Farm size and pesticide use: evidence from agricultural production in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingjing Gao ◽  
Qingen Gai ◽  
Binbin Liu ◽  
Qinghua Shi
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Pesticide Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Grain Crops ◽  
Management Ability ◽  
Two Factors

PurposeChina is the world's largest consumer of pesticides. To increase the use efficiency and achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly use of pesticides in China, it is crucial to understand why Chinese farmers use such a large amount of pesticides.Design/methodology/approachThe relationship between farm size and pesticide use was investigated by using national household-level panel data from 1995 to 2016.FindingFarms that are small and fragmented lead to the use of large amounts of pesticides in China. For a given crop type, three factors contribute to a negative relationship between farm size and pesticide use: the spillover effect from the use of pesticides by other farmers in the same village, the level of mechanization and the management ability of farmers. The first two factors play important roles in the cultivation of grain crops, while the last factor is the main reason why farmers with larger plots of land use fewer pesticides in the cultivation of vegetables. In addition, the effect of agricultural machinery services on reducing the use of pesticides is currently limited, and the service system in China is still insufficient, which has been pointed out that it is also due to the prevalence of small and fragmented farms.Originality/valueThe authors investigate and compare the farm size–pesticide use relationship in both grain and cash crop production. Moreover, the authors systematically explore and explain how farm size is related to a reduction in pesticide use in the cultivation of grain crops and cash crops. These results can help to better understand the role of land scale in pesticide use, lay a foundation for the formulation of policies to reduce pesticide use and provide valuable knowledge about pesticide use for other developing countries around the world.

Does household engagement in concurrent business affect the farm size-technical efficiency relationship in grain production?

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhong ◽  
Yuchun Zhu ◽  
Qihui Chen ◽  
Tianjun Liu ◽  
Qihua Cai
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Two Factors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how households’ engagement in concurrent business (CB), which is measured by the contribution of off-farm income to household income, affects the farm size–technical efficiency (TE) relationship in Northern China. Design/methodology/approach This paper applies a stochastic frontier analysis method to analyze data on 1,006 rural households collected from four major wheat-producing provinces in Northern China, adopting a translog specification for the underlying production function. Findings The analysis yields three findings. First, the farm size–TE relationship is inverted U-shaped for all CB engagement levels higher than 5 percent, and the most technically efficient farm size increases with the level of household CB engagement. Second, how TE varies with the level of CB engagement depends on farm size: an inverted-U relationship for relatively small farms (<10μ), a positive relationship for middle-size farms (10–20μ), and a negative relationship for large farms (>20μ). Finally, the overall TE score, 0.88, suggests that wheat output can be increased by 12 percent in Northern China if technical inefficiency were eliminated. Originality/value Unlike most previous studies that examine the impacts of farm size and households’ off-farm business involvement separately, this paper examines how these two factors interact with each other.

scholarly journals Simultaneous production decisions in agricultural contexts: an experimental investigation of pesticide use, animal welfare and wheat production

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (13) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Julia Höhler ◽  
Jörg Müller
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Market Entry ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Pesticide Use ◽  
Production Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wheat Production ◽  
Simultaneous Production ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Entry Games

PurposeFarmers often decide simultaneously on crop production or input use without knowing other farmers' decisions. Anticipating the behavior of other farmers can increase financial performance. This paper investigates the role of other famers' behaviors and other contextual factors in farmers' simultaneous production decisions.Design/methodology/approachMarket entry games are a common method for investigating simultaneous production decisions. However, so far they have been conducted with abstract tasks and by untrained subjects. The authors extend market entry games by using three real contexts: pesticide use, animal welfare and wheat production, in an incentivized framed field experiment with 323 German farmers.FindingsThe authors find that farmers take different decisions under identical incentive structures for the three contexts. While context plays a major role in their decisions, their expectations about the behavior of other farmers have little influence on their decision.Originality/valueThe paper offers new insights into the decision-making behavior of farmers. A better understanding of how farmers anticipate the behavior of other farmers in their production decisions can improve both the performance of individual farms and the allocational efficiency of agricultural and food markets.

scholarly journals Farmers’ adaptation strategies to drought and their determinants in barind tract, Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
MS Islam ◽  
MZ Hossain ◽  
MB Sikder
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Barind Tract ◽  
Chi Square Test

Farmers’ choice of drought adaptation measures depends on several determinants that include their socioeconomic, demographic, and agricultural characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the presence of dependency or association between the adaptation strategies implemented by farmers’ own initiative and their determinants in the Barind Tract of Bangladesh. The study was mainly based on primary data collected through a household level survey using a structured questionnaire covering 400 farming households from an extended area comprising 10 Unions from 03 Districts, viz. Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, and Naogaon in northwest Bangladesh. The chi-square test and Cramer’s V test has been applied to measure the association between variables and the strength of the association respectively. The study found that the nature of adaptation strategies implemented by farmers is mainly related to crop production and income generation. Their capability noticeably lacks to facilitate artificial irrigation that made them dependent on government’s initiatives. The association between the implemented adaptation measures and selected variables suggests that the farm size, irrigation accessibility, monthly household income, land ownership status, literacy level, and poverty status played significant role in the implementation of adaptation measures. Finally, limitations of currently practiced adaptation strategies and future way forwardhave been discussed for better drought risk management. SAARC J. Agri., 17(1): 161-174 (2019)

scholarly journals On-farm trees are a safety net for the poorest households rather than a major contributor to food security in Rwanda

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Ndoli ◽  
Athanase Mukuralinda ◽  
Antonius G. T. Schut ◽  
Miyuki Iiyama ◽  
Jean Damascene Ndayambaje ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
Agroforestry Practice ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Agroforestry Practices

AbstractThe world is challenged to meet the food demand of a growing population, especially in developing countries. Given the ambitious plans to scale up agroforestry in Africa, an improved understanding of the effect of agroforestry practices on the already challenged food security of rural households is crucial. The present study was undertaken to assess how on-farm trees impacted food security in addition to other household income sources in Rwanda. In each of the six agroecologies of Rwanda, a stratified sampling procedure was used where two administrative cells (4th formal administrative level) were selected in which households were randomly selected for interviews. A survey including 399 farmers was conducted and farmers were grouped in three types of agroforestry practice (i) low practitioners (LAP) represented by the first tertile, (ii) medium practitioners (MAP) represented by the second tertile and (iii) high practitioners (HAP) represented by the third tertile of households in terms of tree number. Asset values, household income sources, crop production, farm size, crop yield, and food security (food energy needs) were quantified among the types of agroforestry practice. A larger proportion of HAP households had access to adequate quantity and diversity of food when compared with MAP and LAP households. Food security probability was higher for households with more resources, including land, trees and livestock, coinciding with an increased crop and livestock income. We found no difference in asset endowment among types of agroforestry practices, while farmers in agroecologies with smaller farms (0.42 ha to 0.66 ha) had more on-farm trees (212 to 358 trees per household) than farms in agroecologies with larger farms (0.96 ha to 1.23 ha) which had 49 to 129 trees per household, probably due to differences in biophysical conditions. A positive association between tree density and food security was found in two out of six agroecologies. The proportion of income that came from tree products was high (> 20%) for a small fraction of farmers (12%), with the more food insecure households relying more on income from tree products than households with better food security status. Thus, tree income can be percieved as a “safety net” for the poorest households.

scholarly journals Economics of autonomous equipment for arable farms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Lowenberg-DeBoer ◽  
Kit Franklin ◽  
Karl Behrendt ◽  
Richard Godwin
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Crop Agriculture

AbstractBy collecting more data at a higher resolution and by creating the capacity to implement detailed crop management, autonomous crop equipment has the potential to revolutionise precision agriculture (PA), but unless farmers find autonomous equipment profitable it is unlikely to be widely adopted. The objective of this study was to identify the potential economic implications of autonomous crop equipment for arable agriculture using a grain-oilseed farm in the United Kingdom as an example. The study is possible because the Hands Free Hectare (HFH) demonstration project at Harper Adams University has produced grain with autonomous equipment since 2017. That practical experience showed the technical feasibility of autonomous grain production and provides parameters for farm-level linear programming (LP) to estimate farm management opportunities when autonomous equipment is available. The study shows that arable crop production with autonomous equipment is technically and economically feasible, allowing medium size farms to approach minimum per unit production cost levels. The ability to achieve minimum production costs at relatively modest farm size means that the pressure to “get big or get out” will diminish. Costs of production that are internationally competitive will mean reduced need for government subsidies and greater independence for farmers. The ability of autonomous equipment to achieve minimum production costs even on small, irregularly shaped fields will improve environmental performance of crop agriculture by reducing pressure to remove hedges, fell infield trees and enlarge fields.

scholarly journals Decoupling livestock and crop production at the household level in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuqin Jin ◽  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Bi Wu ◽  
Dongmei Han ◽  
Yu Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Household Level

scholarly journals Musculoskeletal disorders among rice farmers in Phimai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 494-503
Author(s):  
Ekarat Sombatsawat ◽  
Titaporn Luangwilai ◽  
Parichat Ong-artborirak ◽  
Wattasit Siriwong
Keyword(s):  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Body Region ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rice Farmers ◽  
Body Regions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and determine factors influencing MSDs among rice farmers. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study was carried out among 156 rice farmers from 14 villages in Tarnlalord sub-district, Phimai district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, from February 2017 to March 2017. Face-to-face interviews, including demographics, work characteristics and musculoskeletal pain, were conducted using a modified standardized Nordic questionnaire. Findings The results revealed that both 78 males and 78 females participated in the study to which the average of age and body mass index (BMI) was 45.5±11.4 years and 24.9±4.0 kg/m2, respectively. All rice farmers reported MSDs in at least one body region during the six months preceding the interview. The highest prevalence of MSDs showed 86.5 percent in the lower back area, followed by 85.9 percent in the neck, and 80.7 percent in the shoulders. The analysis of binary logistic regression and Spearman’s rank correlation showed that factors such as gender, age, BMI, work experience and farm size influence MSDs’ occurrence, and pain severity in one or more body regions (p < 0.05). Originality/value Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant health problem in rice farmers. The study indicated that appropriate agricultural practices such as working posture, equipment size selection and carrying loads should be recommended to prevent MSDs. Thus, the occupational health and safety services in agricultural workers are needed.

Conflict and creativity in inter-organizational teams

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Hu ◽  
Zhi Chen ◽  
Jibao Gu ◽  
Shenglan Huang ◽  
Hefu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Relationship Conflict ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Team Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Organizational Teams ◽  
Study Offer

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effects of task and relationship conflicts on team creativity, and the moderating role of shared leadership in inter-organizational teams. An inter-organizational team normally comprises employees from collaborated organizations brought together to conduct an initiative, such as product development. Practitioners and researchers have witnessed the prevalence of conflict in inter-organizational teams. Despite significant scholarly investigation into the importance of conflict in creativity, a deep theoretical understanding of conflict framework remains elusive. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted in China to collect data. Consequently, 54 teams, which comprised 54 team managers and 276 team members, were deemed useful for the study. Findings By testing our hypotheses on 54 inter-organizational teams, we found that relationship conflict has a negative relationship with team creativity, whereas task conflict has an inverted U-shaped (curvilinear) relationship with team creativity. Furthermore, when shared leadership is stronger, the negative relationship with team creativity is weaker for relationship conflict, whereas the inverted U-shaped relationship with team creativity is stronger for task conflict. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is cross-sectional, which cannot establish causality in relationships. Despite this potential weakness, the present research provides insights into conflict, leadership and inter-organizational collaboration literature. Practical implications The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams. Social implications Managers are struggling to identify ways to effectively manage team conflict when a team of diverse individuals across organizational boundaries are brought together to solve a problem. The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams. Originality/value This paper provides understandings about how relationship and task conflicts affect team creativity in inter-organizational teams.

The reflexive turn in key account management

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 2071-2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Vanharanta ◽  
Alan J.P. Gilchrist ◽  
Andrew D. Pressey ◽  
Peter Lenney
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Key Account Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Account Management ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Key Account ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This study aims to address how and why do formal key account management (KAM) programmes hinder effective KAM management, and how can the problems of formalization in KAM be overcome. Recent empirical studies have reported an unexpected negative relationship between KAM formalization and performance. Design/methodology/approach – An 18-month (340 days) ethnographic investigation was undertaken in the UK-based subsidiary of a major US sports goods manufacturer. This ethnographic evidence was triangulated with 113 in-depth interviews. Findings – This study identifies how and why managerial reflexivity allows a more effectively combining of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM practices. While formal KAM programmes provide a means to initiate, implement and control KAM, they have an unintended consequence of increasing organizational bureaucracy, which may in the long-run hinder the KAM effectiveness. Heightened reflexivity, including “wayfinding”, is identified as a means to overcome many of these challenges, allowing for reflexively combining formal with post-bureaucratic KAM practices. Research limitations/implications – The thesis of this paper starts a new line of reflexive KAM research, which draws theoretical influences from the post-bureaucratic turn in management studies. Practical implications – This study seeks to increase KAM implementation success rates and long-term effectiveness of KAM by conceptualizing the new possibilities offered by reflexive KAM. This study demonstrates how reflexive skills (conceptualized as “KAM wayfinding”) can be deployed during KAM implementation and for its continual improvement. Further, the study identifies how KAM programmes can be used to train organizational learning regarding KAM. Furthermore, this study identifies how and why post-bureaucratic KAM can offer additional benefits after an organization has learned key KAM capabilities. Originality/value – A new line of enquiry is identified: the reflexive-turn in KAM. This theoretical position allows us to identify existing weakness in the extant KAM literature, and to show a practical means to improve the effectiveness of KAM. This concerns, in particular, the importance of managerial reflexivity and KAM wayfinding as a means to balance the strengths and weaknesses of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM.

Do corporate diversification and earnings management practices affect capital structure?

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 360-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjitha Ajay ◽  
R Madhumathi
Keyword(s):  
Capital Structure ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Corporate Diversification ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Diversification Strategies ◽  
Market Product ◽  
Diversified Firms ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of earnings management on capital structure across firm diversification strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The study focuses on firms operating in the manufacturing sector (diversified and focused). Panel data methodology compares diversification strategies and identifies the impact of diversification strategy with earnings management practices on capital structure decision. Findings – International and product diversified firms have lower levels of leverage than focused firms in their capital structure. Asset-based earnings management is positive for diversified (market/product) firms. Earnings management using discretionary expenditure (project based) is found to be higher for market diversified but product-focused firms. Earning smoothing method is found to be significant for focused firms and shows a negative relationship with capital structure. Originality/value – This study offers an insight into the relationship between corporate diversification, earnings management and capital structure decisions of manufacturing firms. The results provide an important contribution to accounting and strategy literature. A distinction is made between market- and product-diversified firms and influence of earnings management practices (asset-based, project-based and earnings smoothing (ESM)) on capital structure decisions. Diversified firms (market/product) tend to have lower levels of leverage than focused firms and earnings management practices within firm groups significantly influence the capital structure decisions.

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