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Hungarian dairy and beef production sector technical efficiency comparsion using DEA
131-138Views:184To examine and compare the technical efficiency of dairy sector and the beef sector, this research introduced the main indicators of milk and beef production in the world, EU and Hungarian aggregates. Based on the data it can be said that the milk and beef production of Hungary does not occupy any significant position in the world as well as in the European Union neither today nor even in the past. If Hungry must compete in the European counties and international market, their dairy sector must focus to increase of their production efficiency as the key breakthrough point. This paper we compared technical efficiency of both dairy and beef sectors in total, for the year 2014 and 2015 separately and based on the farm size. The specific objectives of the research are: comparing dairy and beef farms efficiency in Hungary. Based on the results, we can determine which sector in Hungary is more effective. The second objective is to compare the efficiencies of both the sectors in 2014 and 2015 separately and from the results we can determine which year was more effective in terms of production efficiency and the third objective of the research is technical efficiency comparison of certain economic sizes for both sectors. In the research, we used (KOVACS, 2009) deterministic (DEA) model adapted to the Hungarian dairy farms and beef farms. For the dairy farms milk and dairy products as well as meat (other income). The input factors originated from the domestic AKI - FADN database. Summarizing the results of the research it can be conclude that the dairy sector is more effective than the beef sector in Hungary. In terms of years compared 2014 was more effective for both sector as compared with 2015. In regards to the farm size almost the same result in evaluating the scale of efficiency, which means that large economies can in most cases, manage resources more efficiently than small farms. In the examined years, based on the results of the DEA model, the VRS technical efficiency of the test for these two years was 72.90% for the dairy farms and 63.60% for the beef farms, which means that the dairy sector is more efficient than the beef sector in Hungary. The VRS technical efficiency of the research was 82.10% in 2014 and 75.10% in 2015 for the dairy farms and 77.50% in 2014 and 68.90% in 2015 for the beef farms, which means that both the dairy sector and the beef sectors followed the same trend and were more efficient in 2014 compared to the efficiency in 2015. The large size dairy farms were most effective in Hungary in the examined period (90.90%). VRS technical efficiency for small farms is 88% and the total number of small, the technical efficiency medium farms was 72.80% For the beef sector VRS technical efficiency for small farms is 71.30% and the technical efficiency medium farms was 74.40% and 70% of the beef meat producing farms in Hungary are medium sized. So, the conclusion is the small size dairy farms have a higher VRS efficiency than the small size beef farms whereas medium sized beef farms had higher VRS efficiency than the medium size dairy farms. As a conclusion, both dairy and beef sectors in Hungary have the potential to overcome technology and knowledge constraints and attain the upmost attainable productivity level through improvements in; farmer volume of production i.e. output, beef cattle technologies, and advertising, and the efficiency of the technology transfer process.
JEL Code: Q13
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LEAN Management Models Application and Safety Management of Logistics Firm in Nigeria
Views:200The need for lean concepts application in the safety management of logistics processes cannot be emphasized as it can help in enhancing the flow of information and expediting processes within the supply network for improved organizational outcomes. The study investigated the application of lean management models to the safety management of logistics firms in Nigeria. The study population includes 215 employees of Manal Plant hire Ltd Nigeria. 138 employees were chosen using a purposive sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to collect the primary data from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to test the hypotheses developed in the study. The study's findings suggest that Process and Equipment Management has a positive and significant effect on the operational efficiency and workplace safety of the studied firms; employee empowerment has a positive and significant effect on operational efficiency; technological innovation has a positive and significant effect on the operational efficiency, and that continuous improvement has a positive and significant effect on the operational efficiency and workplace safety. It is, therefore, concluded that the adoption of Lean Management has a positive and significant effect on the safety management of logistics firms. The study recommends that manufacturing, logistics, and service industries should be committed to carrying out process mapping to eliminate non-value-adding operations in production as well as logistics and ensure the effective and continuous flow of logistics operations.
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Plant production for biomass into energy: economics and energy efficiency view
65-71Views:137The aim of the paper was to determine the influence of the fertilization level on the energy and economics efficiency of the production technologies of selected crops processed into bioethanol or biogas. There were investigated the following crops: rye, triticale, wheat, sugar beets, maize, sorghum, reed canarygrass and Virginia fanpetals. In the energetic efficiency the Energy Return on Energy Investment index (EroEI) was used. Apart from the ERoEI ratio, the Net Energy Value (NEV) ratio was also used. In the economics efficiency attitude, the Gross Margin (GM) was determined.The investigations proved that in general, the production technologies of crops where the lowest levels of nitrogen fertilization were applied proved to have the highest energetic efficiency. The highest economic efficiency was characterized by the production of corn for biogas. In the case of the production of bioethanol (all plants), ratios were on the verge of profitability or the lack of it showed.The analysis proved that the efficiency of the technologies of production of the crops to be processed into biogas is several times higher than the energetic efficiency of the technologies of production of the crops to be processed into bioethanol.
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The role of the time factor in the manager functions
101-108Views:121The role of the time factor in management is increasing. Change directs attention to the time factor from the point of view of the organisation,and management does the same from that of the person. I examined the time management practice of managers of organisations related to agribusiness, and the reaction time characterising the adaption ability of the organisations through a questionnaire survey. I analysed the collected data with scientifically established statistical methods. During studying resources, managing tasks, change, reaction time and effect I explored the features of time as resource, the significance of the time factor, the improvability of time efficiency in the different managing functions, the factors supporting and hindering the quick reaction of organisations, and what rearrangements can be seen in management work nowadays.
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Analysis of time management and self-management work practice by leaders – a focus group study
133-140Views:562Nowadays excellent leadership is one of the foundations of high organizational performance. Leadership excellence is a complex topic but efficiency and effectiveness are important components of it. These are closely linked to self-management and time management. In our focus group research, we asked senior executives about how they organize their average workday. We used two theoretical models: the Blue Ocean model and the Franklin Covey time-matrix. According to the participants the key component of effective self-management is the time management. In their leadership practice they often use a digital task manager, a workshop, an informal meeting as a tool and they find knowledge sharing also very important. They try to approach their employees empathetically. They would like to reduce the administrative tasks, spend less time on correspondence, travel and “small talks”. They would like to spend more time on automation and communication, further training and team work and dealing with the employees. They think that strategic planning, market analysis, sales, knowledge development and transfer should require more planning.
JEL code: M12
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Analysing sporting goods manufacturers’ environmental management tools
23-29Views:215Organizations around the developed world are facing pressure from governments, international agreements, society and various stakeholders, to improve their behavior towards the natural environment. The application of environmental management tools may be an important step towards sustainability and the preservation of environmental values, however marketing could be the key – with the help of information and communication technologies (ICT) – in publicizing and spreading these ideas thus forming customers’, stakeholders’ attitude in this respect.The aim of this study was to define the concept of environmental consciousness and environmentally conscious behaviour, then to present the shift the traditional marketing philosophy towards the sustainable marketing approach, finally to analyse two top sporting goods manufacturers’ (Nike, Adidas) environmental management tools with the help of data gained from their web sites, reports, case studies. Interpreting environmental consciousness is difficult without knowing the attitude to it. In spite of that it is important to distinguish between environmental consciousness and environmentally conscious attitude, because consciousness often appears in attitude influenced by other, outer effects.The environmental conscious attitude of companies in itself is not enough for making use of the advantages deriving from a positive environmental concern. They need to pursue more active communication, to „green” the whole of marketing activities. Thus marketing seems a possible means to naturalize and expand environmental protection both among customers and in company practice. According to the analysed companies, we need to say, that they are commitment with the environmental protection. They are used state-of-theart technologies to make their activity greener and introduce these with full particulars, examples e.g. ColorDry technologies, Better Cotton, The Framaprene ECO heel. Either Nike, Inc., or Adidas Group realised that ICT have the ability to improve efficiency and cut the use of material goods, thus reducing energy demands and the burden upon the environment.
JEL code: Q01
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Opportunities for wastewater heat recovery in Hungary and its role in the circular economy
Views:357Most of the energy content of wastewater can be found in wastewater heat, however, its recovery is limited. In this article, the current situation, future opportunities of wastewater heat recovery are presented based on secondary data collection, mentioning the constraints and main influencing factors of sustainable implementation of heat recovery systems in Hungary. Besides, the already existing systems are described. As regards the capacities of treatment plants, 103 of the 574 domestic plants have a capacity of over 20,000 Population Equivalent (PE), of which 25 plants have a capacity of over 100,000 PE. According to our calculations, in big cities/capitals (20.000 – 100.000, and over 100.000 inhabitants), it may be possible to recover wastewater heat sustainably in several places. In small towns (5.000 – 20.000 inhabitants), wastewater heat recovery can be technologically and economically sustainable only in the presence of agricultural or industrial plants with high and continuous wastewater feed into the pipeline system. Taking into account the temperature conditions at each place of use and their estimated fluctuations, it can be said that proper, careful planning, sizing and implementation have a crucial effect on the efficiency of microbiological activity in the treatment plants. In bigger cities, of course, the effect of the temperature drop of one main collector may be minimal, however, in smaller and medium-sized settlements, excessive heat extraction may result in complete inhibition or cessation of nitrification. In Hungarian case studies, the maximum acceptable temperature drop is approx. 2-3 °C. It can be stated that energy recovery from wastewater may be very promising considering the size and temperature limitations. Therefore, the rational recovery of wastewater heat can be an important part of the implementation of circular economy and sustainable energy utilization in wastewater management, resulting in significant energy savings and pollutant reduction.
JEL CODE: Q25
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The efficiency of porkers production of intensively and extensively feeded
69-74Views:125The aim of this study is a comparative analysis of the costs of production of intensively and extensively fed porkers in view of the qualitative parameters of meat obtained after slaughter. The production experiment, which involved the parallel fattening of 3 groups of 30 porkers (fed intensively up to a weight of about 120 kg and extensively up to weights of about 100 kg and 120 kg), was carried out between 2011 and 2012 in a deliberately selected farm. The researchers assumed average prices of the means of production and prices of livestock pigs in individual meatiness classes noted in Poland in 2012. The fattening started when the animals weighed about 40 kg. The feeds used for extensive fattening contained less total protein, energy and basic exogenous amino acids, but more raw fibre. The analysis proved that the extensive production of porkers up to 100 kg in 2012 was not profitable. The most profitable production was the intensive production up to 120 kg (a profit of €0.100 per kg, whereas in the extensive feeding up to 120 kg the profit was €0.072 per kg. The porkers which were fed less intensively had a higher slaughter value, thinner fatback, higher dressing percentage and smaller content of fatback in the half-carcase, whereas their meat contained more water and less protein, fat and ash than the meat from the group of porkers fed with the mix richer in protein and energy.
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Analyzing soundness of nationalized banks in India: a camel approach
73-78Views:229Performance of the economy of any country is largely dependent on the performance of its banking sector. Since, banking sector constitutes a major component of the financial service sector. Soundness of the banking sector is essential for a healthy and vibrant economy. The efficiency, productivity, profitability, stability and a shock free economy is possible only when a country is having a sound and healthy banking sector. The present research work has been undertaken to analyze the soundness of five nationalized banks in India. In order to measure the performances of these banks CAMEL MODEL Approach has been applied, incorporating important parameters like Capital Adequacy, Assets Quality, Management Efficiency, Earnings Quality and Liquidity. The finding of the study shows that Bank of Baroda has been ranked at the top position, the Union Bank of India and Dena Bank secured the 2nd position, the next was the State Bank of India which secured the 4th position and in the last position was the UCO Bank which secured the 5th position.
JEL Code: G2, G12, G21, G32& G33.
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Urban Food Crop Farming and Farm Households’ Food Security Status in Oyo State, Nigeria
23-28Views:158Food production and supply has been on the decline in Nigeria with a consequent impact on household food security. This study examined the influence of urban farming on household food security in Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 159 farm households in a cross-sectional survey. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on socio-economic characteristics, determine the food security status of urban crop farming households in the study area, and examine the effects of urban crop production on households’ food security status. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics while the statistical tools were Food Security Index (FSI) and Probit Regression Model (PRM). Results revealed that 84.9% of the respondents was male, 81.2% married. The average age, household size, and farm size were 49.6 years, 6 persons, 1.1 hectares respectively. Most (75.5%) of the respondents did not have access to consumption credit and 62.3% did not belong to any farmers association. Based on minimum daily energy requirement per adult equivalent of N230.8, 90.6% of the farm households was food secure.
The PRM showed that age (β = -0.1, p<0.05), household size (β= -0.4, p<0.01) and economic efficiency (β = -61.6, p<0.05) reduced the probability of household food security while access to consumption credit (β= 1.7, p<0.05) and allocative efficiency (β = 67.9, p<0.05) increased the probability of household food security. The study concluded that urban farming significantly influence household food security.
JEL Classification: Q11
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The study of group and team management in agribusiness companies
75-77Views:117For almost three decades now that the operation of groups and teams became highlighted by scientific examinations and widespread acknowledged leverage for improving corporate efficiency and effectiveness. Much is known about general conditions of operation, still little is known about managerial attitudes, behaviour in operating them. Considering the agribusiness sector, we have hundreds of years of traditions; although operational rules, internal properties, managerial aspects are poorly acknowledged. The Department of Management of University of Debrecen has been conducting research in this field for many years now. Its research program enabled me to work out a questionnaire for surveying agribusiness organizations so that I could identify major and typical characteristics of performance groups. In this article I intend to more precisely describe internal rules, relations and characteristics of this phenomenon.
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Efficiency analysis of dairy farms in the Northern Great Plain region using deterministic and stochastic DEA models
113-122Views:126Running 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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Economic analysis of some agrotechnical factors in maize production - a Hungarian case study
5-16Views:385This paper focuses on the economic and statistical evaluation of the production technology findings of the polyfactorial maize production experiments carried out between 2015-2017 at the Látókép Experiment Site of the University of Debrecen, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management. The examined agrotechnical factors included irrigation, previous crop, tillage, crop density, hybrid and N nutrient supply, while the effect of different crop years was taken into consideration. In addition to descriptive statistical methods, we used multivariate regression analysis during the statistical evaluation. In the course of the evaluation, we examined three models that differed in terms of tillage methods and the consideration of crop year. In our best fit model, the factors were 71% responsible for the change in yield value. We carried out efficiency and comparative analyses in the course of the economic evaluation.
Averaged over the three examined years, it can be stated that nutrient supply and crop year had an outstanding effect on yield, while irrigation had a minimal effect. However, global warming may justify irrigation in the future, not only from a biological point of view, but also from an economic aspect.
Ideal tillage is also greatly affected by crop year, too. Altogether, of the examined tillage systems, subsoiling proved to be the best from an economic point of view.
Our investigations confirm that it is better to perform intensive farming under more favourable market conditions. The optimum of N fertilisation is probably outside of the range we examined, if the extreme changes in maize and fertiliser prices are ignored.JEL Classification: Q16, Q12, Q13, O32
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Human resources management in small and medium enterprises
71-74Views:218Development of small and medium enterprises (SME) represents primary goal of every modern economy. It is complex challenge which includes great number of directly concerned parties in every sector of the state and economy. SME stimulate private ownership and entrepreneurship. Their characteristic is that they are flexible and can easily adjust to changes in supply and demand on the market. At the same time they open possibilities for increase of employment, promote diversification of economical activities, support sustainable growth and give significant contribution to export, trade and increase the competitiveness of the entire economy. Importance of SME for economy is undisputable. All research show that globally, more than 90% of all business activities are realized by SME. SMEs employ two thirds of total labor of European Union. Approaching to European Union presumes harmonization of the systematic environment and improvement of the climate of entrepreneurship, private initiative, development of SME. This determination has strongpoint in current world processes that prefer the development of SME, utilizing their profit efficiency and established advantages relating to the adaptability of small business to dynamic changes in economy. Problem of Human resources management is very sensitive issue in SMEs. Namely, in big companies there are entire teams of agencies or consultants are hired for selection and education of new employees, whereas in SMEs this work is done by owner or manager. Therefore, in this paper several facts were pointed out which need to be considered in selection of new employees, since every mistake in this activity can cause far-reaching consequences on functioning of SME.
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Supply chain management practices for SMEs
89-96Views:236In today’s globalized business environment small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) face many challenges. In order of their survival SMEs need to produce more, at a lower cost, in less time, and with a few defects. They form the most significant group of manufacturing firms and give supports to large companies in many supply chains. In addition, SMEs contribute greatly to entrepreneurship, gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. Despite the fact that micro, small and medium sized enterprises have very important role in business networks, they still have many problems with using supply chain management (SCM) practices. In this research my purpose was to find the best SCM practices as a strategic method to improve SMEs’ performance. First, I give information in general about SCM and the SMEs, then highlight main characteristics of small firms compared to large ones and the reasons why it is essential and efficient to use SCM practices. The article is based on secondary data, using several analysis, surveys, books, journals and my personal experiences collected in this sector. I conclude the research by summarizing my recommendations in connection with SCM practices, the opportunities and barriers.
JEL code: M11
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The effect of logistic controlling on business processes
107-111Views:131The increase in the significance of logistics can be attributed to two major reasons: the increasing cost sensitivity of companies and the necessity for the higher fulfilment of customer needs. Logistic controlling is a tool of management used to coordinate logistic activities and to reach logistic managerial decisions by providing information through the analysis of the system. The up-to-date and precise information that can be gained from the logistic controlling system helps the management in the preparation of decisions, and the adaptation to environmental conditions. With these activities, logistic controlling makes the enterprises more efficient and successful. Taking the above into consideration, I carried out a survey on why commercial entities decided on the introduction and application of a logistic controlling system, what conditions are necessary for the introduction of a logistic controlling system, and what experiences the users gained by the application. Positive effects of logistic controlling were proved on operations, and the introduction and application of logistic controlling were analysed.
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OPERATING RESULTS OF SILAGE ENTERPRISE OF A FARM - A CASE STUDY
Views:73Improvements 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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Communication of trainers as one of the means for customer retention in fitness clubs
35-40Views:328Acquiring the adequate communication style is a vital element in trainers’ profession. This research aims to reveal the effects generated via the communicative style by trainers of fitness club customers. It also intends to explore whether communication style has any relation to the regularity of class attendance as well as to the length of training periods which is conceptualised in this paper as trainers’ economic efficiency. Data collection was carried out by structured interviews in a country-side large sport centre. Trainers with at least three training sessions per week (N=20) and their groups (N=160) were interviewed using Rudas (1994) communication style survey and additional selfdeveloped interview protocols. The results revealed that the examined trainers were distributed in all four communications styles, but showing dominance in aggressive and passive styles. The classes of trainers with aggressive and assertive communication style were those that showed the highest and maintained attendance rates. It seems, that classes held by trainers who communicate in a deliberate way and convey positive messages are attended more and in a sustained way. Accordingly, their precisely set targets and explanation of training sessions content correlated with repeated attendance and customer retention. It seems that groups with extended scope of communication are characterised by stronger group cohesion where social relationships could develop easier, which have relations to perseverance and commitment. Therefore development of trainers’ communication skills may be considered as an effective tool for fitness clubs for customer retention.
JEL code: Z20
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The analysis of agro-economic effects of household food wastage through the example of bread
9-18Views:202In our busy world, where numerous people starve and where the resources are restricted, it is a key issue to pay particular attention to the topic of prevention and decrease of food loss as well as food wastage.Wastage of food produced and delivered to the end user (customer) is an issue arising globally and nationally as well, which results in efficiency loss at economic level in any case. While the FAO study mentions food waste of the order of 1.3 billion tonnes on a world scale, then the annual quantity of food waste in Hungary is estimated at about 1.8 million tonnes, which contains the waste of every member of the chain from production to consumption. On the basis of the data published by the Hungarian Food Bank (2015), the amount of food waste caused by the population is 400 000 tonnes. In compliance with our objectives, inputs – expressed by non-financial and financial indicators – emerge during production are assigned to the quantity of wasted food. Applying the aforementioned method we would like to make customers realize how many resources (land, water, artificial fertilizer, pesticide, seed and gasoil) are utilized needlessly in food verticum by the end products – at present by different breads they throw out. As our calculations prove by 10% waste of breads the utilization of 5 300 hectares of wheat land and 660 hectares of rye land can be considered unnecessary. By 10% waste of breads the financial value of the utilized resources is altogether 3.25 million EUR. Out of this the financial value of utilized artificial fertilizer is 1.10 million EUR (34%), of utilized pesticide is 1.15 million EUR (35%), of utilized gasoil is 0.70 million EUR (22%) and of utilized seed is 0.30 million EUR (9%). Among different breads, white bread is purchased in the greatest volume by the Hungarian households, from which 121 900 tonnes are bought annually on an average. This quantity is equal to almost the 40% of the annual bread sell. If 10% of purchased white bread is thrown out, it results in useless utilization of 2 676 hectares of wheat land in food verticum. The quantity of utilized water arising form wastage is 15.8 million m3. Further losses emerge as regards material inputs: artificial fertilizer- to the value of 0.50 million EUR, pesticide- to the value of 0.58 million EUR, seed to the value of 0.15 million EUR and gasoil-loss to the value of circa 0.35 million EUR. Totally, material input to the value of 1.58 million EUR is owing to the Hungarian households in case of 10% white bread wastage.
JEL code: Q53
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Vertical price transmission analysis: the case of milk in the Slovak dairy sector
89-96Views:168Testing for nature price transmission and calculating elasticities of price transmission are important areas of research for providing insights into market efficiency issues. Symmetric or asymmetric price transmission has been the subject of considerable attention in agricultural economics. The concept of the price transmission is an important area of the research particularly in relation to the assessment of impact on the welfare of the vertical entities. The main goal of the paper is an analysis of the price transmission and its exploitation in case of price elasticity estimation in dairy sector. Work investigates vertical price transmission of milk in the Slovak agri-food chain. The research is based on Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) of the selected commodities at producer, processor and consumer level and the estimation of the parameters specified in the model. Moreover the paper determines the coefficient of elasticity of price transmission (EPT).
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Water footprint in Hungary
83-91Views:173More and more news report on water-related extreme environmental phenomena. Some of these are natural, which are often beyond the human race. But others are definitely due to anthropogenic effects. I think the water footprint index is able to highlight national and international water-use processes and gives us the opportunity of organizing a sustainable, consumer-, environmental- and governancefriendly management. 81% of the fresh water withdrawal is from surface water bodies in the EU. In Europe as a whole, 44% of abstraction is used for energy production, 24% for agriculture, 21% for public water supply and 11% for industry. Public water supply is confined to ground waters. To the water resources related human activity caused qualitative and quantitative amortisation will grow worse in the foreseeable future due to the climate change. Beside seasonal differences the sectoral differences are increasingly becoming critical between different areas, such as Southern and Western Europe. The former, wrong agricultural support system has worsened the situation since it gave financial aid for the used improper techniques of water-intensive crop cultivation. By today, this seems to be solved. Public water abstraction is affected by many factors, of which mostly are based on social situation and habits, but technological leakage receives a big role as well. Interesting, that for example the residents’water consumption in Eastern Europe decreased because price were raised and regular measurements were introduced. But in Southern Europe it increased due to tourism in the past period. Industrial water withdrawal decreased across Europe because of the decline of industry and the development of technologies. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Union needs a sustainable, demand-driven leadership which focuses on the preservation and use efficiency. This have already appeared in politics and legal administration as well. Current research calls the attention to the significance and difficulties of this kind of domestic estimation presented trough the water footprint calculation of bread and pork in Hungary. The received data indicate the domestic water consumption trends in a modern approach. There is no doubt for me about the urgent necessity of water footprint calculation because as a result innovative, sustainability supported environmental, social, economical, and political relationships can be created – not just on local, regional or national level, but on interregional, European and even global stage.
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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:174Small 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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Energy alternatives in large-scale wastewater treatment
141-146Views:179In my article, after describing the characteristics of recent wastewater treatment activity, I introduce different traditional and innovative energetic opportunities of the compulsory waste management activities at large-scale operational level, covering national and international examples. Furthermore, the wastewater-based biomethane production and the certain plant’s energy self-sufficiency are highlighted topics as well. In the former case, it is possible to utilize the wastewater-based biomethane as fuel (and even to operate own vehicle fleet), while the second one gives the opportunity for the internal usage of produced electricity and waste heat, which can also result in significant cost-savings. As an additional option, algae-based wastewater post treatment is presented, based on the conditions of a Hungarian wastewater treatment plant, which biogas production efficiency and thus energy self-sufficiency has developed favourably due to the technological improvements. These plants may have a twofold role in the future: they are responsible for the compulsory waste management activity and on the other hand they can serve as excellent raw material mines.
JEL Code: Q25
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Agricultural outsourcing: A comparison between the Netherlands and Japan
29-33Views:338Outsourcing may well be a tool for increasing the efficiency of Japanese agriculture. However, outsourcing is not frequently used by Japanese farmers in their day-to-day management. This has resulted in a weakly developed market for agricultural contracting services. In order to take a closer look at the reasons for making use of outsourcing, a comparative study was carried out between the agricultural contracting sector in Japan and that in the Netherlands, where agricultural outsourcing is a regular practice. In the Netherlands, especially small, diversified farms that lack sufficient labour tend to outsource agricultural work; in Japan, the situation is far less clear. Cultural factors possibly play an important role.
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Effect of uncertainty on farmers decision making: Case of animal manure use
7-13Views:140Due to the high levels of manure application and the poor use efficiency of manure, the European agriculture is held responsible for a considerable negative impact on surface water quality (Langeveld et al., 2007). This problem has emerged particularly in Western-European countries such as the UK, Belgium, The Netherlands and Denmark, facing a large expansion and intensification process in the livestock production since the 1960s (Van der Straeten et al., 2008). Policy measures related to the application of manure on the land encompass two major measures: emission rights, understood as the amount of nutrients which can be applied on the land, differentiated by crop and the N spreading calendars, whereby the manure can only be applied when the crop needs nutrients. The fundamental aim of this pillar is to maximising application rate while avoiding overfertilisation. Maximizing the application rate is related to the economic sustainability of the agricultural sector, by altering the manure surplus, while avoiding overfertilisation is imperative in enhancing ecological sustainability, by preventing nitrate leaching to surface and soil waters. For nitrate policy to meet its target, the farmers should not exceed their emission rights, however make optimal use of their emission right for manure. Consequently, the successful implementation of sink-related measures will strongly depend of the absorptive capacity of farmers towards new ways of nutrient management in general and of animal manures in particular.
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