ABSTRACT Liberalization of the Cotton market in Malawi permitted private sector participation in the market. As such it was expected that the liberalized market would afford both the sellers as well as the buyers of cotton a fair return on investment as compared to the days when the Government was controlling the cotton prices. A major consequence of the market liberalization policy was that a new market structure has emerged because of the entrance of individuals firms and corporate organiza...
ABSTRACT An important aspect of agricultural development involves, the adoption of innovations by farmers. Several activities were put in place by extension services in Benin to get wide spread adoption of innovations by farmers. One of these actions was the introduction of maize narrow-crib in rural areas in Benin ; but still some farmers are not adopting. After four years of the introduction of this maize narrow-crib, it is important to appreciate the factors that are affecting the adoption...
ABSTRACT In many sub-Saharan African countries including Tanzania, farmers face hardship to access better agricultural information. Consequently farmers lack adequate knowledge on farm management skills like correct land preparation, timely planting, pest and diseases and their control, timely weed control to bypass the critical period of weed competition, and low price of their product since they depend mostly to get information from extension officers and middlemen. But number of extension ...
Abstract Climate change is currently a serious threat for agriculture development and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate outlook for the 21st century, the future of maize production in Tanzania remains under threat due to more intense and frequent droughts, and more erratic rainfall patterns. Effective adaptation to these ongoing changes in climatic condition is key to securing food production and livelihoods for millions of ...
ABSTRACT The study was carried out to investigate the contribution of Ghana Oil Palm Development Company Limited (GOPDC) outgrower scheme to small-scale farmers‘ livelihood. A total of 214 respondents were involved in this study. The respondents were selected from four communities in the Kwaebibirem district of the Eastern region of Ghana. They were both outgrower and non outgrower farmers (small scale farmers). The data gathered were analysed using SPSS. Similarly, chi square test was used...
ABSTRACT The main objective of this study is to assess the causes of labour migration, low food crop production and remittance linkages on the livelihood of rural households in the Kpando District. The researcher used survey design to elicit information from 202 heads of non-migrants’ households within the study area. The households used for the study were selected by cluster sampling and information was elicited from them through personal interview and a structured questionnaire. Data for ...
ABSTRACT The role of micro- finance in the livelihood improvement cannot be over emphasized. Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) credit to agro-processing farmers in the Central Region has increased and aims at increasing economic opportunities for commercial agro-processing farmers. As an agricultural country different types of crops and fruits are produced here. There is enough scope for export of these items through processing mechanism and value addition. Currently, there is no empirica...
Abstract: Purpose – The adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) is important for sustaining Indian agriculture in the face of climate change. Despite considerable effort by both national and international agricultural organizations to promote CSAPs in India, adoption of these practices is low. This study aims to examine the elements that affect the likelihood and intensity of adoption of multiple CSAPs in Bihar, India. Design/methodology/approach – The probability and in...
ABSTRACT Prices contain information crucial to maximizing the returns to production and marketing investments. At planting time, a farmer's planting decision depends on expected profits, which invariably hinge on the anticipated prices of the crop or mix of crops that would prevail in the market at the time of sale and on the farmer's interpretation of those prices. A trader, in search of profitable arbitrage, reads and translates price signals in deciding on what crops to buy, where to bu...
Abstract: The performance of Development Agents is an important factor for the fulfillment of agricultural extension’s goals. The job performance of the DA relies on the job satisfaction, motivation and competence of the individual DA. Performance evaluation is a key duty in extension organization to determine whether the goals of extension are achieved or not. Development Agents in the study area showed low motivation, and less communication with farmers. Moreover, farmers were not satisf...
ABSTRACT Agricultural markets offer opportunities for households to access incomes and food. Efficient food marketing systems assume a competitive structure thus enabling food distribution from surplus to deficit areas. Liberalization of agricultural markets in developing countries, Kenya included in the late 1980‟s and early 1990‟s aimed at achieving a market oriented economy. Earlier studies on agricultural market reforms have reported varied impacts on market efficiency, thus the need ...
Introduction: Agribusiness & Agro Allied sector in Nigeria has the capacity to become a leading agribusiness and agro-allied industrial nation. Of the 923 million square kilometers in Nigeria, over 90 percent is arable, 40 percent is cultivated, and only 10 percent is properly cultivated. Therefore, Nigeria has significant potential to apply technology in intensifying production across a number of agro products. Nigeria’s ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), the flagship prog...
Abstract Rural livelihoods, incidence of poverty and climate change are intricately connected in the Offinso Municipality in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Conscious of the vagaries of climate change, smallholder farmers have developed adaptation measures to sustain their subsistent livelihoods. This paper examines the various on-farm adaptation measures among smallholder farmers in the Offinso municipality with the view to drawing lessons for effective policy making and implementation. A tria...
Abstract: The performance of Development Agents is an important factor for the fulfillment of agricultural extension’s goals. The job performance of the DA relies on the job satisfaction, motivation and competence of the individual DA. Performance evaluation is a key duty in extension organization to determine whether the goals of extension are achieved or not. Development Agents in the study area showed low motivation, and less communication with farmers. Moreover, farmers were not satisf...
ABSTRACT Tanzania is among the few countries in the world endowed with vast range of tourist attractions. The tourism industry is Tanzania’s greatest success story since the introduction of free market economy in 1990s. Despite its impressive recent economic performance, Tanzania remains a poor country. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess the effects of tourism investments on poverty reduction in rural communities in Serengeti district. The specific objectives were to: identi...