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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Agricultural development'
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Hallstrom, Daniel George. "Agricultural development patterns." Thesis, Montana State University, 1995. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/1995/hallstrom/HallstromD1995.pdf.
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A two-sector general equilibrium model of economic growth has been developed in conjunction with a political economy model of agricultural pricing policies. These theoretical models were used to both present arguments regarding the impact of economic and political forces on agriculture's share of GDP, as well as to provide guides towards specifying the econometric models. Empirical analysis was performed using two data sets. The first covered 81 countries for the years 1971-1981, but contained no explicit measure of policy. The second covered 22 countries for the years 1985-1989, and contained an explicit policy measure in the form of producer subsidy equivalents. Due to the lack of a policy measure in the large data set, a reduced form equation for agriculture's share had to be solved for in order to yield an operational statistical model. Results from this model indicated that variations in agriculture's share could be explained by: level of development, world prices, natural resources, and the political economy variables. For the smaller data set, agriculture's share and producer subsidy equivalents were considered to be jointly endogenous, and so were estimated as a system. It was found that agriculture's share has a negative effect on producer subsidy equivalents, however, producer subsidy equivalents did not have a statistically significant effect on agriculture's share.
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Liepins, Ruth. ""Women in agriculture" : a geography of Australian agricultural activism /." Connect to thesis, 1996. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00000215.
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Foor, Ryan M. "Job Satisfaction of Agricultural Communication, Agricultural Leadership, Agricultural Teacher Education, and Extension Education Faculty." The Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1235501317.
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Arala, Ibrahim Olusegun. "THE IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL LOANS ON AGRICULTURAL GDP IN NIGERIA." OpenSIUC, 2020. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2676.
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Previous studies have shown a significant and positive relationship between agricultural output and long run economic development. Nigeria, with current extreme poverty rate of 48% is also characterized with high level of food insecurity. The country however, has about 99 million ha of arable land which supports numerous farming activities. Therefore, there exist an opportunity to increase agricultural output and achieve economic development. Further studies also showed that the percentage of agricultural loans to total loans in Nigeria have been declining over the last 15 years which suggests some form of neglect of the sector. This paper therefore examined the impact of agricultural loans and other relevant variables on agricultural GDP in Nigeria with a view to estimate a regression model that can explain variability in agricultural GDP. All the data used were secondary data collected from the annual statistical bulletin of the Central Bank of Nigeria (2018) and USDA, Economic Research Service (Nov. 2019). Ordinary Least Square regression model was used to estimate regression parameters and to show relationship between the variables. Analyzed results showed that agricultural GDP in Nigeria is statistically dependent on agricultural loan, government expenditure and available farm land. The result was statistically tested to be significant at >=95% level of confidence. Further results also showed that agricultural loan in Nigeria is statistically dependent on agricultural credit guarantee and Non-performing loan ratio. This was also tested to be significant at >=95% level of confidence.The study recommended that the results calls for more allocation of credit for agricultural purposes, more government spending to agriculture and more funding of the agricultural credit guarantee program by the government.
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Douglas, Catherine. "Enclosure and Agricultural Development in Scotland." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.519762.
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McKerracher, Mark James. "Agricultural development in Mid Saxon England." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:42a637f9-eac7-4a37-bc4b-20403dd7c974.
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Over the past decade, historians and archaeologists have become increasingly aware that the Mid Saxon period in England (7th-9th centuries AD) witnessed a transformation in agricultural practices. According to the emergent consensus, in contrast to the heavily pastoral, broadly subsistence-based mode of agriculture characteristic of the Early Saxon period (5th-7th centuries), Mid Saxon agriculture was geared towards higher levels of surplus production and placed a greater emphasis upon arable farming. The increased cultivation of bread wheat and the specialist production of sheep’s wool have been identified as particularly important innovations of this period. This thesis represents the first attempt to explore agricultural development in Mid Saxon England on a systematic archaeological basis. It considers settlement, zooarchaeological, and archaeobotanical evidence in detail, with a special emphasis on charred plant remains. The analyses utilize data gathered from excavation reports, published and unpublished, covering two case study regions: (i) the Upper/Middle Thames valley and environs, and (ii) East Anglia and Essex. In addition, a sub-assemblage of charred plant remains from a Mid Saxon monastic site at Lyminge (Kent) is studied at first hand. In this way, a series of agricultural innovations is identified in the archaeological record, including in particular: specialized pastoralism, an increased emphasis on sheep in some regions, an expansion of arable production, growth in fibre production, growth in cereal surpluses, a consequent investment in specialist storage and processing facilities, and a general diversification of crop spectra. These innovations were contingent upon, and adapted to, local environmental factors. The process of agricultural development is thought to have begun in the 7th century and continued through the 8th and 9th centuries, facilitated and stimulated by newly consolidated élite landholdings and, probably, a growing population.
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Cheng, Zhen. "Essays on Agricultural and Regional Development." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/92696.
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In a world of imbalance, food consumption exhibits great diversity among regions and countries. Although farmers in developed economies benefit from up-to-date agricultural technology and produce much more than they consume, households in the developing world are still combating food insecurity. This dissertation is composed of two manuscripts. One is about consumption in developing countries, while the other is related to promoting agricultural production in a developed economy.
Chapter 1 applies a three-stage demand system to nationally representative household survey data to identify food demand behavior with an emphasis on food staples in two West Africa countries ‒ Niger and Nigeria. The third stage of the demand system offers demand elasticities of specific staple items. Instead of treating the population as a whole, the study distinguishes rural and urban households and households of different welfare status. Results confirm the complexity of the food and staples demand between rural/urban areas and among welfare quintiles. Therefore, researchers and policymakers should consider not only the average demand response but also its distribution among households. In addition to demand elasticities, the effects of household demographic characteristics on the structure of food consumption are also obtained.
Chapter 2 estimates the rates of return to Virginia's public expenditure on agricultural research and extension (RandE) during 1949-2016 and attempts to address the ad hoc model selection problem common in previous studies. Among the econometric modeling strategies in previous literature, Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) and Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) are two promising methods to solve the issue of model uncertainty. The rate-of-return estimates by BHM are preferable because BHM imposes fewer restrictions on lag structures and offers more reasonable lag shapes. By BHM, the internal rates of return (IRR) of Virginia's public expenditures on agricultural RandE are 26% and 42%, respectively. Nineteen percent of Virginia's agricultural productivity growth during 1949-2016 results from its RandE investments, and the contribution of research to that growth is about twice of that of extension. One extra million dollar expenditure on research in 1992 would have brought a benefit of $4.5 million, and the same expenditure in 1983 would have brought $5.4 million in additional benefits. If the extra expenditure is spent on extension, it would have brought a benefit of $6.1 million and $6.3 million if the expenditure occurs in 1992 and 1983, respectively. Besides the modeling strategy, this study is distinguished from previous studies in that distributions of rates of return instead of only point estimates are obtained, which is missing in most studies.Doctor of Philosophy
In a world of imbalance, food production and consumption exhibit great diversity among regions and countries. While farmers of developed economies benefit from up-todate agricultural technology and produce more than they consume, households in the developing world are still facing food insecurity. This dissertation is composed of two manuscripts. Chapter 1 is about food consumption in developing countries. It analyzes household food demand behavior in the two West Africa countries Niger and Nigeria with a focus on staple foods. Food demand behavior differs for rural and urban households and households of different income. Therefore, when evaluating the effects of policies and other impacts, policymakers and researchers should treat households with different attributes separately. Chapter 2 is on how to improve agricultural production within the context of a developed economy: it evaluates the returns to public expenditures on agricultural research and extension (R&E) in Virginia. Previous studies choose statistical models arbitrarily, and this study attempts to address this issue. It finds that Virginia’s investments in agricultural R&E contribute to nineteen percent of the productivity growth in 1949-2016, and the contribution of research is about twice of that of extension.
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Boulay, Basile. "Essays on agricultural development in Tanzania." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52094/.
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This thesis is made of three self-contained essays on the agricultural sector of Tanzania, each of them focusing on an aspect of direct policy relevance. In the first essay, I study whether an inverse relationship exists between cultivated area and physical productivity (yield per acre) for a set of important annual crops. I define size as the area of a plot on which a crop is grown, thus introducing a more disaggregated level of analysis than the common plot or crop levels of analysis. I control for the existing hypotheses in the literature potentially explaining this inverse relationship and propose to control for two new hypotheses which are only testable at this level of analysis. In the second essay, I look at output marketing for a set of important crops. I stress the links between the market failure theoretical narrative and empirical applications, and argue this has resulted in less attention being paid to the reasons why farmers may enter -or not- the market for a particular crop. I estimate participation and supply equations for a set of important crops and show that the rationale for entry differs across crops. This calls for a more flexible conception of `the market'. The first two essays use the Tanzanian National Panel Surveys to conduct econometric analysis. The third essay is based on primary data collected in 2016 in order to carry analysis of the Bambara nut, an underutilised crop. Because underutilised crops hardly feature in national datasets, primary data is needed to understand their socio-economic dynamics. Focusing on the Mtwara region of Tanzania, I study the importance of Bambara for local livelihoods using a mixed-methods study based on both quantitative and qualitative data. This study contributes to the growing interest on underutilised crops and their importance in designing more sustainable agricultural strategies.
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Fox, Jacqueline Frances. "The role of institutional credit in agricultural development : the case of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives, Thailand." Thesis, University of Hull, 1992. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:10690.
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This thesis attempts to evaluate the lending policy of Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) from a developmental perspective. Firstly the question of access to institutional credit is examined in terms of the distribution of BAAC loans spatially and by the economic status of borrowers; secondly, the study uses the case study approach to analyse the farm-level effectiveness of three types of lending instrument a) short-term production loans, by scale of farming operation and access to irrigation (the "credit-only" model); b) short-term production loans with extension support (the credit extension model) and; c) long-term investment loans disbursed within the project framework (the project lending model). One of the case studies is drawn from the Central region and two from the Northeast. The results of the study indicate that for a variety of reasons, BAAC directs subsidised loans mainly towards the country's most agriculturally productive areas and most economically secure farmers. This orientation is long-established and is likely to have contributed to the problem of inequality in the distnbution of income and wealth in rural areas. Since 1975, institutional credit has been an important part of a government strategy to increase the flow of funds and provision of support services to the rural sector. The Bank has recruited large numbers of relatively poorer farmers. However, using farm-size as a measure of economic status shows that BAAC clients generally have larger farms than their neighbours. In the Northeastern region, the percentage of BAAC clients with farms below the median is only 11 per cent compared to 23 per cent for the Central and Eastern regions and 20 per cent country-wide. The bulk of loan disbursement is also directed towards medium- and large-scale farmers. Inter-provincial variations in the recruitment of and disbursement of loans to small-scale farmers, are explained in terms of varying strategies employed by branch managers to meet the terms and conditions of the Branch Evaluation Procedure, despite convincing evidence that repayment rates for this group are as good if not better than for larger-scale operators. Regardless of the Bank's economic orientation farm-level analyses of the effects of short-term borrowing show that production loans are most critical to and are used most effectively by small-scale farmers, particularly those in rainfed areas. At present, however, the farm-level effect of technical support, given in association with loans to small-scale farmers, though positive, is still weak. Improvement in the impact of the credit-extension model will depend on further development of the working relationship between BAAC and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DoAE). The effectiveness of long-term project loans, in terms of increasing the productive capacity and income-generating potential among smallscale farmers, is also limited. The challenge to the Bank is to develop projects that meet the Bank's criteria with regard to financial viability and also yield a good return to the borrower after loan repayment obligations have been met. The extent to which the BAAC can provide an equitable and effective service within the context of rural development policy as a whole, depends on active government intervention to prevent the erosion of the Bank's capital base, promotion of the type of interagency cooperation necessary to provide integrated support services to farmers, and prioritisation of planning for the small farm sector.
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Chaudhury, Mohammad Jamil. "Financial development and agricultural development in Pakistan : 1952-1982." Thesis, University of Dundee, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.289370.
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Gebre-Selassie, Samuel. "The development of integrated management information systems for agricultural extension institutions of developing countries : the case of Oromia Agricultural Development Bureau of Ethiopia /." Aachen : Shaker, 2001. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=009323076&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
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Amaral, Luiz Fernando do. "ICT and agricultural development: the impacts of information and communication-technology on agriculture." Universidade de São Paulo, 2017. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/101/101131/tde-04072017-113450/.
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Within a context of continuous population and economic growth, the future projections for agricultural products\' demand is impressive. At the same time, agriculture already exercises significant pressure on natural resources. As a consequence, the world needs to produce higher agricultural volumes while limiting agriculture\'s impacts on the environment. This thesis evaluates whether empirical indications exist that demonstrate how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure development and usage could impact the sustainable development of agriculture. Drawing from the empirical literature on infrastructure\'s impacts on development, two statistical models are created. The first analyses impacts of Internet and mobile usage on cereal yields at a country level using Fixed Effects Panel Regression for 212 countries in five 5-year periods, from 1990 to 2014. The second uses a Propensity Score Matching Model to evaluate how the installation of 3G technology during the period between 2005 and 2009 in Brazilian municipalities located in the Amazon region affected deforestation. Based on the methodology and datasets used, results indicate that the growth of Internet users could have a positive impact on cereal productivity in a country. Results for mobile device users are inconclusive. Finally the second models indicate that municipalities in which 3G technology was installed had lower deforestation rates than similar municipalities lacking 3G technology.Em um contexto de crescimento populacional e econômico, as projeções de demanda para produtos agrícolas no futuro são expressivas. Ao mesmo tempo, a agricultura já exerce pressão significativa nos recursos naturais do planeta. Como consequência, é preciso obter maior oferta de produtos e, ao mesmo tempo, limitar o impacto ambiental da atividade agrícola. Essa tese avalia o papel da infraestrutura e uso de Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação (TIC) no desenvolvimento sustentável da agricultura. Baseando-se na literatura empírica sobre impacto de infraestrutura no desenvolvimento, dois modelos estatísticos foram criados. O primeiro analisa os impactos do uso de internet e telefones celulares na produtividade de cereais utilizando uma regressão em painel de efeitos fixos para 212 países no período entre 1990 e 2014. O segundo utiliza um modelo Propensity Score Matching para avaliar o impacto da instalação de tecnologia 3G no desmatamento de municipios localizados na região da Amazônia Legal brasileira. De acordo com a metodologia e dados utilizados, os resultados indicam que um crescimento no uso da internet pode positivamente impactar a produtividade de cereais em um país. Para o caso do uso de telefones celulares os resultados são inconclusivos. Finalmente, de acordo com o modelo, há indicações de que municipios que receberam a tecnologia 3G no período estudado tiveram taxas de desmatamento reduzidas quando comparadas a municipios similares que não receberam a tecnologia.
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Gala, Xoliswa Masingita Hlubelihle. "Challenges facing LED Agricultural cooperative in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality : a case study of Nkomamonta Primary Agricultural Cooperative in Limpopo." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1015.
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Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013Agricultural cooperatives have been widely promoted as a vehicle for smallholder agricultural development in South Africa. As a result, agricultural co-operative registrations in South Africa are increasing. However, research suggests that South African co-operatives have generally not been effective, successful and functional. This study has investigated the challenges facing agricultural cooperatives in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality. It is expected that identification of these elements may enable institutions that offer support to cooperatives make better decisions to improve primary agricultural cooperatives support. Understanding of these elements could inform the efforts for members of cooperatives to achieve their set objectives and thus improve agriculture cooperative, employability, functionality and profitability. A case study of the Nkomamonta Agricultural Primary Cooperative in the Greater Tzaneen Municipalities is used. It is composed of fifteen agricultural cooperative which were purposively selected for the study because they were nearby, they are a pilot agricultural cooperative in the municipality and which are also not functioning as expected. The sample also included the purposively selected members, customers of these agricultural cooperative, workers, Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Local SEDA and LIBSA to explore the differences and provide insight to the knowledge, opinions and challenges that are facing agricultural cooperatives. One-on-one interviews were carried out with co-operative members as well as focus group discussions with customers, members of the cooperatives, workers, the Municipal officials, SEDA and LIBSA. A framework for analysing the challenges agricultural cooperatives with reference to the Nkomamonta cooperative case study was developed using literature of objectives of agricultural cooperatives, challenges which were identified by other researchers and success factors of smallholder agriculture. According to this study, farmers’ activities are hampered by a number of constraints. Production capability of the fifteen primary cooperatives is hampered by resource constraints such as lack of access to land (in one cooperative), machinery and equipment, finances and information relevant to production. Marketing, transportation, poor infrastructure and the elderly age of some cooperative members and issues related to free-rider syndrome were part of the problems that were identified. Low capability of some of the fifteen cooperatives to mobilise resources, use the limited resources available and low capability to manage institutional arrangements rendered the cooperatives ineffective in achieving their set objectives. The study recommends strategies for ensuring that the challenges facing agricultural cooperatives are minimised to better their services in the community. These include strategies for addressing internal and external issues affecting the cooperatives. Direct intervention from government is recommended to improve production through revising land allocation systems which made Kulani Agricultural Cooperative not to have land for growing crops. Jerry Jeff and Nwa Rex went out of action for eight months due to renovation of neighbourhood inorganic farms by the Department of Agriculture. Another strategy would entail improving extension services and follow up and strict monitoring of effective use of government resources provided to farmers. Responding and action taking when disaster has struck the agricultural cooperative by Government is also a plausible strategy. Access and training to relevant technologies to improve the processing and packaging capabilities of cooperatives should improve. Marketing and management activities should be supported through provision of improved infrastructure and relevant training. Farmers themselves should consider assisting one another especially regarding land issues as it was discovered that 67 hectares lay unutilised while the farmer next door needed land. Farmers should also engage in value added activities, and improve marketing programs and cost-effective distribution mechanisms.
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Benu, Fredrik Lukas. "Farm productivity and farmers' welfare in West Timor, Indonesia." Thesis, Curtin University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/333.
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This study examines agricultural productivity and farmers' welfare in West Timor, Indonesia. The driving force behind this study is to understand why the welfare of farmers has lagged behind others despite significant growth in the agricultural sector. The main research problem in this study is that while agricultural production has increased significantly in West Timor, the welfare of farmers has not increased as fast as that of non-farmers. To reduce the gap in income between farmers and nonfarmers, the growth of income of West Timor's farmers, as the indicator of their welfare, has to accelerate at least as fast as the growth of non-farmers' income. This target might be achieved if there is an appropriate policy of agricultural development implemented by the government. For this reason, evaluation of the structure of agricultural production, as well as the welfare of the farmers of West Timor, is an important issue that needs to be addressed. This study analyses the structure of agricultural production and the welfare of farmers in West Timor. An econometric method (Three Stage Least Squares) was used in modelling the agricultural system to evaluate the structure of the agricultural production as well as farmers' welfare in West Timor. A simultaneous equations model which consists of eight structural and four identity equations was constructed for the analysis of the structure, the estimation of elasticities from the regression coefficients and the subsequent policy analysis. The data used for the analysis are secondary data published by the Indonesian government.All data used in the model were time series data from 1979 to 1998 and gathered in the period between January and July 1999. The results of this research found that technical factors such as water availability. pasture capacity and irrigation channels influence the production of agriculture more than economic factors such as the price of products and cost of inputs. Too, population growth and the availability of socio-economic institutions such as cooperatives at the village level. have a significant influence on the agricultural production. Although technical factors influence the production of agriculture more than economic factors, subsequent policy analysis shows that an increase in agricultural credit as well as a reduction in the cost of production will still have a positive impact on the production of agriculture. A policy to increase the price of agricultural commodities at the farm gate, especially the price of live cattle and rice, will increase the profit of farmers, further motivating them to increase their overall production. There are six scenarios of the policy alternatives that are simulated in this study. These are: (1) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the size of irrigated areas, (2) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the amount of credit, (3) the scenario of a 35 per cent decrease in total cost per hectare of maize cultivation, (4) the scenario of a 10 units increase in the number of cooperatives, (5) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the price of live cattle at the farm gate, and (6) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the price of rice at the farm gate.The results of the policy analysis found that the largest positive impact on the agricultural sector output as well as farmers per capita income is derived from the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the size of irrigated area. The scenarios of increasing amount of agricultural credit and the number of co-operatives have also generated a large positive impact on the agricultural sector output, but with a high increase in farmer population growth. Two other scenarios that have a large impact on the agricultural sector output as well as farmers' per capita income are the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the price of live cattle and the price of rice. Based on the results of the policy analysis, two main policies that might be undertaken by the government to promote the growth of the agricultural sector and farmers' per capita income are expansion of irrigated areas and improving farmers' access to agricultural credit.
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DuBose, Jennifer Robin. "Sustainability as an inherently contextual concept : some lessons from agricultural development." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/29567.
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Hernandez, Ricardo. "Growth and development of greenhouse vegetable seedlings under supplemental LED lighting." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3600283.
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The greenhouse industry is interested in light emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light source supplement to solar light to improve plant growth and development. Before LEDs can be adopted as supplemental light for greenhouse crops, plant responses to LED spectral quality need to be investigated. Tomato and cucumber seedlings were grown under different supplemental blue and red photon flux ratios (B:R ratios) under high (16-19 mol m–2 d –1) and low (5-9 mol m–2 d–1 ) solar daily light integrals (DLIs). The supplemental daily light integral was 3.6 mol m–2 d–1 . A treatment without supplemental light served as a control. Both tomato and cucumber seedlings had increased growth rate and improved morphology when grown under the supplemental LED light compared to the control. However, no significant differences were observed for any growth and morphological parameters measured in this study between the different B:R ratios for both cucumber and tomato transplants under high DLI conditions. Cucumber seedlings showed a tendency to decrease dry mass, leaf number and leaf area under low DLI conditions with increasing B:R ratio. Tomato seedlings did not show any differences between the different B:R ratios under low DLI conditions. Seedlings growth and morphology under supplemental LED light were compared to those under supplemental high pressure sodium (HPS) light. Cucumber seedlings under supplemental HPS light had greater shoot dry mass than those under the supplemental red LED light. Tomato shoot dry mass showed no differences between the HPS and red LED supplemental light treatments. Cucumber seedlings were also grown under supplemental LED pulsed lighting and supplemental LED continuous lighting. Cucumber seedlings showed no differences in shoot dry mass and net photosynthetic rate between the treatments. Collectively, these studies concluded that red LED is preferred for supplemental lighting and the increase of blue light does not offer any benefits unless the efficiency of blue LEDs largely exceeds the red LEDs. The results of this research can be used for fixture development by LED manufactures and as a decision making tool for the adoption of supplemental LED lighting by greenhouse growers.
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Vollenweider, Xavier. "Four essays in agricultural and development economics." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2016. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3397/.
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In the first paper, I introduce a new framework to estimate household climate risk exposure based on a combination of climate and microeconomic data. I apply it to the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey (1994-2009) and find that households living at low altitudes are the most vulnerable to weather shocks. The second paper is based on a combination of open and double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCT) conducted in Tanzania in 2013 with 560 farmers. By comparing the results between the participants in the open and double-blind groups, we find that more than 50% of the total effect of improved seeds estimated in traditional open RCTs depends on farmers’ behaviour. The third paper, based on the RCT mentioned above (only the open one is used), tests the hypothesis that farmers try to escape forced solidarity when facing favourable conditions. We find that farmers having received the improved seeds decrease their number of social interactions. We interpret this as a sign that farmers seek to hide from the pressure to redistribute. In the fourth paper, I leave Africa for the Republic of Ireland and show that a large Irish agri-environmental scheme does not increase farmers’ risk exposure.
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Jakobitz, Jeffrey R. "Development of an agricultural strategy for mission." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1986. http://www.tren.com.
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Fowdar, Narud. "Agricultural diversification and economic development in Mauritius." Thesis, University of the West of Scotland, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.387302.
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Huq, Naznin Afrose. "Rural accessibility and agricultural development in Bangladesh." Thesis, University of Salford, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.238789.
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Akoto, O. A. "Public policy and agricultural development in Ghana." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.355243.
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Lin, Chi-Yuan. "Primary agricultural product demand and economic development /." The Ohio State University, 1990. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487683049377861.
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Lungu, John. "Land tenure and agricultural development in Zambia." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1994. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk/R?func=search-advanced-go&find_code1=WSN&request1=AAIU072315.
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Zambia has since independence experienced a decline in per-capita food production. Among the assumed causes of this decline are land tenure relations. This thesis has discussed the relationship between land tenure systems and agricultural development. It has considered the effects of this relationship on productivity, investment and employment generation. It demonstrates that the prevalence of traditional land tenure systems in the rural areas is inconsistent with the rule structures of modern institutions providing credit, marketing, input supply and extension. The thesis however, recognizes that a reform of these land tenure institutions is not a panacea to agricultural productivity unless accompanied by the provision of agricultural services. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part sets out the philosophy of the research, the theoretical framework and provides background and illustrative information on the relationship between land tenure reform and agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa. This part also sets out the historical, economic and political context to land tenure reform in Zambia both in the colonial and post-colonial periods. The second part discusses the case study of Petauke District. In this exposition, the effects of tenure on agricultural productivity, investment and employment creation are examined by analyzing primary data concerning access to credit, marketing, input supply and extension services. In organising chapters 4 to 8 concerning sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia and the case study of Petauke district, the thesis utilized the structure and agency philosophical framework. The explanation of the relationship between land tenure and agricultural development however, employed institutional models developed by both economists and planners.
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Deaton, Brady James. "The influence of communications infrastructure on agricultural growth /." This resource online, 1993. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12052009-020226/.
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Barton, Julia Allison. "Agricultural and Food System Development at the Rural-Urban Interface." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1284742419.
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Bolana, Khayalethu Kenneth. "The role of the Dohne Agricultural Research Institute in rural agricultural development in the Eastern Cape." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8198.
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The decline of sustainable farming in the past twenty years in the villages of Amahlathi Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province is a cause for concern as this has resulted in reduced food security and increased levels of poverty and unemployment in the villages. As this decline continues to escalate even to date, this study was intended to investigate the role that could be played by the Dohne Agricultural Research Institute in the reduction of poverty through sustainable agricultural activities in these villages. Using a case study of Kubusi village in Amahlathi Local Municiplality, data was gathered through interviewing farming and non-farming households as well as the extension officer for Kubusi village and Dohne officials in order to understand the reasons for and the nature of the decline in farming activities in the villages. The study was conducted against the background of sustainable liveIihood (SL) theory. Important findings revealed that economic factors, primarily lack of money to buy fence and hire tractors to plough are primary causes for the decline, this followed by the effects of global warming and the lack of interest by the young generation to participate in crop farming. The study recommends that the government of the Eastern Cape should intervene through the Dohne Agricultural Research Institute in reskilling rural people in modern farming methods and assisting rural farmers with inputs, primarily fence, tractors and irrigation systems.
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Alia, Didier Y. "AGRICULTURAL INPUT INTENSIFICATION, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AFRICAN AGRICULTURE." UKnowledge, 2017. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/agecon_etds/59.
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This dissertation studies agricultural input intensification, defined as the increased use of modern inputs such as hybrid seeds, mineral fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide in African agriculture. It also analyses the potential of this intensification to accelerate productivity growth and tests the effectiveness of two policies, input subsidies and land reforms, in promoting it and consequently in increasing crop yield. In the first essay, we argue that to create the conditions for the emergence of a green revolution in Africa, modern agricultural technologies have to be adopted as a package, not in a piecemeal fashion. This argument is consistent with a conceptual framework that we develop to illustrate the importance of harnessing strategic complementarities among agricultural technologies by adopting them simultaneously rather than sequentially. Based on this framework, we propose a methodology to estimate an index to measure agricultural input intensification in its many dimensions. The index provides a simple and intuitive measure to quantify joint adoption of several inputs and compare it across plots, crops, farmers, and regions. Applying this methodology to maize producers in Burkina Faso and Tanzania, we show that our estimated index is a valid measure of joint input adoption and effectively captures the relative importance of each input as well as the number of different inputs adopted. Using the estimated index, we find that simultaneous adoption of modern inputs in Burkina Faso and Tanzania is limited but not rare. Most importantly, we find that the impact of the adoption of individual modern input on yield is increasing with the level of intensification for others.
In the subsequent two essays, we assess the effectiveness of government’s direct intervention through input subsidies and indirect intervention through land reforms in promoting agricultural input intensification and increasing productivity. Our empirical analyses focus on Burkina Faso, a country that has recently implemented a fertilizer subsidy program and is undertaking profound land reforms to improve land tenure security and land transferability among households. The second essay tests the hypothesis that subsidizing only one input might promote or discourage the use of other inputs. We find that fertilizer subsidy for maize farmers in Burkina Faso crowds in the use of hybrid seeds and crop protection chemicals, but discourages the use of manure. The last essay assesses whether the development of rural land rental markets can facilitate land transferability among farmers and increase input intensification and productivity. The findings suggest that land rental transfers land from less talented or committed farmers to the more able but have minimal impact on input intensification. However, our results show that land renters are more productive and better farm managers. These results suggest that the short-term gains from policies that foster the development of land rental markets in Burkina Faso, and more generally Africa, will likely be in term of efficiency rather than widespread adoption of modern agricultural technologies.
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Chizimba, Martha. "Sustainable agricultural development in the Malawian smallholder agricultural sector: a case of Lilongwe District." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/365.
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Even though agriculture is the backbone of Malawi‟s economy, food insecurity has remained a continuous threat among the poor. Until the 1980s, Malawi had been achieving national food security through an extensive system of agricultural inputs and marketing subsidies. However, these subsidies were removed and at the same time, the agricultural credit system collapsed. Consequently, agricultural productivity in Malawi remained low, poverty remained pervasive and food insecurity remains a main constraint to national and household food security. Therefore, the success of the agricultural sector in Malawi is very critical for raising the living standards and for food self-sufficiency. In this vein, the study hypothesized that Malawi can only achieve sustainable agricultural development if its agricultural policies are focused towards intensifying agricultural productivity through active participation of smallholder farmers. The major aim of the study was to contribute towards an improved understanding of how the issues of sustainable agricultural development have been addressed in Malawi and how they have influenced the lives of smallholder farmers. The analysis of the results revealed that even though what was implemented in the 1970s to early 1980s was financially unsustainable, but it provided some solutions to the fundamental challenges of smallholder development in Malawi. However, the liberalisations eroded whatever economic benefits achieved then. Never the less, the re-introduction of the agricultural input subsidies restored back the means of production leading to significant transformation of the country from a net importer to a net food exporter. On the other hand, although the agricultural input subsidy programme is being commended for having helped in achieving food security, the study revealed that the programme requires complementary services of credit, extension, research and market to support it. This will provide an exit strategy, which can enable the producers to sell their produce at higher prices sufficient enough for them to afford agricultural inputs without subsidies.
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Judd-Murray, M. Rose. "Development and Validation of an Agricultural Literacy Instrument Using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes." DigitalCommons@USU, 2019. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7562.
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This study was conducted to develop a standardized agricultural literacy assessment using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs) as benchmarks. The need for such an assessment was born out of previous research, which found that despite numerous programs dedicated to improving agricultural literacy, many students and adults remain at low or very low levels of literacy. Low literacy levels lead to negative associations with the production and processing of food, clothing, and shelter, as well as misinformed public perceptions and policies. Agricultural literacy researchers recognized that the development of a standardized assessment for post-12th grade, or equivalent, could unify both research and program development efforts.
The assessment was developed by forming two groups of experts. Teaching experts and agricultural content experts worked together in an iterative process. They crafted 45 questions using research methods and models. The 45 items were placed in an online survey to be tested for validity by a participant group. During the Fall 2018 semester, 515 Utah State University students between the ages of 18-23 years old participated in the online assessment. The participant data assisted in determining which questions were valid and reliable for determining agricultural literacy, as aligned to the NALO standards. Additional demographic information was also collected from participants. The demographic items asked students to self-report their level of exposure to agriculture and their self-perceived level of agricultural literacy.
The study concluded that two separate 15-item Judd-Murray Agricultural Literacy Instruments (JMALI) were valid and reliable for determining agricultural proficiency levels based on the NALOs. Participant scores were reported as a single proficiency stage: exposure, factual literacy, or applicable proficiency. The study also determined that students who had a “great deal” or higher level of exposure to agriculture also had a strong, positive correlation with a “good” or higher level of agricultural literacy. Findings show participants who reported a “good” level of agricultural literacy shared a positive correlation with either performing at a factual literacy (middle) or applicable proficiency (highest) level on the assessment.
The results suggest JMALI instruments have the potential to assist in improving current agricultural education endeavors by providing a critical tool for determining the agricultural literacy proficiency stages of adult populations.
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Hartmann, Marco. "Integrated farming systems for agricultural development the case of integrated agriculture aquaculture on Palawan, Philippines." Aachen Shaker, 2008. http://d-nb.info/992686547/04.
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Al-Obaid, Abdullah A. "Agricultural development in Saudi Arabia : policies and evaluations." Thesis, University of Leicester, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/7638.
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Blum, Florian. "Essays on public service delivery and agricultural development." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2017. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3574/.
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This thesis consists of three chapters that study public service delivery, nutrition and agricultural productivity in developing countries. The first chapter investigates whether imposing price-caps on frontline service delivery agents enhances welfare. I implement a field experiment in which I randomize whether public extension agents are subject to a price-cap or not. I find that while price-caps are effective in enhancing the affordability of extension services and increasing recipients’ surplus, they also reduce the geographic coverage of services. This suggests that price-cap regulation creates a tension between making services affordable and providing incentives for agents to serve remote recipients. I then show that the marginal welfare effect of reducing discretion over prices can be expressed as a function of two sufficient statistics: the elasticity of geographic service coverage with respect to the price-cap and the price elasticity of demand. Calculating the welfare effects, I find that any reduction of agents’ discretion reduces social welfare. The second chapter is concerned with contract design in public service delivery when delivery agents are boundedly rational. A theoretically efficient contract that minimizes moral hazard costs and avoids behavioural distortions charges agents a fixed fee for the usage of public assets and makes them residual claimants on its returns. I investigate whether such contracts are indeed efficient in practice by investigating whether imposing lump-sum fees on livestock extension agents distorts their choices. Using a field experiment, I first show that, contrary to classic economic theory, levying a fixed fee on agents leads them to increase user fees for a livestock vaccine and induces demand effects that reduce quantities. To understand the mechanisms underlying this result, I implement a series of lab-in-the-field experiments with a subset of the field-experimental participants. The results suggest that instead of setting prices for user fees as mark-ups over marginal costs agents use simplified rules-of-thumb that anchor pricing decisions on aggregate profits. The results highlight that boundedly rational behavior can reduce the effectiveness of adopting fixed fee contracts. The third chapter investigates whether improvements to agricultural production technology, a common response to undernutrition, can enhance food security and improve nutrition. In India, groundwater irrigation using tube wells has long been promoted as a means to reduce rainfall-dependence and enhance food security. The merits of adopting tube wells have, however, been debated widely, with opponents fearing a deprivation of smaller farmers and impoverishment of rural laborers. To evaluate the causal effects of tube well adoption on nutrition, I employ an instrumental variable framework that exploits variation in land suitability for deep groundwater irrigation caused by differences in hydrogeological structures. I find that groundwater irrigation significantly improves nutrition across the income spectrum: a one standard deviation increase in the proportion of cropped area irrigated with tube wells increases calorie intake by 770 to 915 calories per day. In addition, groundwater irrigation generates positive spillovers on the calorie intake of urban populations and households not employed in agriculture. I present additional evidence which suggests that these effects are driven by increases in agricultural productivity that reduce staple prices and raise wage rates. The findings thus highlight the value of groundwater irrigation in fighting undernutrition and promoting agricultural development.
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Henshaw, Thomas. "Agricultural Social Infrastructure: People, Policy, and Community Development." The Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1448376064.
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Diarra, Lacina. "Essays on Structural Change, Agricultural and Economic Development." Doctoral thesis, Université Laval, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/69032.
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Cette thèse étudie d'une part la relation entre les institutions foncières et la transition de la main-d'œuvre du secteur agricole vers le secteur non-agricole. D'autre part, elle explore l'effet de la réallocation du travail en dehors du secteur agricole sur l'efficience sectorielle. Elle se compose de trois chapitres. Le premier chapitre utilise les données de l'Ouganda pour identifier l'effet causal de la sécurité foncière sur la probabilité qu'un ménage passe du secteur agricole au secteur non-agricole dans sa stratégie de diversification de ses activités. Nous développons tout d'abord un modèle d'allocation du temps du travail dans lequel les ménages sont confrontés à des coûts hétérogènes dans leur transition de l'agriculture vers le secteur non-agricole. L'utilisation des terres agricoles comme collatéral pour obtenir des prêts peut aider à financer ces coûts à condition que le ménage détienne des droits de propriété sur celles-ci. Nous utilisons par la suite ce modèle théorique pour dériver un modèle empirique de choix binaire estimable. Nous comparons deux modèles qui corrigent l'endogénéité, notamment le modèle biprobit et le régresseur spécial. Nos résultats suggèrent qu'une augmentation d'un pourcent de la proportion de parcelles titrées appartenant à un ménage augmente la probabilité que ses membres participent à une activité non-agricole de 9,02%, pour le modèle biprobit, et de 11,6% pour le régresseur spécial. Le deuxième chapitre utilise les données de la Tanzanie pour analyser l'effet causal de la sécurité foncière du ménage sur les probabilités d'achèvement de l'école primaire pour les enfants en milieux ruraux conditionnellement au genre. Notre stratégie empirique tient compte de la sélection et s'appuie sur le modèle biprobit pour obtenir des estimateurs consitents. Nos résultats montrent que la sécurité foncière affecte positivement et significativement la probabilité d'achèvement des études primaires, avec un effet fortement influencé par le sous échantillon des filles. Ces résultats suggèrent que la sécurité foncière pourrait être un levier iii efficace pour réduire les inégalités liées au genre dans l'accès à l'éducation et augmenter le taux d'achèvement des études dans les zones rurales. Le troisième chapitre examine la relation entre la participation au travail non agricole et l'efficience technique des agriculteurs en Tanzanie. En incorporant l'approche des effets aléatoires corrélés (CRE) au modèle de frontière stochastique "true" de Greene, nous tenons formellement compte des problèmes d'endogénéité potentiels. Nos résultats suggèrent que la participation au travail non-agricole augmente l'efficience technique de 13,32 % points de pourcentage. L'inefficience technique moyenne est de 0,2489, ce qui indique que les agriculteurs produisent en dessous de la frontière technique optimale, avec un écart de 24,89 % par rapport à la frontière des possibilités de production. Ces résultats impliquent qu'à l'échelle nationale, la réallocation de la main-d'œuvre à son meilleur usage possible, combinée à des choix de cultures en fonction des signaux du marché augmenterait la production agricole globale de 24,89 points de pourcentage.This thesis investigates the relationship between land institutions and the agricultural labor transition to the non-agricultural sector. It also explores the effect of a large-scale labor movement out of the farming sector on sectoral efficiency. It consists of three chapters. The first chapter uses micro-level data from Uganda to identify the causal effect of land tenure security on the likelihood that a household switches from the agricultural to the nonagricultural sector as a source of livelihood. We first develop a parsimonious occupational choice model in which households face heterogeneous costs of switching from the agricultural to the non-agricultural sector. Using farmland as collateral for loans can help finance these costs provided the switcher has secured property rights over it. We use this theoretical model to derive the empirical binary-choice model to be estimated. We compare two models that mitigate endogeneity issues, including the biprobit and the special regressor (SR) model. We find that a one percent increase in the proportion of titled plots owned by a household increases the probability that its members engage in off-farm activities by 9.02%, for the biprobit model, and by 11.6% for the SR model. The second chapter uses data from three rounds of the Tanzania Living Standard Survey to analyze the causal effect of household land tenure security on children's primary school completion probabilities conditional on gender. School attendance being considered as a reallocation of child labor to a non-agricultural opportunity. The empirical strategy accounts for educational selectivity and relies on a biprobit model to obtain consistent estimates of this causal effect. I find that land tenure security positively and significantly affects children's primary school completion, with an effect strongly driven by girls. Land tenure security increases girls' primary school completion probabilities by roughly 3.68 − 6.3 percentage points but has an ambiguous effect on boys' probabilities. These results suggest that land tenure security v could be an effective policy lever to reduce the gender gap in education and increase school completion rate in rural areas. The third chapter investigates the relationship between off-farm work participation and technical efficiency among smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Incorporating the correlated random effects (CRE) approach to Greene's "true" stochastic frontier model, I account formally for potential endogeneity issues. The results suggest that participation in non-agricultural work increases technical efficiency by 13.32 percentage points. The average technical inefficiency is 0.2489, indicating that farmers produce below the optimal technical frontier, with a 24.89% deviation from the production frontier. These results imply that there is a potential for rural farmers to increase agricultural output even with the current level of available factors of production. Reallocating labor to its best possible use, combined with crop choices based on market signals, would increase overall agricultural production by 24.89 percentage points.
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Agboaye, Izilin Christiana. "Nigerian Military Government and Problems of Agricultural Development." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1985. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504109/.
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This thesis attempts to analyze the military government's role in solving the country's agricultural problems. This analysis is essential because it was during the military's stay in power that Nigeria's potential as a selfsufficient and food exporting nation declined. Materials collected to analyze the above problems reveal that the military government's lack of adequate personnel to supervise and implement decisions taken on agriculture, unplanned schemes, and unresearched projects were partly responsible for the government's inability to solve Nigeria's agricultural problems. While it may be necessary to blame the military government for not being able to completely solve the country's numerous agricultural problems, the presence of global political and economic decisions seriously hampered measures taken by the military government.
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Yeon, Je Man. "Development of a wheel sensor for agricultural tractors." Connect to resource, 1993. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1202402256.
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Sheldon, Madeline C. "Agricultural Development in Nepal: Analyzing the Struggle to Modernize." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2013. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/303.
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Before leaving to study abroad in Kathmandu, I was excited to learn about Nepal’s agriculture industry. As one who focuses her studies on food politics, learning that Nepal is an agrarian country was very intriguing; Nepal is agrarian to such as extent that about 80% of its citizens gain their livelihood from farming, over 30% of the GDP derives from agriculture, and most people grow their own food. I expected to learn about the culture and strategy surrounding producing food in a different yet effective way.
For my final research project while in Nepal, I chose to investigate Nepal’s potato industry and how concurrent government agricultural policies play out in the field - literally. After months of gaining experience and research, my previous vision of sustainable agriculture and happy valleys was turned upside down.
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Mayawala, Divyam. "Analysis of the impact of agricultural sector on economic growth." Access to citation, abstract and download form provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company; downloadable PDF file, 93 p, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1459902411&sid=12&Fmt=2&clientId=8331&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Mabelebele, Maishibe Johanna. "Situational analysis of Agricultural businesses within Aganang Municipality." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2570.
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Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2011The South African economic system is reliant to a greater extend on the availability of resources within this economy. Agricultural business opportunities should be properly explored to contribute significantly towards LED and the S.A economy at large. The aim of this study is to determine the situation of agricultural businesses, analyse the situation and give recommendations as input to the strategy that will assist to effectively improve the performance of agricultural businesses in Aganang municipality and their contribution to economic growth of the municipality. A general census of all these agricultural businesses within Aganang municipality as registered in the municipal LED database was considered for the research. Two different questionnaires were distributed to the two categories in the population, one for the officials and the other for business owners/managers. The results indicated that agricultural businesses in Aganang municipality are not aware of agricultural business opportunities and support programmes offered by government. They therefore do not participate in such programmes, remain survivalist and thus do not contribute to the economic growth of the municipality. The study recommends that: The younger generation should be involved in the agricultural sector. An active learning and entrepreneurship skill development programme at secondary school level should be considered. More farmers should be encouraged to engage in goat and cattle farming as the climate and soil structure dictates. There should be coordination of SMME including agricultural business development activities, within the municipality.
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Oberholster, Jacobus Hoon. "The development of a financing model for agricultural production in South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3041.
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The world agricultural industry, despite numerous supply and demand challenges, has to significantly increase its production capacity to satisfy the increased demand for food and successfully address the issues surrounding food security. Access to credit is however a key enabler in this regard, while a lack of it limits the adaptive capacity of agricultural producers. The financing needs of agricultural producers however vary and are influenced by the different production systems which have different investment, revenue and risk patterns. The sector is unique in that the risk and uncertainty in agriculture are increased by the nature of agricultural production systems, which is in many cases driven by unpredictable external factors such as adverse weather conditions. In addition agricultural production systems also function within the total food system which consists of a number of interrelated subsystems, each presenting agricultural producers with a unique set of risk factors that need to be taken into account. The development of new and innovative financing solutions for the sector therefore requires a thorough understanding of the multidimensional nature of agriculture and the unique characteristics of the sector. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the development of new and innovative financing solutions for the agricultural sector in South Africa.
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Msulwa, Baraka. "The impact of credit constraints on agricultural productivity in Tanzania." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20085.
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This paper uses a nationally representative sample of agricultural businesses in Tanzania to empirically investigate the determinants of credit constraint status and its impact on agricultural productivity. In particular, we directly elicit the nature of the credit constraints experienced by crop producers. Subsequently, we evaluate the effect on crop output value per hectare using an endogenous switching regression model, which simultaneously estimates the likelihood of being credit constrained and its impact on productivity. The results provide evidence that the relaxation of all credit constraints would significantly enhance agricultural productivity; hence, contributing favourably to rural development, poverty alleviation, and the improvement of living standards in Tanzania. Moreover, consideration of only quantity constraints was shown to underestimate the full impact of credit constraint status in the presence of transaction costs and risk constraints. We advocate for the Tanzanian agricultural policy framework to adopt a broader definition of credit constraint status in pursuit of agricultural and economic development.
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Bedo, Shannon Hajdik. "Education, research, and extension: an evaluation of agricultural institutions in Tunisia." Thesis, Texas A&M University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/176.
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Texas A&M University of the United States and the Institute National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT) of Tunisia established a collaborative relationship of mutual exchange of information and ideas for the further advancement of both universities. The researcher worked closely with these universities to conduct a qualitative study in Tunisia to determine the effectiveness of agricultural institutions working to further development in that country. The emphasis of the study was on the transference of knowledge and innovations from the research level through extension to the farmers and other end users. The triangle of teaching, research, and extension provided a base perspective. The researcher interviewed 37 respondents, including researchers, extension personnel, administration, professors, and farmers. From data that respondents provided, the researcher used a constant comparative method to organize results into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the agricultural institutions as a system. Overarching themes included a pointed focus on meeting farmer needs, but this desire was hindered from being carried out fully due to complex communication systems and an organizational structure that did not facilitate change. Hope did abound for Tunisian agriculturalists because the opportunities available through globalization and international collaboration far outweighed any possible threats to development, such as fierce competition in trade and lack of quality water. The researcher also made specific recommendations based on the information gathered in the study. These recommendations were based on the findings of the study, and they were directed to leaders within the Tunisian agriculture system and other agriculturalists wishing to further development in countries facing similar situations as Tunisia.
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Sharma, P. P. "The development of Fijian agriculture." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.382698.
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Olowu, Akinseye Uwem. "Agricultural financing and performance in Nigeria : a case study of the agricultural credit guarantee scheme." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/8532.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Agricultural financing has a wide and deep history in Nigeria, owing to the fact that the Nigerian economy has huge potentials for growth especially from its agriculture sector which is the second largest contributor to GDP. Since the establishment of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme over 30 years ago, the total sum of 647,351 loans amounting to over N34 billion have been disbursed to farmers as at 2009. The result from this study shows that the guarantee scheme has been effective in providing agricultural financing as well as stimulating agricultural production in Nigeria. More specifically, the study found that, out of the five variables used in the models to determine agricultural performance, the credit finance provided under the ACGS and foreign exchange rates was found to be statistically significant to agricultural output. The credit provided under the ACGS has a significant effect on aggregate output; it was also found that the crop and the fishery subsectors are significantly affected by the credit finance provided under the ACGS, due to their short gestation period. However, the livestock and forestry subsectors do not have an immediate significant relationship with the credit finance due to their long gestation period; rather, they have a significant relationship with the depreciation of foreign exchange rates. A major policy implication from the study is that the government should continue to promote and support the operations of the ACGS to encourage farmers to invest their best efforts in agricultural production in Nigeria for food production and for enhanced agricultural export.
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McKim, Billy Ray. "Perceptions of secondary agriculture teachers and 4-H youth development extension personnel regarding cooperative behavior." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/5761.
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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008.The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 8, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.
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Subramaniam, Vijayaratnam. "AGRICULTURAL INTERSECTORAL LINKAGES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT." UKnowledge, 2010. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/771.
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The transition from communism to capitalism at the end of the last century was one of the most significant events in the world economy since industrialization. During the latter part of the 1980s, people the Central and Eastern European countries and former Soviet Republics opted for a change from highly distorted command economic system to a market driven economic system. Privatization and liberalization policies led to major changes in the commodity mix and volume of agricultural production, consumption and trade. However, the changes and the impacts varied among countries as they followed different transition strategies.
This study investigated the impact of market liberalization on the agricultural sector, as well as how the inter-sectoral linkages among the agricultural, industrial and service sectors responded in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary using time-series analysis. The study estimated an econometric model that incorporates the linkages among the sectors using a Vector Error Correction Model. The procedure identified long-run and short-run relationships for each country. The results showed that a sector can have a negative linkage to other sectors in the short-run; however, that does not mean that the linkage will be negative in the long-run.
Impulse response functions were constructed to determine how a system reacts to a shock in one of the endogenous variable in a model. The study explored how a shock in the agricultural sector was absorbed by the other sectors in the economy, and how a shock in the other sectors was absorbed by the agricultural sector, in all four countries. The responses reflected how the variables are interrelated within a country, and how the shocks are transferred through different linkages over a long period of time. Such dynamic analysis was used to identify the total impacts of different policy alternatives.
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Al-Fawzan, Fawzan Abdulrahman Abdulla. "The recent agricultural development in Hail region: Saudi Arabia." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.253458.
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Shiptsova, Rimma O. "Linkages among agricultural trade, development, and the demographic transition /." The Ohio State University, 1998. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487953567771918.
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Abd, Aziz Samsuzana. "Development of digital elevation models (DEMs) for agricultural applications." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2008.
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Ghadban, Elias Y. "Cooperative enterprises and agricultural development : the case of Lebanon." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 2013. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/17355/.
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This research aims at assessing the extent to which the political rhetoric related to the role of cooperatives in agricultural development in Lebanon corresponds to the producers' own view of benefits and problems in their cooperatives. It explores the role and impacts attributed to producers' cooperatives in agriculture by the Lebanese government and development agencies. The thesis is based on text analysis and semi-structured interviews with the government, development agencies, directors and members of producers' cooperatives. Active cooperatives, identified as such by the Lebanese Directorate General of Cooperatives, were examined under five dimensions: initiation phase and progress, organisational structure, partnership and environment, services supply and participation, and problems and benefits. The investigation results are quantified through 22 components and 89 indicators. Special attention is given to differences between agricultural regions and agricultural sub-sectors, the impact of gender on cooperation, and membership practices at the producers' level. The findings reveal that the official rhetoric on the role of producers' cooperatives in inducing socio-economic development in Lebanon does not match the empirical reality of how the producers evaluate the benefits and challenges resulting from the cooperatives. Producers' cooperatives in Lebanon are tools of political influence and corruption, formally legalized under the cooperative law and occasionally sustained by development aid offered by development agencies. They are generally wasteful, failing to reduce the cost of production or to increase income. This research argues that under the Lebanese neoliberal environment, agricultural cooperatives did not carry adaptation, hybridization, or degeneration to increase their performance, but have instead wasted development aid, fostered corruption, and increased political control. Neoliberal post-war reconstruction and development policies in Lebanon have produced a weak cooperative sector with funding-dependent enterprises characterised by corruption and mismanagement.