play a proactive role in organizing and thereby increase the capacity of local communities, a prerequisite for implementing a LEADER programme. In accordance with the basic principle of subsidiarity, rural development should be implemented locally, managed by local communities, and decisions should be made at local levels in a decentralized manner. At the same time, the survey points out that LAGs operate under strong government influence and control, leading to the conclusion that the Hungarian practice of the LEADER programme is characterized by decentralization without subsidiarity. In the present structure, the activities of LAGs are predominantly financed from central resources.Administration is the primary goal of their financing, which restricts their effective and efficient operations, thereby the successful implementation of the LEADER programme. It is unquestionable that LAGs need to be centrally financed since their operation is fundamental for programme implementation, but this requires more than acting in their present role of distributing resources. In order for action groups to fulfil their real roles to boost local developments, they need to recognize their mission; and from the financing and regulatory side, they must be enabled to complete the tasks expected from them and their function.