Impact of multiple soil conservation practices on rice yields and chemical fertiliser use in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihai Yang ◽  
Ning Yin ◽  
Amin William Mugera ◽  
Yumeng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Rice Yield ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Organic Fertiliser ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Straw Retention ◽  
Fertiliser Use ◽  
Chemical Fertiliser

PurposeThis paper analysed survey data of 715 rice-producing households in China to assess the determinants of adoption of five mutually exclusive soil conservation practices (SCPs) and their impact on rice yield and chemical fertiliser use.Design/methodology/approachThe multinomial endogenous treatment effects model was used to account for selection bias and endogeneity arising from both observed and unobserved heterogeneity.FindingsFarms that adopted SCPs as a package experienced an increase in rice yield and decrease in chemical fertiliser use. Adoption of SCPs as a package led to a 12.0% increase in yield and 15.2% decrease in chemical fertiliser use; these results have policy implications for the non-point source pollution control in the agricultural sector. In contrast, adoption of straw retention only significantly reduced yield by 4.9% and increased chemical fertiliser use by 18.1%.Originality/valueThe authors evaluate and compare multi-type of SCPs, such as straw retention, deep tillage and use of organic fertiliser, separately or in combination, and their impacts on smallholder farmers’ rice yield and chemical fertiliser usage.

Participation in farmers' organization and production efficiency: empirical evidence from smallholder farmers in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subir Bairagi ◽  
Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb
Keyword(s):  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Rice Yield ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Stochastic Production Frontier ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rice Farmers ◽  
The Impact

PurposeFarmer organizations (FOs) can elevate many of the production- and marketing-related challenges by ensuring access to technology, farming information and loan for inputs and mechanization. This study assesses the major factors that affect the participation in FOs by the smallholder rice farmers in Bangladesh and evaluates the impacts of the participation on rice yield and production efficiency.Design/methodology/approachThe present study used primary data collected from 1,000 smallholder rice farmers in northwest Bangladesh, consisting of 250 farmers those participated in an organization. This study utilized a sample selection stochastic production frontier (SPF) method, a combination of the conventional SPF and the Heckman's sample selection model, to control for biases stemming from observed and unobserved attributes.FindingsThis study demonstrates that participation in an organization is significantly affected by smallholder rice farmers' education, occupation, family size, household income, land ownership and the location where they reside. At the same time, the participation status affects the productivity of smallholder farmers. Findings indicate that farmers who participated in an organization had higher rice yield (11% more) and were technically more efficient (1.4 percentage points higher) compared to farmers who did not participate.Research limitations/implicationsSince this study was carried out with representative sampled farmers from northwest Bangladesh, the findings may not represent all farmers' perceptions of FOs in the country.Originality/valueEven though more than 200,000 FOs are currently in operation, knowledge regarding the effectiveness of Bangladesh's FOs is limited. Notably, this study used a relatively new method, sample selection SPF model, to investigate the impact of FOs on the production efficiency of smallholder rice farmers in northwest Bangladesh. Therefore, this study contributes to the literature in elucidating the factors affecting participation in FOs and its impact on rice yield and efficiency. Since FOs have been somewhat ineffective in their role as service providers in Bangladesh, this study’s results will guide policymakers to intervene more successfully regarding the changes needed.

scholarly journals Resource Use Efficiency as a Climate Smart Approach: Case of Smallholder Maize Farmers in Nyando, Kenya

Environments ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamud Salat ◽  
Brent Swallow
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Resource Use Efficiency ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
The Impact

To simultaneously enhance agricultural productivity and lower negative impacts on the environment, food systems need to be much more efficient in using resources such as land, water, and fertilizer. This study examines resource use efficiency of maize production among smallholder farmers in Nyando, Kenya. The main objective is to assess the degree of technical efficiency of smallholder farmers and identify the impact of so-called “climate smart practices” on technical efficiency. The method of Stochastic Frontier Analysis is used to simultaneously estimate a stochastic production frontier and a technical inefficiency effect model. Data for 324 subplots farmed by 170 households were available for this analysis. The study reveals that maize production in Nyando is associated with mean technical efficiency of 45% and that soil conservation practices such as residue management, legume intercropping, and improved varieties significantly increase farmers’ technical efficiency. Soil carbon is found to be a critical factor of production. These results imply that there is potential to more than double production using the same resources and that soil conservation practices can be very “climate smart,” at once increasing soil carbon, production, climate resilience, and technical efficiency.

scholarly journals Poverty and soil conservation efforts among smallholder farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Yirga ◽  
RM Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Central Highlands

This study explores the influence of incidence of poverty and plot-level perception of soil degradation, on soil conservation behaviour of small subsistence farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The study results confirm that poverty in assets significantly reduces the probability of soil-conservation efforts as measured by use of stone/soil bund structures in the highlands of Ethiopia. Perception of soil degradation, public assistance with sharing initial costs of constructing soil-conservation structures, improved security of land tenure and farmers’ education and access to information on soil degradation are essential for farmers making long-term investment in conserving soil resources. On the other hand, improved access to short-term credit for the purchase of inorganic fertilizers acts as a disincentive for long-term conservation practices, an important trade-off with serious policy implications that should be carefully evaluated.

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