Tesis: "Smallholder farmer"

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Mbwika, James M. "Kenya smallholder farmer education and farm productivity". Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/29578.

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This research was undertaken to study the effect of education on small farm revenues and profits in Kenya. Schooling (defined as the number of school standards completed by the farm operator) was used as the most important source of education. It was hypothesized that schooling has a positive effect on farm revenues and profits. The effect of other sources of information viz; extension contact, demonstration attendance and baraza attendance on farm revenues and profits were also investigated. The research was done using regression analysis where these variables and other farm activity relevant variables were fitted in regression equations. The choice of these variables were based on economic theory, Kenya small farm characteristics and the objective of the study. Several factors would qualify as supporting evidence for the argument that educated farmers are more productive. We expect educated farmers to be more informed in terms of use of new production technologies. Education as a source of human capital also enhances the productive abilities of human beings and also enables those who have invested in education to use their resources more efficiently as well as adjusting to new "ways of producing more efficiently". In the current study we find that schooling of the farm operator is positively related to level of expenditure on farm purchased variable inputs. This indicates that education enhances adoption of new technologies and innovativeness. Further it was shown that farmers with more education earned more value added per acre from their farm business compared to their less educated counterparts. On the overall farm activity, farmers with eight or more standards of schooling earned upto 80.2% in value added per acre compared to those who had no schooling. The regression estimates were done on a stepwise procedure where farm specific enterprises were estimated separately and then aggregated and estimated as one farm sector. Thus a crop equation, a livestock equation and a total farm output equation were estimated. This model was then developed into a variable profit function. A simple linear function procedure was used in the regression analysis. In all the estimated value added equations the schooling coefficient was positive and significant at 5% level two tail t-test. As we move from farm specific activities to a farm aggregate output model and lastly to value added model the schooling coefficient increased in size confirming the positive role of education in allocative effect. These results show that schooling plays an important role in allocation of other purchased inputs and also choice of crop mix and input selection. The estimated marginal return to schooling of farm operator in the profit function was Kshs.281. In an earlier function where schooling of the farm operator was fitted into a total farm income equation the estimated marginal return to schooling was Kshs.778.89. When schooling of the farm operator is allowed to interact with extension service the estimated interaction variable coefficient is negative showing the two act as substitute sources of knowledge, and the schooling coefficient increased in size showing that those who had both schooling and extension service earned comparatively more farm revenues. The role of other educative factors like extension service, demonstration attendance, and baraza attendance in influencing agricultural production was investigated. Regression results showed that extension contact had a negative and significant effect on farm revenues and profits. Demonstration and baraza attendance had similar effects on farm revenues and profits. In the value added function hired labour variable was fitted as the cost of hired labour per day. The estimated coefficient for this variable was positive and significant at 5%. The estimated coefficient for this variable shows hired labour is not optimally used, and farmers can increase their farm profits by hiring more labour. When this variable was fitted as the wage rate paid to hired labour per day the estimated coefficient was positive and significant. These results indicate that cost of hired labour depends on its quality. In the sales function hired labour was specified as mandays of hired labour per year and the estimated coefficient which reflects the shadow price of labour was higher than average hired labour wage rate implying that this factor is underemployed. In the sales function the estimated coefficient for the value of purchased inputs variable indicates that there is an element of underutilization of these inputs. This variable is fitted in value terms and in profit maximizing conditions the estimated coefficient is expected to be no different from unit. However, the estimated coefficient for this variable is approximately 2.5 showing a shilling spent on purchased inputs will bring forth 2.5 shillings. Thus an increase in the use of purchased inputs will increase farm revenues. Results show evidence of regional differences in farmer productivity and utilization of purchased inputs in favour of Central province. The study is based on the 1982 CBS-IDS-World Bank Household Survey of Rural Kenya data set.
Land and Food Systems, Faculty of
Graduate

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2

Kaberia, Bonface Kangentu. "Comparative study of roles of knowledge repositories in farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange among smallholder dairy goat farmers in Kenya". Thesis, University of Reading, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494807.

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This study looks at the ongoing exchange of information among dairy goat keeping communities in Kenya. Its aim is to understand the mechanism of communications between farmers and to consider how this mechanism could be used to scale up development initiatives in order to create maximum impact among poor farmers. The field study was carried out in Meru Central and South districts in Kenya between September 2005-August 2006. Based on the research questions, it employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (for purpose of triangulation) using Focus Group Discussions (n=16), structured questionnaire interviews (n=144) and Repertory Grid interviews (n=124) to obtain data on information exchange processes among rural dairy goat farmers. The study provides and tests a conceptual and methodological framework for eliciting and studying features of the ongoing information exchange. A similar framework can also be used in evaluating the effectiveness of farmer-to-farmer extension communications in rural development.

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3

Pay, Kenneth(Wen Hong Kenneeth). "The effect of cash constraints on smallholder farmer revenue". Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/128974.

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Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computation for Design and Optimization Program, 2020
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 77-79).
Many smallholder farmers in developing countries struggle to make ends meet. We develop a model that examines how markets catering to numerous smallholder farmers reach an equilibrium, while incorporating real world challenges that smallholder farmers face, namely a lack of long term planning and cash constraints. Through this, we analyze the effectiveness of two common forms of government intervention, storage and loan provision. We fully characterize market equilibrium conditions under the base scenario of no government intervention, analyzing how price conditions, number of farmers, and severity of cash constraints impact farmer behaviour. We then illustrate how these results change when storage and loans are integrated into the model. The analysis demonstrates that myopic optimization and cash constraints induce farmers to make sub-optimal decisions, resulting in farmers not receiving the full benefit of government interventions. We show that while storage is always useful in situations where farmers have excess quantity, providing overly generous loan terms can negatively impact farmer revenue by disincentivizing farmers from selling their produce on the market. We also show that attempting to improve equality by alleviating farmer cash constraints can result in negative externalities like increased wastage. Empirical analysis with Bengal gram farmers in India shows that farmers are in dire need of government assistance to meet their cash constraints. However, improving loan terms only boosts farmer revenue up to a point, after which revenue declines. The analysis shows that while loan schemes are widely popular and sometimes necessary in aiding struggling farmers, governments should be aware that the strategic response of different farmers can result in adverse effects.
by Kenneth Pay.
S.M.
S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computation for Design and Optimization Program

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4

Ngcobo, Phumelele Nondumiso. "Implementation Evaluation Of The Smallholder Farmer Support Programme And Its Likelihood Of Increasing Farm Productivity: A Case Of “Abalimi Phambili Project”, Jozini, Kwazulu-Natal". Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30870.

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Farmer support programmes are aimed at assisting in unlocking barriers faced by smallholder farmers. These programmes were implemented many years ago by the public and private sector. However, research continues to show that the increase in the number of these initiatives and in budgets/expenditures have not equally translated into an increase in the number of smallholder farmers advancing to commercial status. Therefore, this evaluation research is focused on assessing the implementation progress of a farmer support programme being implemented in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal. The aim is to assess whether or not the programme is implemented according to the theory of change and to assess the likelihood of the programme achieving its intended outcomes. Both the quantitative and qualitative approaches were applied to collect and analyse data. Quantitative data was made up of project data and qualitative data was obtained through conducting in-depth interviews with farmers currently participating in the programme. Findings from this paper are expected to add to the existing body of knowledge in terms of strengthening and improving the design of farmer support programmes; to emphasise the importance of conducting implementation evaluations to assess programme performance early in implementation; to better understand what is working or not during implementation; and to understand why this is so.

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5

Murwisi, Kurauone. "The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain". Diss., University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/45898.

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Smallholder farmers across the developing world are continuously faced with a challenge of failing to access financial services from formal financial institutions mainly due to the high levels of transaction costs associated with small farmer financing. Against this background, this study set out to investigate the potential for incorporating branchless banking services into smallholder farmer value chains as a means to reduce transaction costs along smallholder farmer value chains and to enhance access to finance for smallholder farmers. While this study acknowledges that assessing the potential for successful development of branchless banking services requires an analysis of demand and supply side factors, this study was however limited to the demand side of branchless banking development. The study’s main focus was on investigating whether key demand factors that are requisite for branchless banking services deployment in smallholder farmer value chains are in currently in place. The general arguments were that there is a strong potential for introducing branchless banking services in the smallholder farmer value chain if firstly, there are transaction points along the value chain where branchless banking services can be used to drive financial transactions. Secondly, there should be a ready-to-adopt smallholder farmer market with a willingness and existing physical and technical capacity to adopt branchless banking services. Thirdly, the business environment existing in terms of the branchless banking regulatory framework and rural retail infrastructure should be supportive of branchless banking development. The study was carried out in the Gokwe farming district of Zimbabwe where a total of 80 randomly sampled smallholder cotton farmers drawn from a relatively homogenous population group, comprising of both contracted and non-contracted farmers, were selected and interviewed as units of the study. Data collection made use of both primary and secondary techniques. Structured interviews with smallholder farmers and semi structured interviews with various value chain stakeholders in the cotton industry contributed towards the primary data. Various government, as well as private company documents and academic publications provided secondary information that was used in the study. The analytical framework of the study made use of three techniques namely the value chain analysis framework, the transaction costs economics framework and descriptive analysis. The results provided by the analysis indicated that there is a strong potential for branchless banking services within the smallholder cotton value chain. The results showed that there are various transaction points along the smallholder cotton chain where branchless banking services can be used to drive financial transactions particularly where transactions are currently conducted on a cash basis. Smallholder farmers from the study were found to have a positive willingness to adopt branchless banking services as well as the technical and physical capacity to adopt branchless banking services. The regulatory environment and rural retail infrastructure was also found to be supportive in creating an enabling environment for branchless banking development.
Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
tm2015
Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
MScAgric
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Gotschi, Elisabeth. "Social capital and the smallholder sector analysis of farmer groups in Búzi District, Mozambique". Weikersheim Margraf, 2006. http://d-nb.info/988276364/04.

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Hancock, Adam David. "Effects of credit and credit access on smallholder maize farmer storage behavior in northern Ghana". Thesis, Kansas State University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/20552.

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Master of Science
Department of Agricultural Economics
Vincent Amanor-Boadu
Food insecurity affects 16 percent of the population in northern Ghana, making food security a major focus for many of the development programs in the country. A major initiative to overcome food insecurity may involve the development of effective storage systems to help farmers control the flow of their production to markets and, thus, have higher control over the price they receive. While the poor storage infrastructure in the region is known, there is lack of knowledge about the factors motivating farmers to utilize storage in spite of these conditions. The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding about storage behavior of smallholder maize farmers in northern Ghana. A review of the literature indicates credit plays a large role in storage behavior. The purpose of this thesis is to bridge the gap between literature on storage as a bank, and on storage as a way to ensure food security. Specific objectives include: i) estimating formal and informal credit’s effects on storage behavior of smallholder maize growers, and ii) examining the effect of credit at various levels of storage. This analysis is based on data collected on 527 farmers in Ghana’s four northernmost regions obtained from an agricultural production survey conducted in 2013 and 2014 by USAID-METSS – a project funded by the Economic Growth Office of the USAID mission in Ghana. Ordinary Least Squares modeling was employed to determine the marginal effects of formal and informal credit on storage. Additionally, quantile regression modeling estimated the marginal effects at different levels of storage, including the median. The results indicate that formal credit and on-farm storage had statistically significant negative effects on maize storage at both the mean and median, but only farm output proved to be statistically significant at different levels across the storage distribution. On-farm storage had a statistically significant negative effect on storage when compared to storing off-farm at facilities like local store rooms. Carryover storage from the previous year tested to have statistically significant negative effects on storage. Under the conceptual framework utilized for this study, the results suggest that using formal credit increases a household’s food security.

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8

Mabeza, Christopher Munyaradzi. "Marrying water and soil: adaptation to climate by a smallholder farmer in Zvishavane, rural Zimbabwe". Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20688.

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This thesis is a qualitative ethnographic study of innovations implemented by Mr Zephaniah Phiri Maseko, a smallholder farmer from Zvishavane, rural Zimbabwe. Ethnographic data provides insight and lessons of his practices for rethinking existing strategies for adaptation to climate change. The concept of adaptation is probed i n relationship to the closely related concepts of vulnerability, resilience and innovation. This study also explores the concept of conviviality and argues that Mr Phiri Maseko's adaptation to climate hinges on mediating barriers between local and exogenous knowledge systems. Ethnographic fieldwork aided by an analytical framework of resilience makes clear that his farming practices are informed by a realisation that dualisms are problematic. His innovations are a way of building resilience to climate change and his practices demonstrate the interdependencies in a socio - ecological system. This study argues that innovations by smallholders play a complementary role to interventions by outsiders in the discourse of adaptation to climate in the drylands of southern Zimbabwe. Mr Phiri Maseko harvested water as a way of adapting to climate variability. I argue that he offered tangible adaptive climate strategies through his innovations that "marry water and soil so that it won't elope and run - off but raise a family" on his plot. His agricultural practices are anchored on the Shona concept of hurudza (an exceptionally productive farmer). This thesis explores the concept and practices of uhurudza , to suggest that the latter - day hurudza (commercial farmer) as embodied by Mr Phiri Maseko offered an important set of resources for the development of climate adaptation strategies in the region. Therefore, his activities call for a revisit of the notion of hurudza based on grain harvested, one that includes consistent income generated from selling farm produce. His innovations demonstrate elements of conviviality, resilience, accommodating local knowledge as well as ideas he learnt from various educational institutions in order to adapt to climate variability. This thesis explores the usefulness of Mr Phiri Maseko's innovations for other smallholder farmers in the Zvishavane area who have replicated it. I demonstrate that due to the success of his innovations, uptake has been high underpinning the fact that these smallholders appear to be managing to adapt to climate variability. This ethnographic study of smallholder farmers' adoption of innovations to climate highlights the "complex interplay" of multiple factors that act as barriers to uptake. Such interplay of multiple stressors increases the vulnerability of smallholders. I conclude by arguing that in as much as the skewed colonial land policy impoverished the smallholder farmers, Mr Phiri Maseko nonetheless redefined himself as a latter - day hurudza and thus breaks free from the poverty cycle by 'conjuring ingenious' ways of reducing vulnerability to climate. I do not suggest that his innovations offer a 'silver bullet' solution to the insecure rural livelihoods of smallholder farmers; nevertheless, they are a source of hope in an environment of uncertainty.

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9

Jorns, Austin R. "Smallholder farmers’ perceptions toward solar renewable energy technology on the island of Trinidad". The Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1587714750296474.

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Shayamano, Innocent. "Trajectory from government-managed to farmer-managed smallholder irrigation and its effects on productivity, operation and maintenance: An analysis of Mamina Smallholder Irrigation Scheme in Zimbabwe". Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6189.

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Magister Philosophiae - MPhil (LAS) (Land and Agrarian Studies)
Government's decision to devolve irrigation management to farmers was partly influenced by international policy imperatives, which were propounded mainly by institutions associated with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the inability by the government to continue funding operation and maintenance costs. The central question of the study is to understand the effects of Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) on productivity, operation and maintenance in the Mamina Irrigation Scheme. Interviews with various primary and secondary stakeholders that included the irrigators, local political leadership and locally-based agriculture extension officers were carried out. The interviews were aimed at getting an insight on land tenure, participation and representation of women, water and electricity supply system and pricing, effects of irrigation management arrangements on equity and productivity, understanding the irrigators' food security status, operation and maintenance arrangement after Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT). Findings of this study suggest that the existing governance arrangements have partly led to low crop productivity, increased water and electricity bill arrears, poor water distribution, change to uneconomic plot sizes, unsustainable increase in the number of irrigators, failure to organise for operation and maintenance. The key factors influencing the poor performance include poor collaboration, pumping system that utilised more electricity, inability of the irrigators to replace leaky pipes, failure of the irrigators to contribute towards electricity and water bills, failure of the irrigators to contribute towards operation and maintenance. The study identified nine challenges that affected the success of IMT. The challenges that lay at the heart of Mamina irrigation scheme were mainly caused by the poor irrigation technology design, pricing structure of electricity, water permit system, inequalities in water distribution, low gender participation and representation, non-availability of formal markets for certain crops, food insecurity, plot alloction and land disputes. Poverty analysis has shown that the irrigators' ability to escape from poverty or food insecurity is critically dependent upon their access to assets. Different assets are required to achieve different livelihood outcomes. The cycle of accumulation of utility bill arrears continued even after devolution because the same defective irrigation infrastructure was transferred to the irrigators. In the case of Mamina irrigation scheme, modernisation of the scheme was required to achieve different livelihood outcomes, but because this did not happen the recurrent utility bill arrears, low productivity and food insecurity continued to be a very serious challenge even after IMT.

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11

Senevirathna, A. M. W. K. "The influence of farmer knowledge, shade and planting density on smallholder rubber/banana intercropping in Sri Lanka". Thesis, Bangor University, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.368962.

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Bailey, Meghan. "Unequal adaptation : socially differentiated responses to environmental change and food insecurity among smallholder farmers". Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:48688400-1c0f-4195-b9fd-38f214297d1f.

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Achieving food security in a changing climate is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. For subsistence-oriented farming families who experience firsthand pressures on their food system - population growth, environmental degradation and climate change, to name only a few - adaptation has become an urgent necessity. The ability to 'adapt and benefit' through a suite of climate change adaptation interventions that build adaptive capacity is touted by many humanitarian and development institutions as integral to food security today. However, adapting and benefiting is often a far reach for many smallholder farming families, who more commonly manage multiple interdependent stressors through a mix of adaptive actions and negative coping strategies. The relative benefit of this mix of adaptive and coping strategies is socially differentiated, varying by location and both between and within households. This combination of strategies, or the variety of options to enact livelihood outcomes, is framed as a response space. This thesis explores the impact of social differentiation on the adaptive capacity of subsistence-oriented farming families experiencing food insecurity and environmental change. Using a case study of two villages in the Upper West region of Ghana, it investigates how adaptive capacity and response spaces differ based on points of social differentiation; the drivers that limit or exacerbate adaptive capacity and response spaces; and the implications of these responses for humanitarian, development, and government programmes that aim to support these populations. These questions are approached using mixed methods (embedded direct observation, the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index household and individual survey, participatory action research exercises, child growth and hospital admissions records, focus groups, and key informant interviews) and a unique conceptual framework which draws heavily from systems thinking, feminist research theory, Sen's capabilities approach and grounded theory. I followed context-specific local drivers to deeply examine the familial and cultural political lives of households to better understand the interdependent nature of empowerment within the household, the distribution of scarce food, control over livelihoods and income, the management of poverty-induced stress, and the risk these drivers pose to public health. Out of this research, a multi-level vulnerability landscape surfaced, characterized by a food system on the margins and unequal adaptation within the case study population. The research led to the following insights: farmers experience multiple disadvantages being located in the Upper West of Ghana as compared to southern regions, and are underserved by multiple governmental and NGO institutions; farmers in turn experience heterogeneous vulnerability and access to response spaces at the community level, which are deeply entrenched in social norms that favour adult male bodies, male spaces, and male-typical productive roles; and, at the same time, there are individuals and families that stand outside these trends and are able to adapt and benefit, which highlights the need for an intersectional approach when examining the household and sub-household context. The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals include a pledge to âleave no one behind' in the pursuit to 'free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet'. Understanding the differing vulnerability of subsistence-oriented smallholder farming populations, as well as the ways their response spaces and adaptive capacity have been differently shaped, will be important for the program design and targeting strategies of interventions to achieve this goal. This thesis aims to contribute to this enormous task.

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13

Yokwe, Stanley Conficious Bartholomew. "Investigation of the economics of water as used by smallholder irrigation farmers in South Africa". Diss., University of Pretoria, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/26912.

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This study investigates the economics of water as used by smallholder irrigation farmers in South Africa. The productivity and value of water were estimated with data from two smallholder irrigation schemes: Zanyokwe and Thabina. Production parameters such as fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, equipment, transport, labour, and water were treated as inputs. Various methodologies used to estimate water value, including cost-based approaches, were thoroughly reviewed. The aim was to select the ones with more justification for use in smallholder irrigation sector and also to compare a number of approaches. On a case study basis, three methods were applied: residual valuation method, willingness to pay and cost-based approaches (i.e. accounting costs of O&M). Water productivity and values were then evaluated as per crop, farmer, and scheme. Also, cross-section regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of some key socio-economic factors of production on gross margin and willingness to pay. The results indicated that on average, the value of water varies according to methods, crops, farmers and schemes. In the Zanyokwe scheme, water value estimated by the residual method in cabbage is higher (R1.64 per m3) than the one in dry maize (R0.35 per m3), if intensive and high yield irrigated crops are grown per year. Also, in Thabina, water value for cabbage (R1.14 per m3) outperforms water value for dry maize (R0.02 per m3. This means that there is greater potential in vegetable crops than food grain crops, although the two schemes have different irrigation systems, and such analysis is based on one-year data, which may lack accuracy. Low water valuation is ascribed to low yield and extensive cropping systems, because gross margin per hectare is very low. This signifies the need for expansion in high value crops rather than low value crops. At farm and scheme level, the results were derived by using the Smile database and simulated platform. The Smile platform is a data capturing and a calculation tool. It calculates a number of indicators, economic figures, at scheme and individual farm level, allowing for evaluation of the current situation. The results suggested that at present, the Zanyokwe scheme requires about 1 739 255 m3 of irrigation water per year. The total operational costs (accounting costs of O&M) are about R146 097.42. In other words, supplying 1 m3at farm level will cost R0.084. This implies that if irrigation charges are levied so as to cover O&M costs of the Zanyokwe scheme, the current costs (R0.084) will form only 23% of the average gross margin of R0.37 per m3 used at scheme level. Furthermore, in the Zanyokwe irrigation scheme, the results revealed that the most active and efficient farmers (specialized farmers) can make an average gross margin of R4 105 per ha per year, also achieving the highest water productivity R0.69 in gross margin per m3 consumed. However, in the Thabina scheme, the results indicated that, to supply 1 m3will cost R0.062. Thus, the current water supply costs cover about 56 % of what is earned (i.e. R0.11 per m3 used) at scheme level. Again, the most active farmers (commercially oriented pensioners) are more efficient, with average gross margin of R3 092 per ha per year, also achieving the highest water productivity (R0.53 in gross margin per m3 used). These results suggested that certain smallholder farming systems seem capable of paying for irrigation charges of their respective schemes if they are obliged to do so. As far as willingness to pay (WTP) and cost-based approaches (CBA) are concerned, the results clearly show that the active farmers in the Zanyokwe scheme have lower WTP per m3 (R0.03) than the GM of output (R0.69) per m3 of water used. Also, the accounting cost (R0.084 per m3 of water used) is lower than the GM gained. However, in the Thabina scheme, the situation is quite different. The active farmers are willing to pay R0.19 per m3 of water used. This implies that, if farmers are to pay for the charges in order to cover O&M costs, the farmers in Thabina are ready to pay as much as three times the proposed costs of O&M (R0.062 per m3 of water used), although both the WTP and the accounting cost are lower than GM gained. In these results, it is significant that both the accounting cost and the willingness to pay are lower than the GM per m3 of water used at least in the Zanyokwe scheme. Even though the data were drawn from a sample for one year only, this finding on the perception of farmers has implications for extension and training to improve future productive use. Regarding the findings from cross-section regression analysis, the results for GM (as dependent variable) in general indicated that in the Zanyokwe scheme, only credit affects output positively and significantly. Production costs have significant effect on output, but with a negative correlation. It is striking that all the other factors of production including hired labour show negative and insignificant effects on output. In the Thabina scheme, the most important factors of production in the model are land size (hectare) and production costs (Rand per ha). These two variables influence output positively and significantly. As far as WTP (as dependent variable) is concerned, the results indicated that in the Zanyokwe scheme, it is striking that in all the investigated factors, only credit affects WTP positively and significantly. All other factors are insignificant. Also, gross margin of output per m3, unexpectedly, has displayed a negative and insignificant effect on output. In the Thabina scheme, the results show that the land size per hectare, and gross margin of output per m3 affect WTP positively and significantly. Such results are consistent with the assumptions made in the conceptual framework that a farmer with high gross margin gained at farm level is more likely to pay for water costs than those with poor gross margin. On the basis of these findings, the following recommendations were formulated. Specific policies should include promotion of high value crops and improved varieties of seed for food grain crops (e.g. maize) and vegetables (e.g. cabbage). While improved agronomic practices remain important, there is also potential to increase productivity and profitability of the crops by improving water management practices at the canal-system level, such as better timing of water delivery and increased overall canal-water supplies at the farm level. Finally, from a cost recovery point of view, government should develop a program of cost sharing for capital costs of irrigation development. With regard to inter-sectoral competition, these results highlight that, if inter-sectoral competition is left to uncontrolled market forces may result in smallholder farmers' selling their water rights to sectors which value water at higher levels. To avoid a “liberal trap” such as in the example of Chile (where smallholder farmers "en masse" sold their water rights, resulting ultimately in deeper rural poverty), some form of control/management of water rights transaction involving smallholder farmers is necessary. Finally, the findings of this study can be used in various ways. Since, these values determine the farmer’s ability to pay for water now or in the future, the incentive to use water judiciously will be governed by these values. Secondly, the results can be used to evaluate whether the costs estimated and gross margin per m3 gained at farm level, are in line with the farmers’ willingness to pay. Further work is recommended to clarify these conclusions and provide more policy clarification on the better use of water by smallholder irrigation farmers in South Africa.
Dissertation (MInst.Agrar)--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
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Rahman, Syed Ajijur. "Incorporation of trees in smallholder land use systems : farm characteristics, rates of return and policy issues influencing farmer adoption". Thesis, Bangor University, 2017. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/incorporation-of-trees-in-smallholder-land-use-systems-farm-characteristics-rates-of-return-and-policy-issues-influencing-farmer-adoption(7004faf7-6ba5-45a0-903f-3cb21f6dec7c).html.

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One of the main causes of tropical deforestation is conversion to agriculture, which is continuously increasing as a dominant land cover in the tropics. The loss of forests greatly affects biodiversity and ecosystem services. Tree-based farming, in a range of agroforestry systems, has been proposed as a mechanism for sustaining both biodiversity and its associated ecosystem services in agricultural areas, by increasing tree cover, while maintaining agricultural production. The main aim of this thesis is to assess the rate of return resulting from incorporating trees into food-crop-based smallholder agricultural systems, in order to assess the economic potential of agroforestry systems that may also help protect local forest, the barriers to their widespread adoption, and how the landscape approaches (land sharing and land sparing) work best in the study sites in eastern Bangladesh and West Java, Indonesia. The four papers included in the thesis specifically address the following issues. 1. The types of agroforestry practiced, in order to characterize their differences in basic structure, management and associated crop plant diversity, and the problem of classifying them into a specific land-use category (i.e. agriculture or forestry). 2. The economic and social potential of agroforestry systems and the barriers to their widespread adoption, as a land use alternative to swidden cultivation, which may potentially help protect local forest. 3. The trade-offs between income and tree cover when incorporating trees into food-crop-based smallholder agricultural systems, and the associated factors that influence farmers’ choice of tree-based farming in place of seasonal cultivation. 4. The major challenges facing farmers using current local land-use systems, the conditions and policy context that could facilitate smallholder tree farming, and how landscape-scale approaches work best in a local perspective to reconcile agricultural and environmental goals. Data were collected through rapid rural appraisals, focus group discussions, field observations, semi-structured interviews of farm households and key informant interviews of state agricultural officers. Data have been analysed through narrative qualitative methods, and through quantitative methods such as descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and cost-benefit analysis. x Five main agroforestry systems (homegarden, fruit tree, timber tree, mixed fruit-timber, and cropping in the forest understory) exist in the Java study area, and can be categorized into two main types, i) integral, rotational and ii) integral, permanent, both of which exhibit a noticeable diversity in terms of both species composition and utilization. In both Java and Bangladesh the inclusion of tree crops in seasonal agriculture improved the systems’ overall economic performance (NPV), even when it reduced understorey crop production. In the Java study area, tree ownership was associated with more permanent rights to farmland and was prestigious in the community, which also helped strengthen social cohesion when the products (fruit, vegetables, etc.) were shared with neighbours. In the Java study area, agroforestry farmers were less involved in forest clearing and forest product collection indicating that agroforestry may contribute positively to reduce pressure on local forests. However, seasonal agriculture (food-crop-based monoculture agriculture in Java, and swidden in Bangladesh) has a higher income per unit of land area used for crop cultivation compared with the tree establishment and development phase of agroforestry systems. There is thus a trade-off between short-term loss of agricultural income and longer-term economic gain from planting trees in farmland. However, constraints of local food crop cultivation traditions, insecure land tenure, insufficient investment capital, lack of knowledge, lack of technical assistance, and perceived risk of investing in land due to local conflict (in Bangladesh) limit farmers’ willingness to adopt this land use alternative. Various conditions can facilitate tree farming, including a carefully designed landscape approach, with the elements of both segregation and integration of land uses, supported by competent government policies and local communities having sufficiently high social capital. In land-use classifications agroforestry systems are not recognized as forestry, but like forests they provide tree products and services. Classification will always be problematic if a binary system is applied, thus a more sophisticated approach should be adopted that incorporates the economic and environmental characteristics of a wider range of systems.

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15

LaHorgue, Joseph. "Economics Impacts of Genetically Modified Organisms: An analysis of Bt Cotton in India". Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2255.

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The emergence of genetically modified organisms has sparked a multi-faceted debate, covering issues related to human health, ethics, and the environment. Discussions of the economics of GMO adoption are highly politicized and are influenced by large corporations and non-governmental organizations. This study aims to provide insight into the economic impacts of genetically modified organisms on individual farmers of cotton in India. The first GMO to reach commercialization in India was Bt cotton in 2002, which led to significant increases in revenue and yield among smallholder farmers. Using survey data collected between 2003 and 2009, I examine the economic impacts of Bt cotton and explore macro level changes in the Indian economy.

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16

Kapgen, Diane. "Impacts of Agroecology-based Development Programs on Smallholder Farmers’ Livelihoods in Eastern Burkina Faso". Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/283200.

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SummaryToday one of the world’s biggest challenges remains the precarious livelihood situation of millions of smallholder farmers. Grounded in new types of traditionally-based technologies and locally available natural and social resources, agroecology seems to be a promising livelihood strategy, above all for African smallholder farmers, many of whom cannot afford expensive technologies and inputs. In fragile environments where entire families depend on small-scale agriculture, as in Eastern Burkina Faso, it is of utmost importance to understand whether agroecology can really improve livelihood outcomes and under what conditions. The present study explores the process of agroecological transitions in a developing cooperation context so as to understand how and why adoptions and adaptations of agroecologically-based development programs impact on farmers’ livelihoods. To encompass the complexity of agroecology in a development intervention context, the study is built on a triple interdisciplinary conceptual framework that combines the sustainable livelihoods approach, the agronomy-based comparative agriculture approach and the development anthropology-based ECRIS approach (Rapid Collective Inquiry for the Identification of Conflicts and Strategic Groups). Thriving from extensive qualitative field research in Gnagna Province, including semi-guided interviews with ninety smallholder farmers and eighteen key personalities as well as participant observation, the research shows the gap between agroecology’s potential in theory and its actual impacts on various farmers’ livelihoods when deployed in a development cooperation context.The study shows that development organisations choose among the manifold interpretations of agroecology and often ignore its transdisciplinary, participatory, bottom-up and action-orientated attributes. Nonetheless, results suggest that the promotion of agroecology-based farming techniques by the local NGO ARFA (“Association pour la Formation et la Recherche en Agro-écologie”) makes sense in the given context of environmental degradation and relatively weak livelihood asset bases of most farmers in the region and that the adoption of these techniques has a positive overall impact on farmers’ livelihoods. A deeper understanding, however, reveals precisely how farmers with the weakest livelihood asset base – manually-tilling, livestock-deprived, labour- and time-constrained, illiterate, and with the poorest household situation in terms of shelter, possession of everyday objects, diet quantity and quality, as well as with the lowest social status and influence – in the end benefit least from ARFA’s programs. Already better-off farmers typically become leader members of ARFA’s farmer groups, that are used as a medium to transfer the promoted agroecological techniques. These techniques are based on indigenous or traditional knowledge gleaned from farmers elsewhere, which means that farmers “targeted” by the program must acquire new knowledge, know-how, as well as equipment and inputs. The study shows that ARFA uses the farmer groups as seemingly neutral diffusion organs, failing to consider structural factors of a social, power and relational nature within the groups. Internal power structures, however, decide which group members have access to the best knowledge input via participation in farmer field schools, as well as access to equipment distributed via the groups. The benefits of belonging to new organisational structures more equally affect all group members, especially in the form of enhanced organisational capacities and new communication and social skills, yet the imbalance between better-off and worse-off farmers remains in force.By adopting a more aggregate perspective the study further demonstrates a new dependency of farmers created by agroecological development programs, that can be interpreted as conflicting with agroecology’s call for farmer autonomy. Furthermore, the feasibility of scaling-up agroecology within the existing transforming structures and processes at different levels is restricted. The results indicate the limitations of the idea of propagating agroecology in developing countries without simultaneously working towards a different global food system.
RésuméAujourd’hui, l’un des plus grands défis du monde est la situation précaire de dizaines de millions de petits agriculteurs. Fondée sur de nouveaux types de technologies traditionnelles et sur des ressources naturelles et sociales disponibles localement, l'agroécologie semble être une stratégie d’existence prometteuse, surtout pour les petits agriculteurs africains, dont beaucoup ne peuvent pas accéder à des techniques et à des intrants coûteux. Dans les environnements fragiles où des familles entières dépendent de l'agriculture à petite échelle, comme dans l'est du Burkina Faso, il est très important de comprendre si l'agroécologie peut réellement améliorer les moyens d’existence des ménages agricoles et dans quelles conditions. La présente thèse explore le processus de transition agroécologique dans un contexte de coopération au développement, afin de comprendre comment et pourquoi les adoptions et les adaptations d’innovations basées sur l’agroécologie ont un impact sur les moyens de subsistance des agriculteurs. Afin d’appréhender la complexité de l’agroécologie dans un contexte d’interventions de développement, l’étude est fondée sur un triple cadre conceptuel interdisciplinaire qui combine l'approche des moyens d'existence durables, l'approche agronomique de l’Agriculture Comparée et l’approche ECRIS (Enquête Collective Rapide d’Identification des Conflits et des Groupes Stratégiques) issue de l'anthropologie du développement. S'appuyant sur des recherches de terrain qualitatives approfondies dans la province de la Gnagna, incluant des entretiens semi-directifs avec quatre-vingt-dix agriculteurs et dix-huit acteurs-clés ainsi que de l’observation participante, la recherche montre l'écart entre le potentiel théorique de l'agroécologie et ses impacts réels sur les moyens de subsistance de diverses catégories d’agriculteurs.La thèse montre que les organisations de développement choisissent parmi les nombreuses interprétations de l'agroécologie, et ignorent souvent ses attributs de transdisciplinarité, de participation, de démarche ascendante et d’orientation vers l'action. Néanmoins, les résultats suggèrent que la promotion par l'ONG locale ARFA (Association pour la Recherche et la Formation en Agro-écologie) de techniques agricoles basées sur l'agroécologie a du sens dans le contexte régional de dégradation de l'environnement, et de moyens d’existence relativement faibles, de la plupart des agriculteurs :de manière générale, l'adoption de ces techniques a un impact positif sur les moyens d’existence des agriculteurs. Une analyse plus approfondie révèle toutefois comment les agriculteurs disposant des moyens d’existence les plus faibles – labour manuel, pas d’animaux, peu de force de travail, illettrés et vivant dans les ménages les plus démunis en termes d’habitation, de possession d’objets de consommation courante, de régime alimentaire en quantité et en qualité, ayant aussi un statut social bas et une faible influence – bénéficient le moins des programmes d’ARFA en fin de compte. Les agriculteurs un peu plus aisés constituent les membres principaux des groupements d’agriculteurs d’ARFA, qui servent de moyen pour diffuser les techniques agroécologiques promues. Ces techniques sont basées sur des connaissances traditionnelles d’agriculteurs d’autres régions ou pays, ce qui signifie que les agriculteurs « ciblés » par les programmes doivent acquérir de nouvelles connaissances, ainsi que du matériel et des intrants. L'étude montre qu’ARFA utilise les groupements d'agriculteurs comme des organes de diffusion apparemment neutres, sans prendre en compte les hiérarchies sociales et les relations de pouvoir structurelles au sein des groupements. Pourtant, les structures de pouvoir internes aux groupements décident quels membres ont accès au meilleur apport de connaissances par le biais de la participation à des champs écoles paysans, ainsi qu’au matériel distribué via les groupements. Les avantages liés à l’appartenance à de nouvelles structures organisationnelles - notamment sous la forme de capacités d’organisation renforcées, de nouvelles compétences sociales et en matière de communication - sont plus équitablement répartis. Mais, le déséquilibre entre les agriculteurs un peu plus aisés et les moins nantis demeure.En adoptant une perspective plus globale, l’étude démontre une nouvelle dépendance des agriculteurs induite par les programmes de développement agroécologique. Cette dépendance peut être considérée comme allant à l’encontre de l’appel de l’agroécologie à l’autonomie des agriculteurs. En outre, le passage de l’agroécologie à une échelle supérieure est réduit. Les résultats indiquent les limites de l'idée de propager de l'agroécologie dans les pays en développement sans une transition simultanée vers un système alimentaire mondial différent.
Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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MacPhillamy, Isabel Barbara Jane. "Foot-and-mouth disease control in South East Asia: Village-level challenges and insights from Cambodia and Laos". Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2021. https://hdl.handle.net/2123/27214.

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This thesis utilises data collected from 2015–19 to investigate the foot-and-mouth disease control challenges in Cambodia and Laos, focusing on village-level and farmer factors. The research presented provides FMD seroprevalence data from northern Lao provinces in 2019, providing the most recent and extensive serology available for northern Laos. The Cambodian village para-veterinarian knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) study from 2018 presents the first published baseline data for these individuals and, along with the 2015 investigation of their participation in surveillance, strengthens and builds the limited literature available regarding their roles in animal disease surveillance. The findings of Cambodian and Lao farmer KAP surveys in 2015 and 2018 contribute to the literature available and strengthens the emerging arguments that research for development projects need to address and consider the socio-cultural factors present in communities to ensure sustainable uptake of disease mitigation strategies. This thesis recommends a multidimensional approach to improve national animal health and veterinary services (NAHVS) governance, village-level disease mitigation and surveillance activities. International organisations will continue to provide guidance and support, along with high-income country donors to build capacity within NAHVS and monitor disease prevalence. Improved community consultation and participation is required to identify culturally congruent interventions that lead to sustainable uptake of disease mitigation practices. Public-private partnerships need to be utilised more, especially to optimise the supply and provision of high quality FMD vaccines to reduce the FMD prevalence and assist the countries in progressing toward eradication. Village para-veterinarians will continue to provide crucial support to the development of the NAHVS.

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Shange, Nikiwe. "Analysis of the challenges and opportunities for smallholder farmer value chain integration in the Western Cape : a public and private sector organisation perspective". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96179.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
Access to markets is an essential requirement for smallholder farmer development. The limited access to formal value chains for smallholder farmers in South Africa is a key challenge that is facing both public and private value chain actors. Despite the substantial investments by government, the performance of smallholder farmers in South Africa remains poor. Several studies have been done to understand the key challenges facing smallholder farmer value chain integration. This study takes a unique view by understanding the challenges and opportunities facing farmer integration from a public and private stakeholder perspective, specifically analysing the Western Cape. The study showed that the most influential constraints for smallholder farmer value chain integration are access to informal and formal markets, resources and infrastructure, and the functioning of local institutions. The study also showed that the key opportunities to improve value chain integrations are in improving the non-financial and financial support provided to smallholder farmers. The results of the study are in line with the value chain theory around integration of smaller producers.

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William, Apollinaire. "Smallholder Farmers, Environmental Change and Adaptation in a Human-Dominated Landscape in the Northern Highlands of Rwanda". Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1527182117011253.

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Worinu, Mark. "The operation and effectiveness of formal and informal supply chains for fresh produce in the Papua New Guinea highlands". Master's thesis, Lincoln University. Agriculture and Life Sciences Division, 2007. http://theses.lincoln.ac.nz/public/adt-NZLIU20080318.100431/.

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The research aim was to gain a more detailed understanding of the operation of different key segments for fresh produce supply chains originating in the Highlands Provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The research investigates a number of supply chain dimensions of effectiveness which include, value creation and integration of processes, logistics, quality, information, relationship/vertical integration and overall effectiveness. These were linked together in SC framework. Two potato chains were investigated, one formal, the other informal. The informal potato chain involves small holder farmers, input suppliers and local markets including kai bars and the urban market. The chain originates and ends within the Western Highlands Province. The formal potato chain has farmers, input suppliers, wholesaler/marker, transport companies (trucking and coastal shipping agents), supermarkets, hotels and kai bars. This chain originates in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province and ends in Port Moresby, National Capital District. The effectiveness of both the formal and informal chains was identified, and comparisons were made to see how each chain differed. The informal chain was found to have different problems to the formal chains. However, participants to both chains demonstrate a high entrepreneurial behavior. A key finding of the study was that the chains spread their risk by operating in multiple market segments and this can help to solve issues with variable quality. The marketers in each chain position themselves in these different market segments. It was clear from this work that focusing on functions and not the whole chain can lead to a distorted view of chain performance. For example, for the informal chain, a focus on logistics issues, particularly poor roads and problems with availability of seeds, can misrepresent the effectiveness of this chain. Therefore, it was concluded that it is important to look at the overall performance of each chain rather than looking specifically at particular chain functions in isolation.

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Iraba, Marie Louise. "Inexpensive mobile technologies to empower rural farmers with m-agriculture". Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2010. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_9526_1370595447.

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Market information and established communication between seller and buyer play an important role in business activities. This thesis investigates the Transkei area in the Eastern Cape
Province, South Africa to find out how to empower rural farmers by providing them with less-expensive mobile technology enabling them to post and advertise their produce, access market
information on a common database, and find and communicate with potential customers. The farmers&rsquo
requirements were identified using quantitative and qualitative methods and a prototype
consisting of USSD and web applications was developed. It allows the farmer to follow a sequence of menu commands to send a request to the database and access market information, such
as commodity prices, and post information about their own produce so as to attract more customers. The low cost of USSD and the ubiquity of mobile phones enable the system to be usable, affordable and effective. During the final stage of development, the system was tested successfully and addressed a major problem faced by farmers, i.e. lack of access to market information.

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22

Brito, Paulo Roberto Borges de. ""O controle social no processo de certificação de grupo por auditoria externa: o caso APROVE pela AAOCERT."". Universidade de São Paulo, 2006. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/90/90131/tde-28072006-192046/.

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O presente trabalho aborda as perspectivas de certificação que se abrem para a agricultura orgânica familiar, através dos processos alternativos de certificação, a certificação participativa em rede CPR, e a certificação de grupo por auditoria externa. Os objetivos gerais do trabalho foram contribuir para um melhor entendimento sobre o potencial dos processos participativos na certificação de produtos orgânicos. Avaliar em que medida a certificação pode ser associada a um processo pedagógico, para os produtores familiares paulistas, no qual a possibilidade de fortalecimento do controle social pode levar à redução dos processos burocráticos no Sistema de Controle Interno - SCI. O objetivo específico foi verificar se o processo de certificação de grupo da APROVE, proposto pela AAOcert, baseado nas diretrizes da IFOAM, abre maiores possibilidades de construção de processos mais participativos para os produtores, tomando-se a CPR como embasamento para busca de um referencial teórico, por ser uma proposta construída com este propósito. O trabalho é orientado pela seguinte pergunta: é possível um sistema de certificação reconhecido internacionalmente, como a certificação de grupo por auditoria de terceira parte, construir uma participação mais efetiva do produtor, sem perder a qualidade exigida dos seus processos? A hipótese central é que a diretriz da IFOAM para a construção do Sistema de Controle Interno (SCI) permite considerar processos participativos e com controle social, desenvolvidos como processo pedagógico, a partir do Sistema de Avaliação de Risco (SAR). A segunda hipótese é que trabalhar com os grupos a partir da avaliação dos riscos a que estão sujeitos proporciona aos agricultores melhor compreensão sobre o que é o sistema de controle interno que precisam desenvolver. A pesquisa foi realizada em três momentos, sendo o último uma intervenção com a introdução da diretriz da IFOAM para teste da hipótese. Os resultados da pesquisa evidenciaram que a introdução das diretrizes da IFOAM permitiu processos mais participativos e de controle social, que, ao mesmo tempo são adequados pedagogicamente ao grupo. Assim, é recomendável que os formuladores de políticas públicas que atuam na área de inclusão da agricultura familiar, na agricultura orgânica, levem em consideração as diretrizes da IFOAM para a certificação de grupo.
The present paper approaches the perspectives of certification for the organic family farmer agriculture, through alternative certification processes, the participatory certification, and the third party smallholder group certification. The main goal of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding about the potential of the alternative organic certification processes. To assess so far as the certification can be associated to a pedagogical process for the Paulista family farmers in which the possibility of strengthening the social control can lead to a bureaucratic process reduction in the Internal Control System ICS. The specific goal is to verify if the APROVEs small holder group certification proposed by the AAOcert based on the IFOAM basic standards opens possibilities of building more participatory processes for the producers, taken the CPR as a basis for seeking a theoretical reference, to be a proposal built with this purpose. The paper is led by the following question: is it possible to a certification system recognized internationally, as the third party small holder group certification, to build a more effective participation from the producer, without losing the quality demanded by its processes? The central hypothesis is that the IFOAM basic standards opens perspectives for more participatory processes and with social control and at the same time they best fit to the pedagogical process feature to be introduced with the producers with third party certification today. The research was achieved in three moments, however, the last one with an intervention with the introduction of the IFOAM basic standard to test the hypothesis. The results of the research proved that the IFOAM basic standards introduction allowed more participatory and social control processes and at the same time pedagogically suitable to the group. So, it is advisable for the public policy makers who work in the family farmer agriculture inclusion in the organic agriculture take into account the IFOAM basic standards for group certification.

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Aniekwe, Chika C. "Collective Action and Everyday Politics of Smallholder Farmers in Ugbawka: Examining Local Realities and Struggles of Smallholder Rice Farmers". Thesis, University of Bradford, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/15705.

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The research draws on an ethnographic research and explores the everyday practice of collective action in Ugbawka in Enugu State by using interviews and participant observation. The study reveals that smallholder collective action is not best fitted into formal institutional arrangement but takes place within a complex and intricate process that involves interaction with diversity of institutions and actors. Equally, the interactions that occur amongst actors are mediated at the community level through interplay of socio-cultural and political factors. This study recognises and places emphasis on understanding of agency and the exercise of agency at the local level arguing that smallholder farmers are not robot but active individual who exercise their agency purposively or impulsively depending on conditions and the assets available at their disposition as well as their ability to navigate the intricate power dynamic inherent at local context. The thesis thus questioned the simplistic use of formal institutional collective action framework in smallholder collective action at the community level and argues that institutions are not static and do not determine outcomes but are informed by the prevailing conditions at the community level. The study emphasises the role of existing institutions and socially embedded principles in community governance and argues that actors should be the focus of analysis rather than the system in understanding smallholder collective action. The study concludes by advocating for further research that could explore the possibility of hybrid approach that accepts the advantages of both formal and informal institutional forms of smallholder collective action.

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24

Achola, Sarah. "The decline and fall of the coffee sector in Kenya : a case study of the Murang’a region and Taita Hills". Thesis, Toulouse 2, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018TOU20119.

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Cette thèse vise à établir les causes du déclin de la production de café au Kenya en étudiant l'environnement décisionnel du petit producteur de café. L'étude a été menée sur les collines Taita, où la production de café a diminué jusqu'au point de cessation et dans le comté de Murang'a, une importante région productrice de café au Kenya, où l’on observe actuellement une tendance à la baisse de la production. L'étude vise à déterminer quel rôle le café jouera dans un nouveau contexte de production, dans lequel la décision de cultiver le café n'est pas contrôlée directement par l'État, mais repose uniquement sur les petits exploitants agricoles. L'étude montre qu'il existe une différence inhérente dans la façon dont le café est considéré par deux grandes générations d'agriculteurs, ceux au-dessus de 60 ans et ceux en dessous de 30 ans. Tandis que l'ancienne génération considère qu'il s'agit d'une culture prestigieuse à cultiver et que celle-ci fonde leur identité propre, la jeune génération lie la culture du café à une forme d’esclavage économique, en raison des pertes financières subies pendant sa production. Par ailleurs, on a pu observer une dégradation des systèmes de soutien aux petits exploitants agricoles tels que les coopératives de café, qui ne remplissent plus les rôles qui leurs avaient été mandatés. Nous avons constaté l’augmentation des moyens de subsistance concurrents et alternatifs que les agriculteurs trouvent plus rentables que l'agriculture de café. Bien que la production de café soit maintenue, le soin donné à la parcelle de café dépend directement du revenu généré par les autres activités économiques à la ferme. En conclusion, notre thèse souligne la diminution de l'importance du café dans le ménage des petits fermiers. Finalement, pour que la culture du café se poursuive et pour garantir son financement, il est nécessaire pour les petits producteurs de s'engager dans d'autres activités agricoles alternatives mais également hors secteur agricole
The study aims to establish the causes of coffee production decline in Kenya by studying the decision making environment of the smallholder coffee farmer. The study was conducted in the Taita Hills, where coffee production has declined to the point of cessation and in Murang’a County, a major coffee producing zone in Kenya, where a declining trend in production is currently being observed. The study seeks to establish what role coffee will play in a new production context whereby the decision to farm coffee is not directly state controlled but solely rests with the smallholder farmers. Using a mixed method approach, the study establishes that there is an inherent difference in the way coffee is regarded by two generations of farmers (above 60 years and below 30 years), whereas the older generation considers it to be a prestigious crop to cultivate and find identity in, the younger generation considers coffee cultivation to be economic slavery due to losses incurred in its cultivation. In addition, there has been a degradation of the support-systems for the smallholder farmers such as the coffee cooperative societies which are not fulfilling their mandated roles, such as input supplies and affordable credit services. In the two study areas, it was found that there are competing and alternative livelihoods which the farmers find to be more profitable than coffee farming which they engage in , although coffee is still produced, the care given to the coffee plot is dependent on income from other economic activities on the farm. In conclusion, the study finds that the importance of coffee in the smallholder coffee farmer household has diminished. Its production is mainly done as a form of loyalty to the early years of coffee production when the farmers earned a profit from its cultivation. It is concluded that for coffee cultivation to continue, it is necessary to engage in other alternative on-farm and off farm economic activities in order to fund coffee production

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Siwale, Mwaya. "Factors affecting access to finance by Smallholder Farmers in Zambia". Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30388.

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About seventy-seven percent of Zambia’s citizens who are engaged in primary activity in the agriculture sector are poor (Economies, 2017). One of the ways in which the poverty levels can be reduced is by lessening constraints of access to finance in agriculture sector. The implications of the low access to credit in the agriculture sector is reduced productivity, high food insecurity and perpetual poverty particularly in Zambia’s rural areas. Most of the studies conducted focused on identifying factors which limit participation in agriculture finance from the bank’s perspective and not farmers. Therefore, this study sought to fill the gap and assess variables directly related to smallholder farmers access to finance. It further examines the dynamism of access to finance depending on location, gender and transport infrastructure. The data employed in the study was obtained from a survey conducted in 2013 by IAPRI and UNZA with a sample size of 1,231 households in six districts of Zambia. Agricultural credit for small holder farmers (SHFs) in rural areas is mostly provided in the form of cash or in kind through supply of inputs to these SHFs. This data was modeled based on the logistic regression. The results showed that 14.1% of the SHFs had access to finance. Among these farmers only 13% were female. In addition, secondary education, access to finance information, farm size, access to collateral and distance between the location of the farmer and the financial services, were significant factors in determining access to credit. A recommendation proposed to policy makers based on results presented include sensitization on various finance facilities available to rural farmers so that they are aware and can make necessary efforts to access the finance. Rural education is directly related to access to finance, therefore government should promote education for its citizens. Lack of collateral has been identified as a factor that gravely hinders access levels by most. Government should implement standardized policies that ensure availability of credit to farmers with little or no collateral. In conclusion, improved credit permeation in agriculture sector promotes sustainable and inclusive growth in Zambia and will eventually eradicate absolute poverty.

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Milindi, Paschal. "Improved Hermetic Grain Storage System for Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania". The Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1469166460.

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D'ANNOLFO, RAFFAELE. "The effects of agroecological farming systems on smallholder farmers’ livelihoods". Doctoral thesis, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10280/72836.

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Lo scopo della tesi di dottorato è comprendere gli effetti dell'adozione degli approcci agroecologici sul Sustainable Livelihood Framework dei piccoli agricoltori. Sono state adottate tre metodologie di ricerca, revisione della letteratura, meta-analisi e caso di studio, al fine di valutare i benefici derivanti dall'attuazione degli approcci agroecologici sul capitale umano, sociale, naturale, finanziario e fisico. I risultati della tesi hanno mostrato come l’adozione dei sistemi agroecologici possono migliorare i mezzi di sussistenza dei piccoli agricoltori, senza che si verifichino trade-off su una serie di indicatori socio-economici e ambientali selezionati. La tesi evidenzia come i metodi agroecologici possano essere considerati uno strumento praticabile ed efficace per promuovere l’Obiettivo di Sviluppo Sostenibile 1 "Porre fine ad ogni forma di povertà nel mondo" e l’Obiettivo di Sviluppo Sostenibile 2 "Porre fine alla fame, raggiungere la sicurezza alimentare, migliorare la nutrizione e promuovere un’agricoltura sostenibile", in particolare per i piccoli agricoltori con scarse risorse nei paesi in via di sviluppo.
The purpose of the PhD thesis is to understand the effects of the adoption of agroecological approaches, both systems and practices, on the Sustainable Livelihood Framework of smallholder farmers. Three research methodologies, literature review, meta-analysis and case study, have been adopted in order to assess the benefits derived from implementing agroecological approaches on human, social, natural, financial and physical capitals. The results of the thesis have contributed to building evidence which demonstrates that agroecological approaches can improve the livelihood of smallholders farmers, without any trade-offs occurring in a wide range of socio-economic and environmental indicators. The thesis highlights that agroecological methods can be considered as a viable and effective tool to promote SDG1 “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” and SDG2 “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, especially for poor-resource farmers in developing countries.

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28

Beyene, Atakilte. "Soil conservation, land use and property rights in northern Ethiopia : understanding environmental change in smallholder farming systems /". Uppsala : Dept. of Rural Development Studies, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. http://epsilon.slu.se/a395-ab.html.

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29

Musonzo, Charity Priscilla. "Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Programme - impact on income of smallholder farmers". Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29044.

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Agriculture is the single most important sector in Malawi due to its contribution to the economy ranging from employment creation, contribution to GDP growth to source of foreign exchange earnings. These significant contributions have necessitated the Government of Malawi to develop strategies and policies such as the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), whose main aim is to increase household incomes and reduce food insecurity and ultimately reduce poverty. It is nine years since the introduction of FISP but its results remain mixed. Using the 2009/10 Integrated Household Survey Phase 3 (IHS3) dataset, a logistic regression in a multivariate data analysis approach was used to investigate the impact of FISP on income levels and food security of rural smallholder farmers in Malawi. The analysis showed that about 82 percent of smallholder farmers live in rural areas, about 75 percent of them were males, 71 percent were married, 70 percent did not go to school and 69 percent benefited from FISP. In farming, 68 percent of these smallholder farmers had less than 1 hectare of farms, 70 percent of them had labour force of less than 5 people, 51 percent of them harvest less than 5 bags of 50kgs of maize of which 92 percent sell most of their harvested maize and 89 percent of them receive less than MK5, 000 from sales. In addition, about 99 percent of these smallholder farmers were food insecure as they save less than 1 bag of 50kgs after harvest. Only 1 percent of these smallholder farmers receive remittances and 21 percent had other income generating activities (IGAs). Demographic and socio-economic factors have no impact on these farmers capability to increase income levels and enhance their food security. There is also no statistically significant difference between FISP beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in terms of capabilities of increasing incomes and enhancing food security. It is, therefore, concluded that FISP had no significant impact on the abilities of these smallholder farmers to increase their incomes and enhancing their food security. Hence, FISP did not prove to be the best food security and poverty alleviation tool in Malawi.

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30

Ekström, Elin y Jonna Halonen. "Hydro-climatic Risk Assessment and Communication for Smallholder Farmers in Maharashtra". Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-297360.

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Smallholder farmers often have great entrepreneurial qualities that build on generations of experience. However, many farm management practices are poorly adapted to current climate change conditions. In order for farmers to understand the risks they are undertaking by following certain farming practices and to adapt accordingly, a decision support tool is being developed by researchers at TU Delft. The tool runs a socio-hydrological model, created in Python, in the back-end and provides farmer specific investment and profit data for different crops in the front-end. The aim of this study is to develop a risk assessment process that integrates hydro-climatic variability in the decision support tool, and to identify ways of communicating risk to smallholder farmers in Maharashtra, India. Two sources of variability were characterised based on a literature review of Indian farmers’ own risk perceptions; the untimely onset of the Indian Summer Monsoon and the frequency of dry spells. A sensitivity analysis was then carried out to investigate their respective effects on the farmers’ crop yields. The method proposed to evaluate these risks used a single variable, precipitation data, and a two-dimensional risk matrix to compound the two risk factors, over a time span of 14 years (2003-2016). However, the results indicate that it might be more beneficial to define dry spells in terms of crop water stress, instead of a precipitation threshold. This study also proposed a method for translating a cumulative distribution curve into a risk representation that is adapted for low-literacy users by combining numbers and text with graphics, color and voice descriptions. Ultimately, however, the usability of the tool cannot be determined solely through literature, but must involve the end-users in its design.
Småskaliga jordbrukare är goda entreprenörer som samlat på sig kunskaper och erfarenheter över flera generationer. Däremot är vissa metoder som jordbrukarna använder sig av idag för att förvalta sitt jordbruk inte anpassade till nutida klimatförändringar. För att jordbrukarna ska förstå riskerna som de åtar sig vid valet av dessa metoder försöker forskare vid TU Delft nu ta fram ett verktyg för att underlätta jordbrukares förmåga att ta självständiga men välgrundade beslut om sitt jordbruk. Verktyget är baserat på en socio-hydrologisk modell som är framtagen i Python och som förser specifika investerings- och inkomstdata för enskilda jordbrukare. Syftet med detta kandidatarbete är att bidra till verktyget genom att undersöka de hydroklimatiska risker som uppstår till följd av föränderliga och osäkra klimatologiska förhållanden för jordbrukare i delstaten Maharashtra, Indien. Två riskfaktorer karakteriserades baserat på en litteraturstudie om indiska jordbrukares riskuppfattningar: avvikelser i starten på den indiska sommarmonsunen och antal torrperioder under monsunsäsongen. Dessutom utfördes en känslighetsanalys för att undersöka om och hur den existerande modellens utdata av skörd påverkades av de valda riskfaktorerna. Monsunstarten och torrperioderna togs fram genom metoder som enbart använde historiska nederbördsdata över tidsperioden 2003-2016 och kombinerades sedan med hjälp av en tvådimensionell riskmatris. Resultaten visade att det fanns anledning att ifrågasätta hur torrperioderna definierades och att det kan vara mer fördelaktigt att undersöka vattenbrist för grödan, snarare än att enbart förlita sig på nederbördsdata. Vidare föreslog denna studie en metod för att översätta en kumulativ fördelningsfunktion till en grafisk riskframställning som är anpassad till användare med låg läskunnighet genom att kombinera siffror med text, grafik, färg och ljudförklaringar. I slutändan kan dock inte användbarheten av verktyget enbart avgöras utifrån litteratur, utan måste även inkludera återkoppling från slutanvändarna.

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31

Mallareddy, Nikhil. "User-centered design of a fertilizer recommendation system for smallholder farmers". Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122090.

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This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Thesis: S.M. in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, 2018
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 67-70).
Declining soil health is a major problem in India, affecting nearly 120 million hectares of land constituting 37% of the total geographic area. Soil degradation poses a significant threat to India's food security, due to its negative impact on long-term crop yields, which are crucial for feeding a burgeoning population. Imbalanced fertilizer use, a negative consequence of the Green Revolution, is one of the primary causes of soil degradation and adversely impacts the environment, human health, and farm profitability. The problem can be addressed by adopting the principles of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), which call for judicious use of fertilizer based on frequent soil testing. However, inadequate soil testing capacity and lack of access to information act as barriers to its adoption.
This project aims to facilitate adoption of SSNM by developing a point-of-use soil testing and nutrient management system, made up of two key components 1) an affordable, point-of-use sensor that enables on-farm soil testing and 2) a recommendation engine that provides actionable fertilizer advice through mobile phones. This thesis presents the design of the fertilizer recommendation engine, by answering the following research question: "How to implement actionable fertilizer recommendations, in order to maximize adoption by resource-constrained farmers?" In doing so, it represents the second phase of the project, building on the actionability framework laid by done by fellow researcher, Soumya Braganza. This thesis mainly focuses on the issues involved in the implementation of the recommendation engine, through a "user centered approach" adopting diverse methods such as stakeholder interviews and conjoint analysis.
In order to answer the question of customization, data from the conjoint study was analyzed, revealing the influence of farmers' behavioral factors on actionability. In order to realize the level of customization required, a Bayesian algorithm was proposed to generate recommendations suited to a farmer's behavior. Thereafter, lessons from field studies were consolidated into system requirements for the fertilizer recommendation engine, and methods were proposed to address them. Lastly, a layered architecture is presented to implement the desired features of the recommendation engine in an integrated manner.
Funded by MIT-Tata Center
by Nikhil Mallareddy.
S.M. in Technology and Policy
S.M.inTechnologyandPolicy Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society

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32

Ababio-Twi, Faith S. "Funding Strategies for Smallholder Rice Farmers in Afadzato South District, Ghana". ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7849.

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Agriculture revenue contributions to Ghana's gross domestic product have declined because of limited farm funding, which has constrained some smallholder rice farmers access credit to acquire necessary inputs, and to secure a stable market for their harvests. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore successful strategies some smallholder rice farmers in the Afadzato South District of Ghana used in obtaining farm funding. Data collection included semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 9 smallholder rice farmers who successfully obtained farm funding. Previous research, reports, and policies of the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture served as additional data collection sources. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and resulted in three major themes: the smallholder farmer's strategy of belonging to cooperative association membership, the smallholder farmer's strategy for satisfying lender collateral requirements, and smallholder farmer's strategies for developing a repayment rating history. The implications for positive social change include the potential to guide the smallholder farmers to successful strategies to access farm funding for their farming activities and increase their farm sizes. The increase in farm sizes may result in more rice production that can help mitigate hunger and reduce poverty in the Afadzato South District of Ghana.

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33

Majoma, Munyaradzi Laurel. "The role of branchless banking in smallholder agriculture in Zimbabwe". Diss., University of Pretoria, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60828.

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Access to financial services from financial institutions has often proved to be one of the major constraints to rural and smallholder agricultural development in Zimbabwe. However, the ICT revolution across the world leading to the development of branchless banking options has brought new financial inclusion opportunities in the rural areas. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of branchless banking in smallholder agriculture through investigating the user patterns and adoption rate of mobile banking by rural farmers in Zimbabwe. Zvimba District was used as the case study while mobile banking was the branchless banking option investigated. The study also sought to investigate the barriers to adoption of mobile banking, in addition to laying out the difference between traditional banking channels and mobile banking. A survey through a structured interview with rural smallholder farmers was the main means of data collection. The data collected was then used to quantify the adoption of mobile banking, the barriers to adoption, and the alternative financial service providers used in rural areas, making it possible to draw conclusions for the purposes of policy formulation. The findings from the study revealed a high rate of adoption of mobile banking among the rural people. According to the study, even though mobile banking was cheaper and more accessible, traditional banking channels were still cited as being an important need for rural people. The significant factors investigated as creating barriers to adoption of mobile banking included age, education, income, marital status and farming experience, while factors such as gender and farm size proved to be insignificant. In light of the findings, it was recommended that besides transactional uses, branchless banking should be further developed and enhanced to provide other services such as insurance services and credit needed by smallholder farmers. Furthermore, in order to enhance customer uptake, mobile network operators (MNOs) were recommended to consider a segmentation approach when extending services to appropriate segments in rural areas.
Dissertation (MInst (Agrar))--University of Pretoria, 2016.
Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development
MInst (Agrar)
Unrestricted

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34

Fevola, Martina. "Quality evaluation of cocoa beans produced by smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana". Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2018.

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Il cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) è un’importante coltura a livello mondiale. La sua produzione è alla base dell’economia della maggior parte dei paesi produttori e dei profitti di molte industrie dolciarie. Attualmente, circa il 70% delle fave di cacao nel mondo è raccolto in Africa. Il Ghana è il secondo paese produttore dopo la Costa d’Avorio. La maggior parte del cacao proviene da piccoli agricoltori che spesso usano sistemi di coltivazione obsoleti e poco organizzati. La crescente domanda di cacao nel mercato mondiale ha aumentato l’attenzione su una produzione sostenibile attraverso una serie di miglioramenti per la coltivazione e i processi post-raccolta. Questa tesi fa parte di un progetto che ha come obiettivo a lungo termine quello di incrementare la produzione di cacao di alta qualità da parte di piccoli coltivatori in Africa occidentale. Per questo lavoro sono state esaminate fave di cacao prodotte da 30 piccoli agricoltori di sei regioni del Ghana. I campioni sono stati analizzati e comparati sotto forma di fave di cacao intere, in polvere e liquore di cacao. I risultati hanno rilevato alcuni difetti nel processo di fermentazione evidenziati dai bassi livelli dell’ indice di fermentazione e dalla presenza di Ocratossina A. Dai risultati si evince anche che le fave di cacao prodotte in Ghana hanno grandi dimensioni, alto contenuto di grassi e presentano note aromatiche fruttate.

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35

Mashile, Daphne Mmapabala. "Challenges facing smallholder farmers in accessing credit in Gauteng province: South Africa". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7991.

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Credit plays a significant role in agricultural growth, and it is understood that development of credit programmes will have a valuable impact on agricultural production earnings of smallholder farmers. It is also a strategic factor to poverty alleviation. In Gauteng, smallholder farmers source their loans commonly from informal moneylenders. This results in access to formal credit being at a low rate. Results show that low level of education, main occupation, group membership and household income are significant and have encouraging effects on access to credit financial services. The results also reveal that threats associated with borrowing are high interest rates and unavailability of credit financial institutions. These threats are the main challenges faced by smallholder farmers in this study. Financial institutions claim that farming is a risky business; the distance of getting to farmers makes the evaluation procedure challenging, and strict principles in the aspect of collateral is a main challenge in providing credit to smallholder farmers. It is recommended that accessibility to credit by smallholder farmers be developed by providing advanced financing schemes that will address problems of smallholder farmers who do not have security and thus reduce lengthy processing of documents and other requirements. In this manner, smallholder farmers may be stimulated to use formal credit and decrease their dependence on informal moneylenders, thus avoid higher interest rates, which will positively lead to increased smallholder farm production and household income.

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36

Legesse, Belaineh. "Risk management strategies of smallholder farmers in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia /". Uppsala : Dept. of Rural Development Studies, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. http://epsilon.slu.se/a404.pdf.

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37

Ziervogel, Gina. "Seasonal climate forecast applications : a case study of smallholder farmers in Lesotho". Thesis, University of Oxford, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.270168.

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38

Phillips, Frederick Odame. "Productivity intervention and smallholder farmers: the case of Ghana’s Cocoa Abrabopa Program". Thesis, Kansas State University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/16978.

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Master of Agribusiness
Department of Agricultural Economics
Vincent Amanor-Boadu
Despite the dependence of more than three-quarters of a million households depending on cocoa for their living in Ghana, the production segment of the cocoa industry is fraught with significant challenges manifesting as low farm productivity. Various intervention programs to help farmers improve productivity at the farm level have been used over the past few decades. One of such programs is the Cocoa Abrabopa Program (CAA), which uses an integrated approach where farmers are supplied inputs made up of fertilizer, pesticides and fungicides as well as provided training and extension support services. The inputs are provided on credit and the producers repay the cost of these inputs upon selling their crop. This study sought to assess the results of the CAA in enhancing the net profits of its members over time. It used survey data collected over five years from members of the CAA program. The study used an econometric model to evaluate the demographic and production characteristics of CAA members on their net profits. The results show that male members in the CAA program had higher net profits that their female counterparts, about GHS 237.32 more. For every year increase in the member’s age, the net income increased by GHS 6.46, which was statistically significant at the 10 percent level. The crux of the study – the effectiveness of the CAA program in enhancing performance – was supported by the results. Participants who were two years in the program posted GHS 591.13 more net profit than those who were in their first year. Those who were three year and four or more years posted respectively GHS 1,211.04 and GHS 18,752.29 than those in the first year. All these were statistically significant at the 1 percent level. Thus, the CAA program is producing what it is expected to produce – enhancing the net profits of its members and doing so in higher levels with the duration of membership. The study also found that having a bank account produced a higher effect on net profits than being male, posting GHS 296.13 more net profit than not having a bank account. The econometric model specified and estimated was significant and the variability in all the independent variables in the model explained about 46 percent of the variability in net profits. The study recommends that the CAA program incorporates helping all its members open bank accounts as part of its offerings. It also recommends working with policymakers and community leaders across its operational areas to encourage investments in the education of females and elimination of the tenural rights discrimination that frequently confronts females in agriculture. It also recommends that an increased effort be made to expand membership of the CAA program to all cocoa producers in Western South because of the significant benefit of the yield effect of the region on net profit of CAA members in the region.

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39

Ernah, [Verfasser]. "Assessment of sustainability standards among smallholder oil palm farmers in Indonesia / ... Ernah". Hannover : Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), 2015. http://d-nb.info/1088425305/34.

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40

Morahanye, Mokhantso Lilian. "Investigating adaptation strategies to climate change by smallholder farmers : evidence from, Lesotho". Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5807.

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In Lesotho, agriculture is the dominant activity and involves crop and livestock production, range management and forestry activities. The current climatic variability in the country has caused decline in food production as result of increased dry spells, frequency of droughts and erratic rainfall. These climatic events are expected to have a significant impact on the livelihoods of the smallholder farmers. In combatting the harmful effects of climate change, smallholder farmers in Lesotho have employed various adaptation strategies based on their local knowledge and limited means. While these strategies may not be optimal they obviously constitute the basis for potentially effective improved technologies which can be developed and communicated through an efficient extension system, hence the need to precisely identify them and understand the factors that affect their choice. The main objective of this study was therefore, to identify the adaptation strategies and investigate the factors influencing smallholder farmers’ choice of those adaptation strategies. The study made use of multi-stage stratified sampling technique to select 160 respondents across four agro-ecological zones (lowlands, highlands, foothills and Senqu River Valley) in Leribe and Mohales’Hoek districts of Lesotho. Primary data for the study were collected using semi - structured questionnaire assisted with interview schedules administered on the respondents. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and the multinomial logistics regression model. The results show that there are more males than females, majority of the respondents’ attained primary education, and older people dominate the smallholder farming system. The adaptation strategies used in MNL model were soil and water management, crop management and livestock management. The results further revealed that soil and water management strategies were the most adopted climate change strategies amongst smallholder farmers. It is understood that marital status, age and gender, income, land tenure, crop grown, extension services, and agro-ecological zones are the determinant factors influencing the choice of the adaptation strategies. This study concludes by recommending that smallholder farmers should be sensitised about climate change and both government and non-government organisations working on climate change related issues should direct their attention to rural communities to ensure effective response to climate change.

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41

Osei, Sampson. "Social capital and climate change adaptation strategies : the case of smallholder farmers in the Central region of Ghana". Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/5270.

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Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS)
Agriculture in Ghana is dominated by smallholder farmers who are faced with unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events. Climate modelling forecasts that the rate at which precipitation will decrease in the country is far more than the rate at which it will increase during the wet season. It is predicted that rain-fed maize output will decrease below 25 percent in all the ten regions of the country by 2020 if nothing is done. To mitigate the effect of climate change and safeguard food security, the country must undertake measures to adapt to the changing climate. The process of adaptation, therefore, involves the interdependence of agents through their relation with each other. This includes the institution in which the agents reside and the resource based on which they depend. The resource embedded in such relationship has been termed social capital. Empirical studies on social capital and climate change adaptation is lacking, especially in Ghana. Based on this, the study assesses the influence of social capital on climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers in the Central region of Ghana. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. Primary data was collected using household questionnaires, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. K-means cluster analysis was used to identify weak and strong ties and four individual social capital variables. Twenty-year maize and rainfall data were analysed using trend analysis. The influence of individual social capital and other controlled variables were analysed using Multinomial logit model. Using 225 sampled households the results of the study showed that all the four identified individual social capital variables differ by sex. The perceptions of climate change among smallholder farmers also differ significantly by location. The four individual social capital variables as well as other controlled variables influence at least one indigenous adaptation strategy and one introduced adaptation strategy. The study recommends, among others, that transfer of climate change adaptation techniques or technology to smallholder farmers should not be solely accomplished through the usual technology transfer network of agricultural researchers and extension agents. Rather, it will be imperative to increased contact with a wide variety of local actors who provide information and resources for agricultural production.

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42

Kabura, Nyaga Elizabeth A. "Smallholder cashcrop production and its impact on living standards of rural families in Kenya /". Weikersheim : Margraf, 2007. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2999150&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

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43

Chereni, Simbarashe. "Smallholder farmers response to changes in the farming environment in Gokwe-Kabiyuni, Zimbabwe". Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2010. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_2950_1298634276.

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Following Bryceson&rsquo
s article, &lsquo
De-agrarianisation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Acknowledging the Inevitable&rsquo
, and other related writings in the volume Farewell to Farms, rural development has become a contested academic and policy domain. One side of the debate is characterized by &lsquo
agrarian optimism&rsquo
, mirrored in various state policies and advice from the World Bank
the other side is typified by the de-agrarianisation thesis, which is sceptical regarding the agrarian path to rural development, because it doesn&rsquo
t accord with dominant trends. The main reasons given for the trend of de-agrarianisation are: unfavourable climatic trends, economic adjustments, and population growth. While the de-agrarianisation thesis seems to be a sensible proposition, it has failed to attract many disciples, evidenced by the continuation of current policy directions towards the agrarian optimistic path. The purpose of this study was to assess the applicability of the de-agrarianisation thesis in the Gokwe-Kabiyuni area of Zimbabwe, during a time when the nation went through climatic, economic and political crises. The idea was to assess the influence of such an environment to smallholder farmers in terms of livelihood strategies by observing trends in climate, education, occupation, and crop yields over the period. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to establish whether the de-agrarianisation process can be noted in two villages over the period 1990-2008. A comparative analysis of the experiences of smallholder farmers in these two villages revealed the existence of a cultivation culture and differential agrarian resilience depending on natural resource endowment and levels of infrastructural development, notwithstanding the involvement of the villagers in non-farm activities to diversify their livelihood portfolios.

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44

Clark, Rebecca. "A hybrid approach to the evaluation of soil conservation measures for smallholder farmers". Thesis, University of East Anglia, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.393543.

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45

Dorward, Peter. "Participatory farm management methods for improved agricultural extension with smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe". Thesis, University of Reading, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.311313.

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46

Almeida, Virgilio da Silva. "The development of animal health services for smallholder dairy farmers in northwest Portugal". Thesis, University of Reading, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.306745.

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47

Unahalekhaka, Aukrit. "Product design for social impact : a case study of smallholder farmers in Thailand". Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107585.

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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 72-76).
75% of the worlds poor (<2$/day) are smallholder farmers where they produce 80% of the food in Asia and Africa. Not only are these farmers poor, but they are also food insecure. By 2050, the world will need to produce at least 50% more food to feed 9 billion people. Compounding this problem is climate change, which will cut crop yields by more than 25%. Unless we change how smallholder farmers grow their food, food security will be at risk. These dual-pronged problems of poverty and food insecurity are caused by three main issues in the agricultural value chains: Supply Chain Inefficiencies, Financial Exclusion, and Information Asymmetry. These problems are synergistic and reinforce the vicious cycle of poverty and food insecurity. Growth in agriculture has been shown to be three times more effective in alleviating poverty compared to growth in other sectors. Innovative product development for smallholder farmers can be an integral part to help alleviate these issues and make a significant positive impact on the society. This thesis takes a holistic system level approach to the problems that smallholder farmers in developing country face. Nineteen case studies are presented to help readers learn from what other successful organizations have done from various parts of the world. This thesis narrows down to the context of Thailand to give a specific example and demonstrate to the reader how the frameworks, diffusion strategy, and case studies presented can be applied to their country of choice. The overall goal of this thesis is to provide a product design and development framework with the hope that this paper can help guide readers to develop and launch innovations that can make a difference to the lives of hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries.
by Aukrit Unahalekhaka.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

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48

Duma, Moses. "Contract farming as a tool for the development of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe". Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/14909.

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Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Zimbabwe’s land-reform process has been widely debated and severely criticised, yet seldom been analysed at greater depth. In the transition from startup small-holding farmer to the long-run goal of commercial farmer, Zimbabweans currently experience a phase of increasing “contract farming”. New farmers are producing for contractors who buy up their produce at predetermined prices. Ideally, these contractors or agribusinesses also help the smallholders to get the seeds and fertiliser, obtain the necessary equipment, help with the production technology and assist in other ways. On the basis of interviews with 25 farmers and 12 agribusinesses in different regions of the country, the study tries to asses the merits, risks and preconditions for success of contract farming. The responses from both sides of this contract farming system suggest that overall success will largely depend on the effective co-operation between the two sides and the facilitation of the process by relevant government departments and/or supportive NGOs. Ideally, the lessons to be learned from these transitional reform processes are directly relevant for land reform and agricultural development efforts in other African countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Zimbabwe se grondhervormingsstelsel is in die jongste tyd wyd bespreek en skerp gekritiseer, maar dit is selde in groter diepte ontleed. In die oorgang van beginners-kleinskaal-boerdery tot die lang-termyn oogmerk van kommersiele boerdery word die land tans gekenmerk deur ‘n vinnig toenemende proses van “kontrak-boerdery”. Nuwe boere produseer vir kontrakteurs wat hul produksie teen voorafonderhandelde pryse opkoop. Op hul beste voorsien dié kontrakteurs ook die saadgoed en kunsmis, verskaf die nodige toerusting, help met die produksie-tegnologie en voorsien ander take. Op die grondslag van diepte-onderhoude met 25 kleinboere en 12 landboubesighede in verskillende dele van die land, probeer die studie die meriete, risikos en suksesvoorwaardes van hierdie stelsel van kontrakboerdery te bepaal. Terugvoering van die twee kante van dié stelsel toon dat sukses grootliks afhang van die effektiewe samewerking en interaksie van die twee partye tot die stelsel asook ondersteuning deur die betrokke staatsdepartemente en ander ondersteunende organisasies. Lesse geleer uit hierdie studie van Zimbabwe se hervormingsproses behoort direk relevant te wees vir soortgelyke hervormingsprosesse in ander Afrikastate.

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Mwefyeni, Ephraim Chali. "The effect of agricultural service provision on performance of smallholder farmers in Zambia". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97172.

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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
Zambia, a country in Sub Saharan Africa, is home to over 13 million people. Of this population, 61 percent are found in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihood, making the sector a key area for the development of the country. Agriculture remains a key sector because of its huge potential and the number of people that are dependent on it. However, smallholder farmers face many challenges, which include inadequate market and price information, inability to access credit, inadequate extension services, low input supply and low usage of hybrid seed amongst others. Given this situation, the study undertook to use quantitative research methods to determine the effect of agricultural services on smallholder performance in Zambia. It also focused on determining whether the sources of agricultural services affect performance. The results of the study reported that sources of fertilizers, maize seed and loans had a significant influence on yield of maize achieved by farmers. Access and utilisation of fertilizer, seed and maize price information had also shown that there was a relationship between these variables and yield produced. With these results, it is imperative to understand and manage the level of government involvement in the provision of agricultural services so that private sector participation is not discouraged.

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50

Raphela, Maropeng Gilmore Matthias. "Smallholder farmers in Ekurhuleni : the challenges and constraints of access to agricultural markets". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97292.

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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is substantial evidence supported by literature that many smallholder farmers can benefit from agricultural markets and commercialisation. This research examines the challenges and constraints that smallholder farmers have to deal with in the study area and what needs to be done to overcome the barriers to market access. An argument was made that identification of these barriers could lead to the necessary interventions and assist in institutional innovation to alleviate market constraints and challenges faced by smallholder farmers. The qualitative approach was deemed appropriate and entailed the face to face method in the collection of data through the use of structured questionnaires. Smallholder farmers in Tembisa, involved in the production and marketing of specific agricultural commodities were visited to investigate the challenges and constraints facing them. The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s database of smallholder farmers was used to access the smallholder farmers involved in the production of selected vegetables in Tembisa. The study revealed that access to land, access to agricultural inputs, access to credit, market information, infrastructure and farmer support services were barriers to market participation. The lack or limited access to these resources will affect the manner in which smallholder farmers benefit from the opportunities available in the agricultural markets in respect of the quality and quantity of the agricultural produce. Whilst the fresh produce market and supermarkets in the area have extended a hand of cooperation and business relationship with smallholder farmers, there is currently no formal existing relationship since they are unable to exploit those opportunities due to their inability to comply with the required standards set by the market. Most of their produce is sold at the farm gate, local community and to the hawkers. It is expected that addressing such barriers may create enabling conditions that would encourage smallholder farmers to access and participate more effectively in markets. Such efforts could improve the ability of smallholder farmers to become part of the mainstream or commercial agricultural economy. Some barriers and constraints require direct intervention by government and policy makers have to institute agricultural policy reforms to incorporate smallholder farmers within large scale agriculture.

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