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  • Genetic-based personalized nutrition in Hungary – is there a viable business model?
    Views:
    735

    A move from population-based nutrition guidance toward personalized nutrition may offer a more effective strategy than before to improve dietary habits of citizens worldwide. However, a significant number of consumers are not willing to adopt the highest level of personalization, i.e., gene-based personalized nutrition. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is a viable business model for genetically based personalized nutrition services in Hungary, and what business model would promote a higher level of consumer acceptance of the new technology. As a first step, a systematic Internet search was conducted to gather personalized nutrition counselling services that meet four criteria: they are related to nutrition; show some level of personalization; offer a product or service; and use some kind of consumer information to personalize a product or service. The second step was an expert content analysis of the service providers’ websites to identify the nine elements of the Business Model Canvas, based in which business model archetypes were identified. We can conclude that the vast majority of services available in the Hungarian market are based on phenotypic information; gene-based personalized nutrition is only rarely found. Our results suggest that business models of the Hungarian market differ significantly from the models identified by previous research. Of the eight identified business model archetypes, the “All in one place” model would promote a higher level of consumer acceptance of nutrigenomics-based services.

    JEL code: I12, M31

     

  • Price risk management using by a specified futures model
    97-101
    Views:
    89

    The principal achievement of this paper is to introduce the operation of a specified ‘Futures’ model and it’s practice for decision makers of financial institutes through an example based on the price data’s of grain futures market from EU assessment 2004 to these days in Hungary. Based on a theoretical foundation, the calculation model was developed in order to assist short and long-term marketing decisions. The economical basis of the model is the combinative use of two market institutions: public warehousing and futures market. This electronically developed and working model ‘using excel background ‘allows all of the participants of the market: producers, consumers,banks and traders, to use this model in immediate calculations. In addition it helps in order to establish the own business strategy. The model can be used to analyze price influencing factors therefore; it can also be used for policy-making decisions for market participants as well as banks dealing with trade financing activity.

  • Examination of the organizational frameworks of sports enterprises in the light of good german practices
    41-46
    Views:
    110

    In Hungary, with respect to the organizational issues associated with sports, there has occurred the demand for clarifying structural forms. The domestic development of sports raises the question in which fields the association-based sports model can be sustained, and operated further, and where organizational structures aligned with business models are viable. This article has described an example from German professional football, i.e. given an overview of the operation of Borussia Dortmund as a potential form for the enterprise and organizational solution. The strength of the demonstrated model is that the pursuance of business activities that cannot be or can be just hardly handled in the environment offered by associations is transferred to a setting dominated by economic conditions, whereas self-regulating civil values are not lost either, because the association remains the “parent company”.

  • Factors affecting acceptance of smart retail solutions in Hungary: an empirical study using UTAUT2 model
    Views:
    264

    In today's digitalisation process, retail is also undergoing a transformation, with the emergence of new smart solutions. Integrating intelligent solutions into a business model means new strategic challenges for retailing companies. The aim of the research is to examine the factors influencing the behavioural intention and use behaviour of smart retail solutions (SRS). The proposed model was based on the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2). Data was collected by conducting a questionnaire of 302 Hungarian respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and partial least squares (PLS-SEM) estimation were implemented. The results showed that behavioural intention is significantly and positively influenced by effort expectancy and it is significantly and negatively influenced by facilitating conditions. Most of the respondents are not yet regular users of SRS, and the market penetration of front-end intelligent solutions in retail is considered as rather low.

    JEL code: M10, M31, O14

  • Economic analysis of some agrotechnical factors in maize production - a Hungarian case study
    5-16
    Views:
    382

    This 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

  • Economic effects of fairs – a complex approach
    21-25
    Views:
    118

    A complex economic evaluation of fairs / exhibitions can be considered as a novelty in the current literature. In this novel approach, each stakeholder group involved in a fair is evaluated in numerical terms, taking into account the specific cash inflow and outflow categories of that group. The net cash flow is considered as the economic value since it filters out the accumulations. Adding together all the categories, the so-called complex economic value and effectiveness is established regarding the fair surveyed. A numerical model entitled KAVA was developed in order to carry out the calculations for the complex economic effectiveness of the fair. A practical example of using the model is also shown in the paper.

  • Climate change impact on crop production in Central Asian Countries
    75-82
    Views:
    162

    Increased risk due to global warming has already become embedded in agricultural decision making in Central Asia and uncertainties are projected to increase even further. Agro-ecology and economies of Central Asia are heterogeneous and very little is known about the impact of climate change at the subnational levels. The bio-economic farm model is used for ex-ante assessment of climate change impacts at sub-national levels in Central Asia. The bio-economic farm model is calibrated to ten farming systems in Central Asia based on the household survey and crop growth experiment data. The production uncertainties and the adaptation options of agricultural producers to changing environments are considered paramount in the simulations. Very large differences in climate change impacts across the studied farming systems are found. The positive income gains in large-scale commercial farms in the northern regions of Kazakhstan and negative impact in small-scale farms in arid zones of Tajikistan are likely to happen. Producers in Kyrgyzstan may expect higher revenues but also higher income volatilities in the future. Agricultural producers in Uzbekistan may benefit in the near future but may lose their income in the distant future. The negative impacts could be further aggravated in arid zones of Central Asia if irrigation water availability decline due to climate change and water demand increase in upstream regions. The scenario simulations show that market liberalization and improved commodity exchange between the countries have very good potential to cope with the negative consequences of climate change.

    JEL classification: Q11, Q18

  • Arguments for the optimisation of using biomass for energy production
    103-108
    Views:
    116

    Using biomass to produce energy is not a new idea. In the past, the by-products of energy(?) production processes or naturally grown materials were mainly used for energy production. At the same time, during the production of biomass the conventional sources of energy are used (fuels, the embodied energy of which is used in the production of the biomass and equipment, etc.) which must be taken into account when determining the net energy production. This research aims to examine how to optimise the production and use of biomass energy and its supply chain in the energetic and economic criteria system, as well as how to impact upon the managing models of the processes to the energetic and economic parameters of the supply chain; we ask what criteria characterise the natural (environmental), economic and social sustainability, and how they can be implemented e.g. within the framework of an innovation cluster. This article describes a test model, and analyses the results of the model examinations and the conditions for compliance with sustainability criteria. Arguing the environmental, economic and social sustainability among the criteria of the model for evaluation is not possible at all times by means of direct indicators. The results of the research proved that only multi-criteria optimisation models serve a proper decision-making instrument for the evaluation of biomass utilisation for energy production.

  • Hungarian dairy and beef production sector technical efficiency comparsion using DEA
    131-138
    Views:
    182

    To 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

  • Changes in costs of precision nutrition depending on crop rotation
    59-63
    Views:
    121

    By applying precision nutrition the yield heterogeneity owing to the different features of soil spots can be taken into consideration. The planned and sprayed fertilizer adjusted to the expected yield rendered to soil spots can reduce the negative effects of artificial chemicals on soil and environment. The aim of this paper is to examine how the quantity and the cost of fertilizer (material and operational) will change on spot level on a certain plot during a five-year period, considering crop rotation, too. The following crops are in the rotation: winter wheat, corn and sunflower. Precision nutrition can be used in all the cultures mentioned above. Our earlier (static) model calculations have revealed that the threshold price of precision production was lower by 31% than in conventional technology. So it is necessary to explore for a longer period how the profitability of precision nutrition reacts to the changes in input and yield prices in different crops. The risk receptivity of precision nutrition can be characterized with the help of price sensitive analyses. Effects on profitability of other technological elements are not analysed in this paper.

  • Board diversity and firm value; mediating effect of CSR of listed oil firms in Nigeria
    Views:
    192

    In this empirical study, the mediating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the nexus between corporate value and board diversity is investigated. However, hypotheses developed for this study were tested with annualized panel dataset of eight (8) Nigerian listed oil and gas firms in the upstream sector spanning 2012 to 2019. Stakeholder theory was used to underpin the study. The study employed three indicators for board diversity (board professionalism, board nationality and board gender), Tobin’s Q and amount spent on CSR. The panel regression results show that looking at the indirect effect in Model One; board diversity has no significant effect on firm value. However, empirical findings indicated that CSR exerts a significant and positive relationship with corporate value. Considering Model Two, the results show that CSR plays a pertinent role in establishing the nexus between corporate value and board diversity, this finding is congruent with stakeholder theory. The study recommends that environmental sensitive firms should maintain an appropriate and balance diverse board as it plays a pertinent and significant role in establishing the nexus between stakeholder relationship and the firms, which can also serve as a mechanism to mitigate manager's opportunistic tendencies behind CSR investment.

    JEL code: L95, M14, M41

  • Impact of Terrorism on Agricultural Business in Borno State, Nigeria
    117-124
    Views:
    241

    This 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

  • L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele as a Case Study of Traditional Speciality Guaranteed and International Franchising
    17-23
    Views:
    389

    This work explores the case study of L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele as a best practice of traditional speciality guaranteed and international franchising. Besides being one of the most ancient and successful pizzerias in Naples, da Michele is renowned all over the world for the quality of its raw products, dough processing, and output. In the last years, da Michele also started pioneering the pizza production and commerce industry with an innovative franchising model and a new company appointed to managing this latter business. This work makes use of in-depth interviews and data collected on the field. For such scope, top managers and employees of both the local and the international companies were interviewed. The study finds that da Michele managed to become a benchmark for territorial food products and, more recently, for high-standard franchising, jumpstarting a successful brand-new company and food business project.

    JEL Classification: O13, Q13, Q16, Q1

  • THE EFFECT OF FARMER BUSINESS SCHOOL ON HOUSEHOLD WELFARE: EVIDENCE FROM COCOA FARMERS IN ATWIMA NWABIAGYA NORTH DISTRICT, GHANA
    Views:
    47

    Farmer Business School (FBS) is an educational programme aimed at improving the knowledge and skills of farmers in various aspects of agriculture, including financial management and marketing. The purpose of the paper is to examine the effect of FBS on household welfare among cocoa producers in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of Ghana.  Data was collected from a sample of 330 cocoa farmers, 200 of which participated in the FBS programme and 103 who did not. The study employed a range of statistical techniques to investigate the effect of FBS on cocoa growers, thus, independent samples t-test, binary probit model, Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance and perception index. The results of the study suggest that involvement in the FBS programme has a positive significant influence on household welfare. Cocoa farmers who participated in the programme experienced a significant increase in income and yield, as well as improved overall well-being against those who didn't take part. The research's findings offer evidence that FBS programmes can play a vital role in enhancing the welfare of farmers, particularly in developing nations where agricultural livelihoods play a crucial role in economic growth and poverty reduction. The study highlights the importance of investing in education and training programmes for farmers to improve their skills, knowledge, and overall well-being.

     

  • Investment analysis of a piglet producer farm – a Hungarian case study
    141-152
    Views:
    234

    The pig population in Hungary was about 8 million in 1990, while this number dropped to only 2.8 million by 2018. The previously so successful integrated domestic pig farming has almost completely disappeared and most of the smaller farms still operating in the 1990s are no longer functioning. At present, a process of concentration can be observed, which was accompanied by the further specialization of pig farming. The main profile of most pig farms is fattening, but there is a smaller number of farms in Hungary today specialized for piglet production, the successful operation of which requires significantly more expertise and more complex technology.

    The main aim of this study is to present the production and economic indicators of a pig farm specialized in piglet production in Hungary as a result of a greenfield investment in the current economic environment, on a case study basis. For this purpose, an economic simulation was prepared based on primary data collection, operating on a deterministic basis, modelling the production and economic processes of the farm. The performed calculation does not derive the economic indicators of the activity from accounting records, but assigns the prices of natural inputs used on the basis of technological data. Primary data and information collection (e.g. technological data, input and output prices, unit cost items, etc.) took place between 2018-2019.

    At the purchase prices of pigs in the last two years, which have increased significantly due to the African Swine Fever (ASF), the majority of pig farms in Hungary have an outstanding profit-making capacity. The physical efficiency indicators of the analysed pig farm are almost identical to the average data of such farms in the Netherlands, which has one of the most developed pig industry. The income of the examined pig farm at farm level is about 734 thousand EUR, i.e. 232 EUR per sow. Moreover, this activity is profitable even without subsidies. As a result, the greenfield investment pays off in the 8th year by default (average scenario). The investment has a Net Present Value (NPVr=3%) of EUR 2,609 thousand for 10 years, an Internal Rate of Return of 8.5%, and a Profitability Index (PIr=3%) of 1.3. At the same time, risk factors such as sales prices, output and capacity utilization, and feed costs should be taken into consideration as in extreme cases the return on investment may be unfavourable (pessimistic scenario).

    JEL code: D24, M11, Q12

  • Automated valuation model for livestock appraisal in loaning practice
    37-42
    Views:
    98

    Actualization of loan security (mortgage) value is of major importance in Hungarian loaning practice. Due to the recession in economics, the value of agricultural portfolio of banks has decreased a great deal, though not to such a great extent as other branches of the economy. Depreciation of estate stock is compensated with additional collateral security. Besides other stock, often temporarily and out of necessity, livestock is presented as additional collateral security. From the loaners’ point of view, however, the registered inventory value does not guarantee security. The authors have set up an appraisal method giving professional guidance through automated valuation as to how dairy stock can be used as mortgage for loan security. Hereby we are to present the details of both the theory and the methodology of a model that is appropriate for the valuation of dairy livestock on an MS Excel basis. Thus, the process is fast and has more prospects for all parties in the loaning or leasing business. The method involves the features of livestock technology, the expected realized profit, and breed stock value. By the implementation of this method, the loaners can calculate the value of loan recovery (loan to value) with acceptable security.

  • Touristic Motivation and Lifestyles of Hungarian Domestic Tourists Correlation Study
    47-54
    Views:
    180

    Motivations are closely interwoven with personality theories. According to researchers the object of motivation theory is primarily to describe what is common in people, whereas lifestyle theories highlight the individual differences among people. Tourism travel decisions constitute a special type of consumer decisions in which case the tourist has to make a choice among the personal tourism services on offer according to his/ her individual needs, but still as a segment specific product corresponding to common motivations. Consequently, certain elements of lifestyle and motivation theory appear in touristic decisions as well. Having perused the relevant trade literature, I came to the realisation that there have been very little research done in the area of travel motives in recent years. The examination of the correlation between motivation and lifestyle complemented with model application is a field belonging to applied marketing science which can be regarded as uncharted territory in tourism research. Domestic tourism accounts for a significant portion among the national income sectors. That is why it is of key importance to be aware of the correlation between the habits and needs of the local population and the factors influencing travel decisions. Applying the results of my research I endeavoured to define and model the lifestyle, needs and motivations of domestic tourists as the factors influencing their decisions. With the results of the investigation, I also wished to provide some guidelines for the creation of tourism supply in view of product development and communication.

    JEL Classification: Z32 tourism and development

  • Technical efficiency of dairy farms in rural Nigeria
    Views:
    118

    The study assessed the technical efficiency of Nigerian dairy farms. Information on 73 dairy farms was obtained from the General Household Survey (GHS Panel) for the year 2018-2019 wave, and the method of analysis employed include descriptive statistics and Data Envelopment Analysis Model. The findings show that not all the farms sampled are technically efficient, which means they can still utilize their input resources more effectively. The average level of technical efficiency of sampled farms was 83%; this suggests from the technical point of view that there exist an opportunity for expansion of milk production and revenue using the same level of inputs at present and putting to use effectively available technologies by 17%. Furthermore, results also show that farms that practice grazing systems, those located in the northern part of Nigeria and small farm sizes, have higher T.E. overall.

    JEL Classifications: Q12, Q1, R15

  • THE PLACE OF AMORTIZATION AMONG COSTS, AS WELL AS EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DEPRECATION CALCULATION METHODS ON MANAGEMENT FROM BUSINESS ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL VIEW OF POINT.
    Views:
    49

    In our article, we try to present the place of amortization (depreciation) among costs, based on several aspects. After that, we will present the different description methods based on their characteristics, giving priority to what their use means for the entrepreneur. We support this with the help of model calculations. We present what mean the amortization accounting methods assuming that management is without inflation or between inflationary conditions. Based on this, we try to formulate proposals on how state intervention how could help businesses in inflationary economic conditions beyond that it would be more permissive in the choice of description method. Following the business economics approach to the question, we will examine the effect of amortization on tax base and the income, taking into consideration financial and accounting aspects. Considering that the use of the fixed assets and thus the expected return period takes several years, we must attention to the careful planning of the amount of replacement costs. When determining the required capital value, we cannot ignore the time factor, the time value of money. The required value of capital accumulation supplementing amortization per period is determined using the annuity method.

  • Safety culture measurements results in the agricultural sector
    143-150
    Views:
    114

    The author examined the safety culture and in relation to that the safety and health-related human factors. The examination was conducted primarily in the agricultural sector. Safety culture is also a key factor in business life especially in productive sectors. Basically, it determines the general work safety and occupational hazard situations, which may have an impact on business, competitiveness, and efficiency, and also employee satisfaction.The concept of safety culture is new in the applied sciences. Scientific investigations of safety culture are diverse, varying by country, science background and economic sphere. The author has created a dimension-model, which organically reflects the relations of safety culture within an organization, projected mainly on conditions in Hungary. Some safety culture dimensions have been also examined on the basis of international safety culture research methodology. The author investigated some safety culture dimensions on the basis of international safety culture research methodology. This method is suitable to investigate the status of the relevant safety culture dimensions at agricultural organizations. It has possibilities, in the course of safety culture operationalization, to mark out dimensions which as elements of organization culture are suitable for denotation of safety culture. In this paper the author publishes some of his results about the examined 18 agricultural enterprises. The author used a self-made questionnaire for the interviews. In the questionnaire he used Likert-type scale to measure the qualitative elements of the dimensions.

  • An incubator model based on the territorial value chain
    43-47
    Views:
    149

    Policies to promote and encourage local foods may take many different shapes depending on both the specific targets and strategies. Some policies, especially at a local level, promote supply-chain vertical and horizontal integration as a comprehensive strategy which aims to help firms pursue several of the promoting policies. A business model that focuses its attention on the consumer of the product and territory can be a crucial driver in generating a ‘land fecundation’ as a response to globalization. The aim of the paper is to investigate the link between rural development and territorialisation, exploring the role of Local Action Groups Integrated Projects of Food Chain and Rural Development Programmes from 2007-2013 in a region in Southern Italy. The article makes use of a value chain approach, starting with Porter’s value chain model and five forces model of competition; it proposes a methodological framework for the development of an organisational model that includes and builds networks between the several stakeholders and local programmes, creating a shared strategy to revitalising the area and the food choices of its residents. This revitalising process takes place through the implementation of a multi-purpose incubator establishing strong partnerships that are able to foster complementarities among all rural stakeholders. Conclusions and implications for policy makers are drawn: a model of territorial organisation could link territorial capital and local stakeholders, and therefore the programming carried out under the entire RDP.

  • Structural Breaks or Continuous Adjustments in Grain Production and Prices 1961-2014? An Explorative Study
    11-22
    Views:
    115

    This article analyses grain production and prices 1961-2014. We first describe the development in aggregated and relative allocation of land worldwide for wheat, corn and soybeans, and the growth in production volumes and yields. We then proceed by analyzing long-term price relationships. Finding that grain prices are strongly co-integrated, we estimate an Error Correction Model to see whether deviations from the long-run equilibrium are quickly adjusted. Furthermore, we investigate whether changes in land allocations for these principal field crops are best described as a continuous process or as a series of structural breaks, hypothesizing that events like the introduction of GM technologies and the “energizing” of corn after 2005 caused structural breaks in acreage shares and relative prices. Given the major and sometimes dramatic political events and technological changes during this period,one would expect to find significant structural breaks in grain production, yields and prices. However, our main conclusion is that grain markets generally adjust smoothly and continuously. Prices adjust quickly towards long-run equilibrium, and the results from a series of Chow tests indicate that the changes in relative land allocations have progressed as a relatively smooth process with few structural breaks.

    JEL Classification: O13, Q10, N50

  • Analysis of household crop commercialization in Nigeria
    Views:
    261

    Nigeria 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

  • Evaluation of crop and irrigation water requirements for some selected crops in Apulia region -Southern Italy
    39-50
    Views:
    531

    Nowadays, nearly 90% of global water consumption is caused by irrigation activities, and more than 40% of the crops are produced under irrigated conditions. This study is an endeavour to estimate the irrigation water requirement (IWR) and crop water requirement (CWR) for some selected crops (Pepper, Eggplant, Potato, Soybean, Maize, Wheat Melon, Lettuce, Sunflower, Broadbean, Citrus, Cherry, Olive tree, Sugarbeet, Artichoke, Wine Grapes, Carrot...etc.) in Sothern Italy. The selected districts (Sant’ Arcangelo) have been taken as a case study area. Demanded meteorologically (rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind speed, sunshine hours) and crop data (crop coefficient and crop calendar) have been collected for 30 years period from 1981 to 2011. FAO CROPWATv8.0 software has been applied for requisite calculation of CWR and IWR along with the developing of cropping patterns. The FAO Penman-Monteith equation is used for estimating the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) by using meteorological data in the framework of CROPWAT model as it regarded as a good evaluator for a wide variety of climatic conditions. The analysis indicates that FAO Penman-Monteith suits very well for the study area and can be successfully used for the estimation of reference evapotranspiration. The important results in this study indicate that the IWR is very low from November to April (wintertime) due to higher rainfall intensity in these months and from month May to October a considerable amount of water is required for irrigation.

    JEL Classification: Q25, Q24,Q10

  • Determinants of job satisfaction amongst employees in the poultry sub-sector of Ghana: a test of equity theory
    97-104
    Views:
    375

    The study investigated the factors affecting job satisfaction amongst workers of the poultry sub-sector: a test of equity theory in the Dormaa Municipality in the Bono Region of Ghana. The multistage sampling technique was employed in collecting data from 100 poultry workers with the aid of a structured questionnaire. The logit model was employed in modeling the factors affecting job satisfaction. The empirical findings reveal that occupational level, pay, and relationships with co-workers were the statistically significant determinants of job satisfaction. Moreover, the study found that based on equity theory if poultry workers are satisfied with their pay, they would want to stay longer compared to referent others who are not satisfied. Benevolent poultry workers were dominant (52%), followed by equity sensitive (28%) and entitled (20%) poultry workers. Moving forward, the relevance of equity theory on workers in the cocoa value chain should also be investigated as cocoa remains a staple crop in Ghana.

    JEL Code: Q10

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