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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Agriculture-Finance'
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Ghosh, Gautam. "An Enquiry into the features and problems of agriculture finance in Uttar Dinajpur district of North Bengal." Thesis, University of North Bengal, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1302.
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Lundblad, Lowe, and Anna-Liisa Rissanen. "Precision Agriculture and Access to Agri-Finance : How precision technology can make farmers better applicants." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-149677.
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The World Bank has estimated that an additional $80 billion in financing are needed annually to achieve the 70 % increase in food supply required to feed the world in 2050. One of the cornerstones in achieving this increase in production is expected to be improved agricultural technology, where one of the latest additions is precision agriculture. It is believed that the money for investing in this technology must come from the private sector, but financial institutions are hesitant in lending money to farmers. This, in part, comes down to a high perceived riskiness in agricultural lending stemming from the risk composition in agriculture compared to other industries as well as from weak collaterals provided by farmers. This thesis aims to find what factors are most prominent in banks´ risk assessment of agricultural firms during the lending process and look at how precision agriculture could help mitigate these risks. We have gathered aggregated quantitative data from FAOSTAT and the Swedish Board of Agriculture on farm income and hectare yield (productivity) at Swedish farms. These variables were found to be two of the most important factors in agricultural lending based on previous research. In addition to this data, information on e.g. weather, ecological farming and expenditure related to pesticides, fertilizer, and machinery were collected to further the analysis. Precision agriculture is made up from a myriad of different technologies. We have opted to not separate the technologies in this study as the adoption of each technology included in the term is currently not sufficiently well understood. This aggregation of technologies allowed for us to use the dynamic AAGE-model to estimate the adoption based on the minimum hectare size where precision agriculture should be profitable at each point in time. The study finds that precision agriculture does have a positive impact on farm productivity and income volatility. Hence, precision agriculture should reduce the risk of agricultural financing given to adopting farmer which would increase the access to credit and, in continuation, lead to an increase in aggregated food production. In addition, we conclude that financial institutions should gain a better knowledge of precision agriculture technologies and use this information to improve the credit evaluation process in agricultural lending. Lastly, banks should understand how the risks related to information asymmetry and moral hazard could be reduced by utilizing the data available through farmers use of precision agriculture technology.
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Sabih, Sacha Francis. "The CSA method of alternative financing in agriculture : a case study." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0004/MQ44267.pdf.
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Alrabiah, Bander. "Analysis of loan repayments to the Agricultural Development Fund in Saudi Arabia." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2016. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30931/.
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The Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) is the Government agency responsible for financing farmers in the Saudi Arabian agricultural sector. The ADF provides short-term loans and medium-term loans and funds specialised projects, as well as providing subsidies for some types of loans. From its establishment in 1962 until 2012, the ADF has lent more than £7.7 billion and the total number of loans exceeds 439,000. However, in spite of the facilities provided by the ADF, its annual reports show that the outstanding debt increased from £579 million in 1990 to £840 million in 2012; moreover, the reports reveal that some project areas have been receiving more funding than others. This thesis aims to assess the efficiency of the collection of loan repayments by the ADF. This aim will be achieved through four objectives: 1) analyse the current status of the regional distribution of agricultural loans to determine the optimal distribution of loans among regions to achieve development objectives, 2) examine the determinants of the efficiency of loan collection to identify and quantify factors that affect loan repayment, 3) explain the variation in collection rates among the ADF's branches and 4) provide recommendations to improve the probability of repayment and achieve the optimal distribution of loans. Variation in the current distribution of agricultural loans among regions has been observed. Using Multiple-Attribute Analysis, this variation has been identified as sub-optimal with respect to achieving development objectives. The highest priority regions for agricultural loans are the Northern, Jazan and Baha regions. Logistic modelling approaches have been used to determine factors affecting the repayment of short-term loans, medium-term loans and specialised projects; the empirical results of the overall model for short-term loans show that the age of the borrower and four regions have a positive significant effect on loan repayments, while the grace period, the loan value, the financial guarantee and three regions each have a significant negative effect. The results of the analysis of medium-term loans reveal that five variables have a significant effect on loan repayments: age, the grace period and loan value have a negative effect. Financial guarantee and three regions have a positive effect. The results for the specialised projects showed that the Hail region, feed and wheat project have a positive effect, while the Eastern region and greenhouses, livestock and vegetables projects have a negative effect on loan repayments, whereas the age of the borrower, the grace period, financial guarantee and loan value have no significant effect.
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Tela, Umaru Galadima. "The Effectiveness of Funding Sources on Agricultural Projects in Yobe State, Nigeria." Thesis, Walden University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10279401.
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This study examined the effectiveness of the Fadama III, National Program for Food Security and International Fund for Agricultural Development programs in reducing poverty and income inequality in Yobe State, Nigeria. Agricultural funding in the state has increased by 670.7% between 2004 and 2013. Despite this trajectory, the state ranks among the worst in Nigeria in terms of poverty and income inequality according to UNDP report, reinforcing the need to investigate the impact of agricultural funding on the state’s welfare. Previous studies in this area have been on a country-wide basis and have not disaggregated the funding sources. This study disaggregating the funding sources of Yobe State in order to establish the effectiveness of each funding source. Field survey data from the fund beneficiaries and secondary data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics, and the World Bank provided empirical evidence. The first-best resource allocation theoretical framework was applied to understand the impact of funding sources on the welfare effect of the beneficiaries. The Ordinary Least Square, analysis of variance, and t test revealed that agricultural funding significantly and positively impacts on recipients’ standard of living, asset base, and agricultural output, without any significant impact on income. Results indicate that FADAMA III is the most effective in improving the overall welfare of beneficiaries. It is recommended that other funding programs should adopt the models of FADAMA III, and should also require counterpart funding in order to maximize the benefit for a larger segment of the population. These findings may bring positive social change by reducing poverty, expanding economic opportunities, and improving quality of life, leading ultimately to sustainable peace and economic prosperity in Yobe State.
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Muyangwa, Nambwenga. "The impact of agriculture finance on small and medium agribusiness in Zambia: the case of Zambia National Farmers' Union - Lima Credit Scheme." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25493.
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The aim of the study is to assess the Impact of Agricultural Finance on Small and Medium Agribusiness in Zambia focusing on Lima Credit Scheme of the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) in sampled districts. Survey questionnaires were administered to 120 farmers selected from 8 districts. Two focus group discussions were held and key informants drawn from ZNFU, Zambia National Commercial Bank and representatives of the Agribusiness chamber and Insurance companies were interviewed. The study hypothesis that the LCS intervention has had no favourable impact on beneficiary farmers and Agro-Businesses in Zambia was proved to be null. To the contrary, the findings indicate that LCS had favourable impact on beneficiary farmers and Agro-Businesses in Zambia. Thus, the study findings show that to a greater extent the scheme had positive impact that include; increased knowledge among Lima Credit scheme beneficiaries through trainings in various topics such as financial literacy and crop husbandry, increased economic wellbeing of the LCS beneficiaries, more households procuring oxen drawn agricultural implements, higher production levels of maize and soy-bean, greater participation in the market by SSFs, increased income, among others. In addition to the descriptive analysis, the factor analysis too showed that the first factor access to production inputs based benefits suggests that in this component farmers accrued benefits from LCS which include access to market information, increase in area planted, increase in volumes sold and incomes. The second factor improved income based benefits suggests that respondents in this component acknowledges that as a result of increased incomes, they have recorded improved access to health, able to reinvest in other businesses, increase yield per hectare, able to pay loans on time, able to acquire agriculture Assets-Ox drawn, access to commodity markets and improved access to education. Unique to the scheme is the insurance cover on the loan amount that mitigates defaults resulting from natural cause such as drought and floods. The study concludes that Lima Credit Scheme had favourable impact on beneficiary farmers and Agro-Businesses in Zambia.
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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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Park, William N. "Analysis of repayment ability for agricultural loans in Virginia using a qualitative choice model." Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91054.
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Agricultural loans issued to farmers in Virginia from the years 1980-1985 are examined to determine the factors which significantly predict repayment ability. Through a review of literature, extension meetings, conferences and informal conversation with agricultural lenders in the state, a list of financial variables and operation characteristics is compiled and analyzed. Results of the analysis are considered in terms of their immediate and potential assistance to lenders in making loan decisions.
Using data from various commercial banks, Production Credit Associations and Farmers Home Administrations throughout Virginia, a model is developed to determine repayment ability of a borrower. Results indicate that several factors are significant in determining this process. Financial ratios such as percent equity, current debt, cash flow I and cash expense-cash receipt are important in determining if a borrower will repay his loan as scheduled. A number of operation characteristics were also found significant. These include: the number of creditors of the borrower, the amount of diversification of the operation and the amount of non-farm income. The results of the study should prove to be a significant aid to lenders and implies need for further research in the loan repayment area.M.S.
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Denk, Ann. "Interest Rate and Commodity Price Impacts on Farm-Level Financials." Thesis, North Dakota State University, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/10365/31149.
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The agriculture industry has been around for hundreds of years. Although farmers and ranchers work every day to put food on the tables of billions of people from all around the world, most agricultural producers require assistance to finance their operations and continue production. This research is motivated by recent changes in interest rates and the downturn in agricultural commodity prices. This study examines how farm-level financial statements are impacted by changes in interest rates and agricultural commodity market prices. A Monte Carlo simulation is used to model several stochastic variables and derive key financial calculations. This study shows how the financial statements of different agricultural operations change due to factors that are largely beyond the control of agricultural producers.
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Sarker, Rahul Amin. "Rural finance in agricultural sector of Bangladesh: present status and future development strategy for formal sector banks." Thesis, University of North Bengal, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/233.
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Nxumalo, Nosikhumbuzo. "Value chain financing : the case of the Komati Downstream Development Project." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97441.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research examines agriculture value chain finance as it has been applied in the Komati Downstream Development Project. It seeks to assess whether the Komati Downstream Development Project has addressed the challenges of access to finance, markets and support services and enabled smallholder farmers in the project area to operate commercially. The Swaziland National Development Strategy of 1999 committed to increase investment in agriculture. The Komati Downstream Development Project was in line with this strategy. However, for smallholder farmers to commercialise they needed to first overcome the constraints they faced, which included access to finance, access to markets and access to both business and technical support. This research will contribute to future developments and decisions involving the increase of financial flows and investment to the agriculture sector in Swaziland and in other developing countries. This is an empirical research study primarily using a qualitative method to answer the research question. The research design included a review of documentary evidence from a desktop study to collect secondary data and a field study through face-to-face interviews to collect primary data. The primary data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. The organisations interviewed included ten farmers’ associations, the outgrower development department, Swaziland Industrial Development Company and Swaziland Water and Agriculture Development Enterprise. Content analysis was used to analyse the results identifying similar themes and patterns from the interview transcripts. Secondary data on the performance of the KDDP farmers with respect to production volumes and quality of produce was collected and analysed to answer the question whether the smallholder farmers had moved from operating at a subsistence level to a commercial one. The research findings show that the agriculture value chain finance approach as applied in KDDP has improved access to markets, access to finance and access to support and services, and, in the process, the smallholder farmers are now operating commercially. The farmers are able to engage with bigger markets for both inputs and outputs in large-scale sugarcane farming. However, notable findings were made with respect to access to finance and support. Most of the farmers reported the need for continued support by Swaziland Water and Agriculture Development Enterprise and training despite the need to wean them off. Regarding access to finance, farmers reported improved access with more financial institutions selling financial products to the farmers and wanting to finance them. However, none of the farmers’ associations interviewed had accessed additional funding from any of the financial institutions following the initial funding they had acquired. The farmers’ associations have instead turned to internal sources of funds. Though these challenges do not change the conclusion, they are of concern and need to be addressed.
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Mashile, Daphne Mmapabala. "Challenges facing smallholder farmers in accessing credit in Gauteng province: South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/7991.
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Credit plays a significant role in agricultural growth, and it is understood that development of credit programmes will have a valuable impact on agricultural production earnings of smallholder farmers. It is also a strategic factor to poverty alleviation. In Gauteng, smallholder farmers source their loans commonly from informal moneylenders. This results in access to formal credit being at a low rate. Results show that low level of education, main occupation, group membership and household income are significant and have encouraging effects on access to credit financial services. The results also reveal that threats associated with borrowing are high interest rates and unavailability of credit financial institutions. These threats are the main challenges faced by smallholder farmers in this study. Financial institutions claim that farming is a risky business; the distance of getting to farmers makes the evaluation procedure challenging, and strict principles in the aspect of collateral is a main challenge in providing credit to smallholder farmers. It is recommended that accessibility to credit by smallholder farmers be developed by providing advanced financing schemes that will address problems of smallholder farmers who do not have security and thus reduce lengthy processing of documents and other requirements. In this manner, smallholder farmers may be stimulated to use formal credit and decrease their dependence on informal moneylenders, thus avoid higher interest rates, which will positively lead to increased smallholder farm production and household income.
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Fry, Cary G. "Forest products industry risk based lending guidelines." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/35235.
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Master of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Allen M. Featherstone
Institutions within the Farm Credit System (FCS) make risk-based lending decisions. As a primary lender to agriculture, these decisions are based on qualitative and quantitative procedures based on guidelines created for the purpose of measuring financial risk or the future probability that a loan will be in default of full repayment. As the risk increases, the cost to the FCS institution also increases to support a higher risk, higher probability of delinquency. Concentration risk, intrinsic risk, transaction risk, repayment risk, reputation risk are just a few examples of risk-based lending decisions. Under regulatory direction, FCS institutions have a charter to provide financing to agriculture’s food and fiber industries. The forest products industry is a large commodity borrower of risk-based financing within the FCS, specifically in the Pacific Northwest. Among other commodities, Northwest Farm Credit Services (Northwest FCS) supports the forest products industry through financial lending products. A majority of agricultural commodities reflect cycles of robust earnings and weak profits based on macro- and micro-economic indicators. The United States forest products industry had a period of strong earnings based primarily on the housing bubble between 2002-2007. With the U.S. economic recession beginning in 2008, the forest products industry also waned from 2008-2012. This impact resulted in financial stress for many forest product companies, both nationally and internationally. Due to the downturn in the forest products industry, regulators were quick to position the industry with high risk-based assumptions, thus putting pressure to Northwest FCS’ risk-guidelines in supporting that historical analysis accurately depicted industry risk. The purpose of this thesis is threefold: to study the correlation between different major commodity groups to better understand the value of a commodity concentration limit as a way to mitigate portfolio risk for Northwest FCS; to support analysis used by Northwest FCS and their ability to calculate the likelihood of financial stress; and provide customer-based feedback by way of a survey from forest products companies in the industry, as additional support to assumptions that were used to calculate certain subjective criteria for estimating risk. As one method to analyze financial risk, customer data was collected for the years ending 12/31/2008, 12/31/2011, and 12/31/2014. Statistical regression analysis was used to measure financial stress migration based on companies in the forest products industry. The regression analysis indicates financial measures of liquidity, leverage, and cash flow used for such calculated stress, specifically prior to the economic downturn of 2008, through the downturn of 2008-2012, and post-recovery of the forest products industry are correlated with measuring financial risk. As a risk mitigation tool, the board of directors that governs Northwest FCS hold a commodity concentration limit of fifteen percent (15%) for the forest products industry. The customer survey provided information that allowed Northwest FCS to create subjective rating criteria for calculating risk. A guideline was created to assess subjective criteria provided by forest products customers on the same level based on the feedback provided which may be beneficial for understanding current results and potential future subjective risk associated within the industry.
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Ababio-Twi, Faith S. "Funding Strategies for Smallholder Rice Farmers in Afadzato South District, Ghana." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7849.
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Agriculture revenue contributions to Ghana's gross domestic product have declined because of limited farm funding, which has constrained some smallholder rice farmers access credit to acquire necessary inputs, and to secure a stable market for their harvests. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore successful strategies some smallholder rice farmers in the Afadzato South District of Ghana used in obtaining farm funding. Data collection included semistructured, face-to-face interviews with 9 smallholder rice farmers who successfully obtained farm funding. Previous research, reports, and policies of the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture served as additional data collection sources. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and resulted in three major themes: the smallholder farmer's strategy of belonging to cooperative association membership, the smallholder farmer's strategy for satisfying lender collateral requirements, and smallholder farmer's strategies for developing a repayment rating history. The implications for positive social change include the potential to guide the smallholder farmers to successful strategies to access farm funding for their farming activities and increase their farm sizes. The increase in farm sizes may result in more rice production that can help mitigate hunger and reduce poverty in the Afadzato South District of Ghana.
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Yandell, Andrew W. "The Potential Application of Weather Derivatives to Hedge Harvest Value Risk in the Champagne Region of France." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/359.
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In Champagne, France grape growers and and winemakers work together to make the world's most iconic sparkling wine. Part of what makes Champagne so celebrated is its reputation for constant quality: only the best grapes are used to make wine. In poor vintage years, grape growers sell less grapes to winemakers; poor vintages are the result of bad weather. This presents the opportunity for grape growers to hedge the risk of poor weather and resulting lower harvest values with weather derivatives. This study explores the potential for grape growers to trade them to effectively hedge against low harvest values by hedging against cooler weather in the month of June, when grape vines are flowering and sensitive to cold, through an empirical study of historical grape harvest and temperature data from 1952 through 2011. Weather derivatives would have provided an effective hedge against low harvest values up through 1991. After 1991, harvest sizes and therefore harvest revenues are no longer significantly correlated with weather and weather derivatives no longer provide an effective hedge against low harvest values for grape growers in Champagne.
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Capurro, Alejandro. "Comparing agricultural financing in Uruguay and New Zealand." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/2344.
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In 2008, New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) was four times the size of Uruguay’s, and its export earnings were five times Uruguay’s. Nevertheless, agricultural products accounted for over 60% of export earnings for both economies. This highlighted the importance that the agricultural sectors of Uruguay and New Zealand had to their respective foreign trade sectors. The success with which both countries’ agricultural sectors solved their financial needs would be influential to their export sectors and overall economies. Through the use of expert interviews, a multiple-case study strategy was employed to carry out a comparative study of the agricultural financing systems of Uruguay and New Zealand. The findings revealed contrasting situations in both countries. Chief among them were the differences encountered in agricultural debt relative to agriculture’s contribution to total GDP in each country. In Uruguay this figure was 26% whereas in New Zealand it amounted to almost 400%. The differences found were largely attributable to the institutional frameworks in place in each country (i.e. the legal and cultural norms that structure political, social and economic interactions), as well as the historical contexts in which the institutions evolved. In Uruguay, the institutional framework limited producers’ possibilities of accessing bank credit due to restrictive central bank regulations. The lack of access to international credit markets by Uruguayan banks due to the country’s unfavourable credit risk rating was an additional factor which limited credit availability. These were largely a result of the financial crisis (and the subsequent recession) that had occurred in the region in 2002. Producers in Uruguay were able to access costlier seasonal capital and some medium-term capital from informal lenders such as cooperatives, processors and input suppliers. Nevertheless, if they required medium and long term credit, Uruguayan farmers needed to deal with the banking system. Furthermore, the high cost of registering mortgages, combined with long-term loan facilities that generally did not go for longer than ten years, resulted in a limited demand for high-volume, long-term credit on producers’ side. Almost the exact opposite situation was found in New Zealand. No great financial turmoil had affected New Zealand since the economic reforms of 1984, in which the economy in general was deregulated. An institutional framework which promoted access to credit, combined with a favourable country credit risk rating which promoted open access to overseas funding for banks, meant that the agricultural sector was able to expand its use of credit uninterruptedly since the early 1990s. Also, in contrast with the Uruguayan case, mortgaging of properties was relatively straightforward and inexpensive, and long term lending could be approved for terms of generally up to 20 years. These factors contributed to the expansion of rural credit in New Zealand. However, New Zealand’s agricultural debt was found to be greatly exposed to one subsector (the dairy farming sector). Moreover, the level of debt of New Zealand’s agricultural sector surpassed its contribution to GDP many times over, which raised doubts concerning the long-term sustainability of that level of debt.
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Koranteng, Kweku Yeboah. "Contract farming model of financing smallholder farmers in South Africa : the case of the IDC-Kat River citrus development scheme." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/8579.
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Thesis (MDF)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.The constraints that impede the growth of smallholder farmers have been attributed to lack of access to markets and technical expertise. This has led to mainstream banks classifying smallholder farmers as high risk and therefore unwilling to finance smallholder farmers. Contract farming has developed as a model that may be able to link smallholder farmers with agribusinesses who have the expertise and have built marketing channels that can be utilised by the smallholder farmers. Despite its potential to bring smallholder farmers into the mainstream agriculture industry, literature on contract farming has indicated that contract farming can be skewed in favour of the agribusiness due to their superior bargaining power and information asymmetry in favour of the agribusiness. This study examines the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)’s Kat River Development Scheme to finance nine farmers through a contract farming arrangement with Riverside (Pty) Ltd. More particularly, the study examines how this financing model contributes to improved access to finance, markets and technical expertise for the farmers. It also examines how the arrangement contributes to reducing the risk of financing smallholder farmers for IDC. The empirical analysis indicates that, despite the fact that the farmers are able to obtain access to finance, market and technical expertise, the ability for the scheme to meet its objectives in the long term is dependent on improving transparency between the agribusiness and the farmers, providing appropriate incentives for the farmers to apply the required effort and the farmers buying into the long term strategic aim (or “big picture”) of the scheme.
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Nkhoma, Peter Rock. "Constituting Agricultural and Food Policy in Malawi: The Role of the State and International Donors in the Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP)." Scholar Commons, 2016. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6556.
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Numerous studies have been undertaken on the political economy of agricultural policies in developing countries. These studies have explained agricultural policies in terms of urban bias, economic reforms, and domestic politics. Recently, the emphasis has been on explanations that reference the existence of a rational-legal and patronage element within the African state. Such explanations tend to underplay the extent to which agricultural policies are devised in a context of power asymmetries between the state and international donors or financial institutions. In the Malawian context specifically, limited attention has been paid to the possibility that policies are a negotiated outcome of interactions informed by competing objectives at the state-donor interface. Accordingly, the proposed study will attempt to fill this existing gap in the literature.
Malawi is currently at the center of policy debates regarding the state’s capacity to launch a uniquely African Green Revolution within a marketized and capitalist configuration. Such debates mark the continued underinvestment in agriculture on the African continent. The Malawi case, therefore, provides a unique opportunity to explore the extent to which state level efforts are either confounded or enabled by donors and international financial institutions. The specific successes and failures of the Malawi case speak to the question of how other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa might successfully address food production and food security issues.
This dissertation will explore the overarching question of the role of the state and international donors in shaping agricultural and food security policies using Malawi’s farm input subsidy program as a case study. The main research methods to explore this question are qualitative, including interviews with various development stakeholders (government ministries, international development agencies, researchers from policy research and academic institutions, and civil society organizations) associated with agriculture and food policy-making, and textual analysis of publications associated with them. The research specifically targets key experts in the area of agriculture and food security.
The findings indicate that policies have been greatly influenced by the competing ideologies of the state and donors, with each recognizing the problem but differing on the approach and modalities for solving food insecurity in Malawi. To this extent, there has been considerable inconsistency in policies with obvious negative outcomes. More recently, there has been an aligning of policy positions towards the use of social welfare programs and commercialization in addressing food insecurity. This alignment relates to policy positions on both the FISP and the configuration of the wider agricultural sector as manifest in the National Agricultural Policy, for example. The role of domestic politics vs. donors in policy processes has been in flux due to changes in the political and economic environment and configuration at specific junctures.
The study also finds that evidence has been important in informing policy-making, more importantly, finance has had significant impact in attenuating the influence of domestic politics, so that the recently proposed and implemented reforms to FISP, although connected to considerable sociopolitical pressure from various quarters, have been largely precipitated by a serious fiscal crisis on the part of the government. To this extent, the state has assumed a pragmatic approach to policy-making i.e., one that is cognizant of the limitations imposed by finance and Malawi’s very harsh, challenging, and complex context.
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Ngan, Kit-yan. "The role of entrepreneurship in China's economic development." [Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong], 1995. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B15967414.
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Walsh, Jonathan Patrick. "Organic Dairy Profitability in Vermont: Measuring the Impacts of Management and Market Forces on Farm Financial Performance." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2019. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1003.
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The total number of operating dairy farms in the US has decreased by 74.1% over the past 25 years, dropping from 155,339 in 1992 to just 40,219 in 2017. As milk prices have fallen and become more volatile, profit margins have tightened, causing farmers to leave the business due to low profitability. Some Vermont farmers are currently looking for new economic strategies. One approach has been to transition from conventional to organic production in order to take advantage of better prices and new market opportunities. In order to make production decisions, farmers need accurate financial information on the costs and benefits of the various options available. Since 2004, UVM Extension has collected panel data on organic dairy farms in Vermont to help meet this growing need.
As a part of UVM’s long-term organic dairy profitability research, this study analyzed 10 years of financial panel data (2006-2017) from an unbalanced panel of approximately 40 organic dairy farms in Vermont. For article 1, a multivariate fixed effects regression model was used to identify key factors influencing farm profitability and estimate their effects on Return on Assets. Variables related to feeding management, farm management, farm characteristics, input costs, and year were shown to be significant. For article 2, industry wide milk price trends were compared with descriptive statistics on Vermont organic dairy profitability outcomes across a 3-year period (2015-2017) in order to test the hypothesis that recent price shifts have a had a noticeable effect on farm profitability. Despite limited data for 2017, results indicated a study-wide reduction in ROA in line with national market trends.
In identifying management and market factors associated with profitability, this thesis provides valuable decision-making information for farmers interested in switching to organic. Results suggest that feeding management and milk quality improvements can improve profitability outcomes on Vermont farms. Vermont farmers will also benefit from the updated cost of production and financial performance data presented here. Evidence from this thesis also supports a need for new supply management policies and a more nuanced approach to organic dairy profitability research.
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Makhuvha, Musiwalo Jeremiah. "Matabane Secondary Agricultural Co-operative : challenges and opportunities in sustaining enterprise development." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/95595.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the 19th century, farming in South Africa included vibrant small scale farms that were market responsive and competitive. Legislation enacted in the early 20th century adversely affected these farmers while supporting the development of large commercial farmers. The extensive government support for the White farmers was seen as a mode of increasing national output as well as creating food self-sufficiency, but at the same time, this decreased food security for the Black population. Major changes in the South African government in 1994 attempted to address these inequalities, amongst other, by supporting small-scale farmers. However, the gap between White and Black producers has been closing very slowly. Small-scale farming faced a wide range of enterprise development challenges. As a response to these challenges, the Government enacted the New Co-operative Act No.14 of 2005 to promote sustainable small business development by introducing the provision of incentives for agricultural co-operatives. This study has sought to determine the challenges and opportunities that are encountered in sustaining enterprise development and has used the Matabane Secondary Agricultural Co-operative (MSAC) as a case study. The goal is to develop strategies which can minimise the challenges and exploit the opportunities that will enable MSAC to realise its ultimate goal of improving livelihoods and reducing poverty. A review of current literature provided the secondary data for the study. The literature indicated the importance of social and physical capital in the sustainability of enterprise development. Social capital, in the context of sustainability of livelihoods, is defined as networks with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within the group. It can also be seen as the ability of the co-operative or group to secure benefits through membership in networks and other social structures (Finkelstein et al., 2007, Porters, 2000). Physical capital refers to any non-human asset made by humans and then used in the production process (Finkelstein et al, 2007, Porters, 2000). Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires delivered to 37 members of the MSAC. Thirty one members responded and were interviewed personally by the researcher. The questions were designed to investigate the challenges and opportunities faced by members and how they relate to social and physical capital. The results were analysed quantitatively using both descriptive and chi-squared statistical analysis. The results reflect the challenges and opportunities for enterprise development as perceived by co-operative members. The analysis explored this in terms of social and physical capital. The predominant challenges described were lack of access to finance and lack of mechanisation. The greatest opportunities seen were related to the bonds, bridges and linkages formed by co-operative members. Based on the assessment of the study, several recommendations were made. The introduction of a Co-operative Development Fund (CDF) would support and strengthen the co-operative financially, addressing both the issues of lack of access to finance and lack of mechanisation. On-site training programmes would enhance the members’ ability to participate in the decision making process of the co-operative and better manage their operations. The study has further shown that a lack of, or limited intra-governmental co-ordination proved to be one of the major challenging factors. It would be advantageous to organise an intergovernmental information service whose purpose would be to co-ordinate activities and pool resources of different agencies in their efforts to achieve common goals.
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Holt, Travis J. "A decision model to determine class III milk hedging opportunities." Thesis, Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/391.
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Brant, Barry. "Alternative strategic financial plans for Garden City Co-op." Thesis, Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/879.
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Westergard, Chris. "Farmland valuation: a net present value approach using simulation." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/19035.
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Master of AgribusinessAgricultural Economics
Allen M. Featherstone
As the single largest asset class on the agriculture sector’s balance sheet, real estate is clearly a significant component of America’s farming community’s well-being and key to production agriculture. Purchasing farmland requires a significant commitment of capital, and one of the chief considerations for producers when contemplating purchasing a property is the return they can expect to receive from their investment over the course of its productive life. The traditional Net Present Value approach to investment valuation is difficult to implement since estimating cash flows over the life of the property is extremely difficult due to uncertainty in yields and commodity prices. By using historical price, yield, and cost data, this thesis develops a net present value spreadsheet model that uses simulation to determine an expected cash flow per acre. This expected cash flow can then be used to determine the gross cash flow from a particular farm over the term of the investment. While not explicitly accounting for non-direct expenses in the model such as returns to management, the techniques discussed provide a solid foundation for a more thorough enterprise analysis and give the producer an estimate of cash flows independent of short-term management decisions.
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Esterhuizen, Dirk. "An evaluation of the competitiveness of the South African agribusiness sector." Thesis, Pretoria : [s.n.], 2006. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-12082006-144349.
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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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Graham, Sarah. "An analysis of efficiency in banking : a case study of the People's National Cooperative Bank of Jamaica." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97401.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research report is a case study of a rural agricultural cooperative bank, the People’s National Cooperative Bank (NPCB). The NPCB has its foundations in the early 1900s and today operates 37 branches across the island of Jamaica. Notwithstanding its history, the NPCB has continued to suffer from issues related to overall profitability and therefore has undergone various transformations and amalgamations of branches over the years. This study involves a comparative analysis of branch performance based on branch-specific financial data. Best and worst practice banks are identified along with their key characteristics in order to pinpoint areas of operations that may benefit from improvement. It is suggested that the variance in the level of efficiency with which resources are employed and incomes earned are factors which affect the level of performance of individual branches. The findings of the research indicate large variations in branch expenses, incomes and lending rates and suggest the need for further examination of branches on a case-by-case basis in order to better facilitate improvements in their respective levels of efficiency.
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Ngan, Kit-yan, and 顔傑恩. "The role of entrepreneurship in China's economic development." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1995. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31954467.
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Brewer, Brady. "Determinants of lender choice and banking strategy for Kansas farmers." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/13708.
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Master of ScienceDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Christine Wilson
Allen Featherstone
The objectives of this thesis are to examine the banking strategy of Kansas farmers and to analyze the determinants of lender choice among Kansas farmers. To meet these objectives, econometric analysis was used to examine the financial characteristics of the farm that affect the number of banking relationships and the probability a farmer has a loan with a respective lender. The financial characteristics include variables representing the solvency, liquidity, and profitability of the farm. To analyze banking strategy, a poisson model was estimated to determine how the financial characteristics of the farm affect the number of banking relationships used by the farmer. The solvency, liquidity, and profitability of a farmer was analyzed to examine how these measures affect how many banking relationships the respective farmer has. Additionally, a panel data fixed effects model was used to analyze how the number of banking relationships affects the net farm income of the farm. To analyze the determinants of lender choice for Kansas farmers, six probit models were used to determine how farm and financial characteristics, including dollar amount of inventory for certain assets and dollar amount of loans, affect the probabililty the farmer has a loan with the respective lender. A Heckman selection model was used to further analyze the dollar amount of loans a farmer has with a respective lender using information from the probit models. Results of the study show that the higher the debt to asset ratio the farmer has, the more banking relationships the respective farmer has. It was also found that the amount of inventory for certain asset classifications, dollar amount loans, and the financial characteristics affect the lender the farmer chooses to use.
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Sibindi, Angels. "An analysis of the impact of contract farming on smallholding farming as a mechanism for value chain efficiency enhancement : the case of Mashonaland central province (Zimbabwe) smallholder tobacco farmers." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/95661.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research study has examined the impact of contract farming on enhancing efficiencies with the agricultural value chain for smallholder tobacco farmers in Mashonaland Central Province in Zimbabwe. The major challenges facing smallholder farmers in Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular relate to financial constraints, technical expertise and market access. Contract farming as a transactions-cost-focussed-model is considered more effectively responsive to those challenges than the pure market approach which insufficiently addresses the impact of information asymmetries, bounded rationality, uncertainty, governance challenges and infrastructure challenges, among others. It allows for closely monitored smallholder financing by agribusiness entities which reduces or eliminates the probability of loan default. Contract farming is seen as an important mechanism in transforming the fragmented, subsistence agriculture in rural Africa into high commercialised and viable business undertakings. In this study, extensive reference is made to literature on agriculture financing; empirical research data on smallholder productivity and loan recoverability is drawn and analysed using the quantitative research methodology. The analysis sought to test for relationships among a set of variables and in the process examined the impact of contract farming. A comparative analysis of national data on the contract and auction system of tobacco marketing was done with emphasis on production and sales volumes, crop quality, price stability and market access. The results from the quantitative analysis of farmer-level and country-level data indicated a strong correlation between smallholder farmer production, productivity and loan recoverability and contract farming value chain intervention mechanisms.
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Dreyer, Andries. "Weather derivatives in the South African agriculture sector." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53219.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study reviews the development and current status of the weather derivative market in the world. As technology has improved, man's potential to model the unpredictable has come to the fore. Changes in the macro economic environment have prompted business to diversify. Deregulation in the American energy market and the advent of weather phenomenon like EI Nino and La Nina enticed large business to hedge their risk exposure in a different way than traditional diversification. Risk for the agriculture sector can be divided into three categories: Price risk, event risk and yield risk. Price risk has been managed by the incorporation of options and futures in the marketing of produce and acquiring of requisites. In conclusion the research finds that the SA market has the potential to grow faster than its American and European counterparts partly because techniques developed can be "leap frogged", but mostly because the SA environment induces smaller contracts that will lead to more market participants and eventually to higher liquidity.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie bespreek die ontwikkeling en huidige stand van die Weer afgeleide instrumente mark in die wêreld. Soos tegnology verbeter het, het die mens se vermoeë om die onsekere te voorspel na vore getree. Veranderings in die makro ekonomiese omgewing het besighede genoodsaak om te diversifiseer. Deregulasie van die Amerikaanse energy mark en weerverskynsels soos EI Nino en La Nina het groot besighede verplig om risiko te verskans deur middel van 'n ander metode as tradisionele diversifikasie. Risiko in die landbou sektor kan verdeel word in drie kategorie; prys risiko, gebeurtenis risiko en laastens opbrengs risiko. In die verlede is prys risiko bestuur deur die insluiting van afgeleide opsies in die bemarkingsaksie van kommoditeite. Gebeurtenis risiko is beheer deur oes versekering en die laaste word deesdae deur weer afgeleide instrumente bestuur. In samevatting bevind die navorsing dat die Suid Afrikaanse mark die potensiaal bevat om vinnig te groei. Deels omdat tegnieke wat ontwikkel is gebruik kan word en deels omdat die Suid Afrikaanse omgewing kleiner kontrakte, dog meer deelnemers in die mark stimuleer.
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Cretin, Curtis J. "Impact of ethanol plants on Kansas land values." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/20576.
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Master of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Allen Featherstone
Land values have a fascinating history after the first settlers started moving west in the 19th century. Much research has been done in agricultural economics with regards to land values and this subject will continue to be watched closely as we move further into the 21st century. The goal of this thesis is to understand the effect that ethanol plants have on the price of land around the ethanol plant. More specifically, the thesis addresses the question of “What impact do ethanol plants have on Kansas Land values?” The thesis also answers the question of “Are land values directly correlated to the proximity of an ethanol plant and if they are directly correlated, to what extent or how much more valuable is a parcel of land that is 30 miles to an ethanol plant compared to a parcel of land that is 70 miles?” As we move into the 21st century, the nation continues to look for alternative fuel sources. Ethanol produced from corn has played a key role in that search for an alternative fuel. In 2007, the state of Kansas proposed to have 29 ethanol plants built and/or operational in the near future. The majority of the ethanol plants were built in 2006 and 2007 with only 16 of those plants becoming operational. This thesis uses those 16 ethanol plants as the basis of this study. The study determines if land sale values from 2010 to 2013 were directly impacted based on the proximity to the closest ethanol plant. Corn is the main crop used in this study with regards to the production of ethanol. While other crops can be used to produce ethanol, the study only focused on the corn crops from 2010 to 2013. The trend in cash corn prices and basis data reflects the advent of the development of ethanol plants with a cash corn high of $8.05 in 2012 and a basis high of $1.84 above futures prices in 2013. In addition to cash corn prices and basis data, the study also collected land parcel sales from the years 2010 to 2013 with 9,279 total observations. Utilizing regression, an equation was estimated taking into account land price, size of land parcel sold in acres, quarter of year for sale, a year binary variable, the minimum distance of an ethanol plant to each parcel sale, the percent pasture acres, percent irrigation acres, rainfall, cropland productivity, and population density. Results indicated that land closer to an ethanol plant is priced at a premium compared to land further away. Land values will continue to be closely studied as we move into the 21st century. This study was able to provide a price point per mile of how much more valuable a land parcel is the closer it is located to an ethanol plant. While this study only factored in the closest ethanol plant to that land parcel sale, other factors such as including multiple ethanol plants located in the same town or ethanol plants that are close in proximity to each other could be further analyzed to continue research on this topic.
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Philippe, Roudier. "Climat et agriculture en Afrique de l'Ouest : Quantification de l'impact du changement climatique sur les rendements et évaluation de l'utilité des prévisions saisonnières." Phd thesis, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), 2012. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00874724.
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Cette thèse cherche à étudier les relations climat/agriculture en Afrique de l'Ouest dans un contexte de croissance démographique nécessitant une augmentation des rendements agricoles futurs. Nous cherchons à caractériser dans un premier temps les changements climatiques passés et futurs dans la région, puis à passer en revue plusieurs études qui donnent une estimation de l'impact du climat futur sur les rendements agricoles de la sous-région, afin de produire des résultats robustes et de souligner les limites de ces études. La valeur médiane d'évolution des rendements futurs se situe ainsi vers -11%, et cette valeur est robuste au type de modèle agronomique employé. Il semble de plus nécessaire de travailler plus en détail sur les scénarii futurs, parfois trop limités et sur les différences entre variétés qui peuvent être importantes. Nous soulignons également l'hétérogénéité des résultats à l'échelle de la sous-région. Nous nous fondons dans un deuxième temps sur ces constatations pour réaliser une étude d'impact originale utilisant des données observées sur 35 stations météorologiques en Afrique de l'Ouest. Pour cela, nous définissons 35 scénarii possibles fondés sur cinq anomalies de pluie (de -20% à +20%) et sept de température (de +0°C à +6°C) et nous simulons les rendements pour trois variétés contrastées de mil et trois de sorgho. Les résultats montrent entre autre une évolution négative du rendement moyen principalement due à l'augmentation de température que la pluie peut seulement atténuer ou aggraver. On note également un impact plus négatif pour les variétés à cycle court et constant que pour les variétés sensibles à la photopériode. Enfin, pour une même anomalie de température, si on considère comme équiprobables les cinq scénarii de pluie, la probabilité d'avoir une forte baisse des rendements est plus importante dans le Sud de la sous-région. Les constatations sur la forte variabilité interannuelle de la pluie (et donc des rendements) et sur le climat futur incertain nous poussent donc à étudier l'intérêt pour les paysans sahéliens de prévisions climatiques saisonnières qui donnent avant le début de la saison des pluies une information sur la catégorie du cumul pluviométrique (plutôt sec, normal ou humide). Cette prévision permet ainsi de minimiser l'impact de l'aléa pluviométrique et est robuste à l'incertitude du changement climatique. Nous calculons de ce fait la valeur d'une telle information pour les cultivateurs de mil nigériens en utilisant un modèle économique représentant les stratégies des agents considérés (choix culturaux, aversion au risque...). Les résultats montrent un impact sur le revenu globalement positif, même en années sèches et avec une prévision d'une précision proche de l'existant. Ainsi, cette prévision imparfaite donne une augmentation du revenu de +6.9% sur les 18 années. Ce gain est légèrement supérieur avec une prévision parfaite (+11%) et atteint +34% si on fournit des informations supplémentaires sur le début et la fin de la saison: ces informations permettent en effet d'utiliser de nouvelles stratégies culturales. Enfin, afin d'étudier des points que l'évaluation théorique laissait en suspens nous élaborons au Sénégal des ateliers participatifs qui visent à étudier avec les acteurs locaux les changements de stratégies culturales en réaction à des prévisions climatiques (saisonnières et décadaires), ainsi que le gain engendré par ces prévisions sur les rendements. L'impact sur les rendements est évalué avec l'aide d'un expert et montre que les prévisions ont certes un effet nul dans 62% des cas, mais qu'il est positif dans 31%. Ces résultats dépendent cependant des villages étudiés.
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Gullickson, Travis R. "Net present value analysis of plant investment to add capacity." Thesis, Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/1051.
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Venard, Kathryn Lyn. "A feasibility study of operating a sheep dairy in central Iowa." Thesis, Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/1056.
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Vicenová, Lenka. "Hodnocení finanční situace podniku a návrhy na její zlepšení." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta podnikatelská, 2010. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-222523.
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This diploma thesis deals with economic health of the company JAKOS, a.s. in years 2005–2008. There was used selected methods of the financial analysis. Based on recognized facts I propose measures which should result in the improvement of financial situation of the company.
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Post, Seth. "A financial analysis of placing fixed grain assets in northern Kansas." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/18146.
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Master of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Christine Wilson
During the past two decades, there has been major consolidation in the grain handling industry. Staying competitive in today’s environment involves finding projects that add value from a strategic geographic standpoint and a revenue generation standpoint. This study examines several economic factors regarding growth opportunities of facility assets that exist in Northern Kansas, and what the associated cost structure would look like based on a business feasibility study. This study researched the county production by volume and acreage devoted to crop production as well as bid structures and freight spreads of competitors currently in the region today. It also involved researching the margin structures, and it considered a strategic decision about the size of facility that could be built on the existing margin opportunity. Several economic theories were used to derive the feasibility of this research and measure the profitability of the project. Farmer sentiment was polled and a focus group was assembled to understand the opportunity that Scoular may have in the region. The results found a region that provides a steady volume of crop production and margins that are typical of those that Scoular is experiencing in other regions of the state. The research also found the farmers of this geography, receptive to more competition entering the market place.
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Barkley, David L., and Larry Simmons. "Contribution of the Golf Course Industry to the Arizona Economy." College of Agriculture, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/310783.
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Mwansa, Sosthenes. "Comparative investment analysis for small scale broiler and layer enterprises in Zambia." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/15903.
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Master of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Allen M. Featherstone
Small scale broiler and layer production constitutes a significant part of the poultry industry in Zambia. However, the contribution of small scale enterprises to broiler production is more pronounced than layers with statistics showing 60 and 30 percent for broilers and layers, respectively. This study was carried out for the purpose of determining the economic profitability of both broiler and layer enterprises and also to evaluate their degree of attractiveness for investment. The thesis used the Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return methods to determine the economic profitability for both broiler and layer enterprises. The data used in the analyses were obtained direct from the market and additional data were extracted from the Cost of Doing Business Manual 2012, a publication of the Zambian Development Agency. Additionally, the study used a capital investment of US $50,000 for each enterprise, 25 percent opportunity cost of capital and an economic life of five years. The data were used in estimating the enterprise budgets for both broiler and layer enterprises from which income statements were generated. The enterprise budget for broiler production estimated revenue from the sale of live broiler chickens at a wholesale price while the layer enterprise budget estimated its revenue from the sale of eggs and culled hens. The sale prices used were US $5 per broiler chicken, US $3.60 per tray of eggs and US $2 per culled hen as obtaining on the market at the time. In addition, production was estimated at 60,000 broilers and 30,000 trays of eggs from 3,000 layers annually. The cost of constructing brooder houses and purchase of production equipment were the major cost components for the two enterprise budget estimates. The estimates indicated that these two cost components amounted to US $27,090 and US $21,095 for boiler and layer enterprises respectively. The other cost component was production cost and it includes the cost of labor, feed, day old chicks, marketing, vaccines, transportation, electricity, debeakers, heaters, stationery, etc. The cost of feed constituted about 65 percent of total production cost for layer enterprises and about 60 percent for broiler enterprises. The total production cost as a percentage of revenue was estimated at 80 percent and 70 percent for broiler and layer enterprises, respectively. The analyses were completed under three alternative scenarios that included optimistic, expected and pessimistic scenarios. The analyses across all scenarios show that both broiler and layer enterprises are economically viable for investment though the broiler enterprise is more economically profitable than the layer enterprise. They both show positive NPVs and IRRs in excess of the 25 percent opportunity cost of capital used in the analysis. The analysis for broiler enterprise showed a NPV of US $178,242 for the optimistic scenario, US $122,742 for the expected scenario and US $30,550 for the pessimistic scenario. Results obtained from layer enterprise analysis showed NPVs of US $72,388, US $49,260 and US $11,186 for the optimistic, expected and pessimistic scenarios, respectively. Consistent with the decision rules of the NPV and IRR methods, both enterprises were found to be economically viable for investment. On a comparative basis though, the small scale broiler enterprise was found to be more attractive for investment than the small scale layer enterprise as indicated by the results of the NPVs and IRRs. The lucrative nature of the broiler enterprise and easy of management could be used as possible explanation to the current investment trends seen in the Zambian poultry industry.
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Smith, Matthew K. "Trend yields and the crop insurance program." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/13748.
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Master of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Allen M. Featherstone
Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) is a federally subsidized crop insurance program designed to mitigate risk for farmers across the United States. Many changes in technology and weather have increased yields in recent years. This has caused some to argue for the crop insurance program to consider yield trends when setting yields for the producer. This thesis evaluates alternative Actual Production History (APH) methods for corn to determine differences in the methods and the resulting APH. The key issue to be evaluated is that a producer’s APH may not be reflective of their “yield goal.” The thesis examined how the APH can differ under alternative methods of calculating an APH. Some methods examined are currently used by the Risk Management Agency (RMA). Other methods are hypothetical alternatives. This study examines alternative methods on a national, county, and a farm level. This thesis demonstrates that adjusting APHs for yield trends provides a higher APH than an un-trended APH. The 7 Year Olympic Trended APH provides the highest APH in most cases for all the methods examined. The RMA Un-trended APH proved to provide the least yield on average for all methods examined. This demonstrates the importance of adjusting for yield trends to factor in agricultural technology advancements over time.
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Bar-Yoseph, Benjamin A. "Ideology, culture change, and management patterns in the Israeli Kibbutz." Thesis, City, University of London, 1997. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/19947/.
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This thesis addresses the problem of the cultural change in the Israeli Kibbutz, its relevance to the Kibbutz ideology and its implication on Management patterns in the Kibbutz. The thesis is based on four hypotheses. Two of the hypotheses address the cultural changes and two address the changes in management patterns. The cultural change is hypothesised by assuming a change in life style and a change in the attitude to work as a value. The change in management patterns is hypothesised by assuming a change, at a policy level, of resource allocation and a change in the decision making process. The research includes several stages: • A literature research which established the historic cultural and ideological roots of the Kibbutz movement. • A collection of general statistics of the Kibbutz movement. • Five case studies - An in depth analysis of five individual Kibbutzim. A model of the Kibbutz values and principles is developed and used in analysing the changes in values and principles in the Kibbutz. The outcome of the research reveals that the Kibbutz is changing from an ideology based commune, which prefers values over matter and is ready to sacrifice individual freedom for the ideals, to a more bureaucratic organisation alming for profits that prefers individual freedom on equality and communality. The Kibbutz movement is turning from an agrarian closed system to a technically advanced community with open economy and culture. The research outcomes enhance Bertalaruy's claim that a culture within a culture has to change in order to survive. It also demonstrates that a cultural change is an incremental change. What seems to be a radical change is an aggregate result of several incremental changes. It is suggested that a radical change can not be implemented successfully in an organisation unless broken to incremental changes.
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Aït-Youcef, Camille. "Causes et conséquences de l’activité financière sur la dynamique des prix agricoles." Thesis, Université de Lorraine, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019LORR0157.
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Les nombreuses émeutes de la faim qui se sont déroulées entre 2007 et 2008 en Afrique, dans les Caraïbes et en Asie ont été, en partie, la conséquence d’une extrême hausse des prix de plusieurs matières premières agricoles. En effet, depuis le début des années deux mille, les prix des produits agricoles ont suivi une tendance haussière et volatile liée probablement à un mouvement de financiarisation. La dynamique des prix qui en a résulté a tout particulièrement impacté le niveau de vie des habitants des pays en développement dont les ressources dépendent fortement de la dynamique des prix agricoles. Cette thèse a pour but d'étudier les causes et les conséquences de l’influence de l'activité financière sur la formation des prix des matières premières agricoles, à la fois sur un plan théorique et empirique. Ce travail de recherche s’articule autour de quatre chapitres. Les deux premiers chapitres portent sur les relations entre les marchés financiers et agricoles et mettent en exergue un renforcement des liens existant entre ces marchés. Le troisième chapitre permet d’analyser les répercussions du comportement des investisseurs sur la dynamique des prix agricoles, qui correspondent à une volatilité accrue et des mouvements plus extrêmes de ces prix. Le quatrième et dernier chapitre traite des conséquences économiques de la transmission des prix internationaux des matières premières agricoles aux prix nationaux de plusieurs pays en développement. Les marchés internationaux des matières premières sont susceptibles de renforcer l’intégration entre les marchés internationaux et nationaux des céréales, facilitant ainsi les transmissions des chocsThe numerous food riots that took place during the 2007-2008 period in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia began following an extreme rise in prices of several agricultural commodities. Since the beginning of the 2000s, prices of agricultural products have followed an upward and volatile trend. In this context, this phenomenon has significant consequences for people living in developing countries who are highly dependent on agricultural price dynamics. We propose to study the influence of financial activity upon agricultural prices formation. To do that, we analyze both theoretically and empirically the effects of the financialization. This first research work is organized around four chapters. The first two chapters focus on the relationship between the financial and agricultural markets. They highlight a reinforcement of the existing links between financial and agricultural markets. The third chapter analyses the impact of investor behaviour on agricultural price dynamics, that is a rise of both volatility and extreme price movements. The last chapter deals with the economic consequences for developing countries of international agricultural prices fluctuations. The global commodity market might reinforce the integration of international and national cereal markets. By doing that, it can ease the transmission of shocks
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Popelka, Paul. "Net present value analysis of an automated grain aeration system technology on stored corn." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/19034.
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Master of AgribusinessAgricultural Economics
Allen M. Featherstone
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether the use of automated aeration systems for reducing moisture in corn during storage provides sufficient net present value for Nebraska corn farmers. The objective is to examine if an automated aeration system provides sufficient energy savings, marketing opportunities and reduced drying costs before corn delivery to an elevator. On-the-farm corn storage has steadily increased and harvesting corn before the moisture has achieved the desired targets cost farmers in drying charges and shrink. Farmers are interested in whether automated aeration systems can remove enough moisture from grain, without over-drying the bin, without spending a large amount of time determining when to run their grain bin aeration fans. Data for this project were obtained from four privately owned 60,000 bushel grain bins outfitted with the IntelliAir™ BinManager™ automated aeration system. Moisture samples were taken from each of the trucks hauling grain to the bin and again after removal of the corn after the automated system had ran for 9 months. Energy usage, drying charges, and shrink were calculated for the initial corn moisture averages and the moisture at the time of removal. Each bin was examined using Net Present Value (NPV) analysis to determine whether the energy savings were enough to offset the initial installation cost and annual expenses of the project. After the NPV was estimated for each of the bins, a sensitivity analysis of how corn price changes and no aeration required would affect the NPV analysis. Finally, an analysis of the total costs savings of a continuously ran aeration system was compared to the automated aeration system. The conclusion of the NPV analysis was that adding an automated aeration system would be profitable under most scenarios. More studies are needed to determine the profitability of automated aeration systems in different regions, moisture inputs, and bin sizes.
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Davis, Bill. "The feasibility of crop insurance agency acquisitions." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/14043.
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Master of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Allen M. Featherstone
Crop insurance, in recent years, has displaced U.S. federal farm program payments as the most important safety net for net farm income. The business climate that crop insurance purchasers and providers face in the future is one of increasing premiums for producers and decreasing commissions for crop insurance companies and agents. The primary objective of this thesis is to assess the desirability of crop insurance agency acquisitions to increase market share for Farm Credit Services of America, considering the significant uncertainties in the future subsidy levels and commission levels for these products. Financial analysis and modeling crop insurance agency acquisitions is completed under a wide range of future economic and political scenarios. The wide range of assumptions, however, does contribute to a wide range of potential purchase prices and rates of return on crop insurance agency acquisitions. The crop insurance industry faces uncertainty in the future and general industry profitability will likely decline. However, an expansion strategy in a period of reduced commissions can be profitable if acquisitions are priced appropriately and can be made in locations where existing support services can be leveraged to support the acquisition.
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Lukášová, Veronika. "Vzdělávání zaměstnanců a komunikace na Ministerstvu financí a Ministerstvu zemědělství." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2011. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-125156.
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The diploma thesis deals with education and communication of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. The goal of this diploma thesis is to compare how both ministries educate their employees and how they communicate. The thesis will show if or what are the differences between the ministries in given areas. In the part that deals with the communication of the ministries attention will be paid to both, communication with the media and with the public. In the theoretical part methods and ways of education of employees that are used and theoretical bases will be generally given. In this part the thesis will also focus on regulations which the education of state employees should follow. In the practical part the expert interview method will be used to describe the system of education in both offices. In the area of communication the way, in which the ministries communicate with the media and with the public will be outlined and on the basis of media outputs in a certain interval a hypothesis that media are more interested in the Ministry of Finance topics will be verified. The thesis will compare both ministries in this way and make possible recommendations.
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Murungi, Kellen. "Interest Rate Ceilings and Agriculture Financing in Kenya." Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33891.
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The agriculture sector in Kenya contributes about 34% of the GDP and is a major employer both formally and informally. The sector has historically experienced challenges in accessing commercial financing, with banks committing less than 5% of their portfolio to agriculture, which has limited the sector's growth. In August 2016, the Kenyan government introduced interest rate ceilings in a bid to reduce the cost of borrowing, thereby releasing more capital to all enterprises, including those in the agricultural sector. This study sought to examine the effect of these interest rate ceilings on the growth in lending to the agricultural sector in Kenya. The study estimated a panel multiple regression model for 26 commercial banks, spanning a 5-year period between 2014 and 2018. The analysis revealed that the amount of credit supply to the agricultural sector increased following the imposition of interest rate ceilings. The findings from the panel regression analysis confirmed that variations in the amount of loans to the agricultural sector were affected by the imposition of interest ceilings. The finding held after controlling for bank-specific characteristics, such as firm size, equity, asset quality, liquidity and interest spread, suggesting that interest rate ceilings, if prudently applied, could lead to increased access to credit for the agricultural sector. However, the subsequent reversal of the interest rate capping law demonstrated that this is a blunt tool for enabling access to credit not only because of its ineffectiveness but due to the fact that it is prone to politicisation. This study, therefore, recommends that the government creates a favourable policy environment that enhances competition and information sharing in the banking sector which will lead to lower costs of credit. If they are deemed necessary, interest rate caps should be selectively used to enhance lending only to sectors where there is sufficient empirical evidence of their effectiveness.
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Lombard, Christoffel. "The development of a methodology to evaluate business plans for land reform projects in the Western Cape with special emphasis on LRAD grant supported projects." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/14635.
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Thesis (MDF)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main purpose of this study was to develop a methodology to evaluate business plans which support governmental grants to emerging farmers in the Winelands area of the Western Cape. The study focuses primarily on two types of emerging farmer groups namely (i) farm equity groups and (ii) individual farmers (less than 10 members per farm). Empowering disadvantaged people is exceedingly complex, therefore it is of paramount importance to compile a detailed and comprehensive business plan based on a proper feasibility study. If a project is not feasible on paper it will rarely succeed in practice. Four LRAD business plans per group were evaluated and have been scored against a contents list, which was compiled from an ideal farm business plan. This was followed up with a questionnaire to evaluate the current situation on the farms and to test the understanding of the business plan and its elements with the beneficiaries. There is a clear distinction in the quality of business plans between the equity scheme land reform models and individual farmer’s business plans. The quality of the equity farmer’s business plan was in most cases around 25 percent better compared to those of the individual farmers. The result of the study shows that there is a direct link between the quality of the business plan and the sustainability of the projects. Lower scored individual farmer projects under review, struggle to stay afloat with a weak cash flow as their main drawback. On the other hand the better scored equity scheme projects are much more sustainable; however more focus needs to be placed on developing the shareholders in the understanding of the financial side and land ownership principals. The author is of the opinion that only feasible projects must receive grant funding and this should be supported by good mentorship policies from government. South Africa can no longer afford “social business plans” in the land reform process; there is a need for sound farm business plans as a very important first step to feasible and sustainable farming ventures. The methodology developed in this study could become a valuable tool for government departments for directly measuring the quality of business plans and thereby indirectly the feasibility of land reform projects.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om 'n metodiek te ontwikkel waarmee plaas besigheidsplanne geёalueer kan word vir die aansoek van skenkings (“grant”) fondse vir opkomende boere in die Kaapse Wynlandarea. Die studie fokus hoofsaaklik op twee tipes groepe, naamlik (i) plaas aandele skema groepe en (ii) individuele boere (minder as 10 lede per plaas). Die bemagtiging van opkomende boere is baie kompleks, daarom is dit baie belangrik om 'n gedetailleerde en omvattende besigheidsplan, gegrond op' n behoorlike ondersoek na die haalbaarheid, daar te stel. As 'n projek op papier nie haalbaar is nie, gaan dit nie sommer suksesvol wees in die praktyk nie. Vier LRAD besigheidsplanne per groep is geëvalueer teen 'n inhoudslys wat vanaf ‘n ideale plaas besigheidsplan saamgestel is. Dit is opgevolg met 'n vraelys om die huidige situasie op die plase te evalueer en die begrip van die besigheidsplan en sy elemente te toets. ‘n Duidelike kwaliteits verskil kan gesien word tussen die aandeel skema boere -en individuele boere se besigheidsplanne. Die gehalte van die aandeel skema boere se planne was in die meeste gevalle ongeveer 25 persent beter as dié van die individuele boere. Die studie kan 'n direkte lyn trek tussen die besigheidsplan inligting en die volhoubaarheid van die projekte. Die individuele boere- projekte onder oorsig sukkel om kop bo water te hou met 'n swak kontantvloei as hulle belangrikste nadeel. Aan die ander kant, is die aandeleskema projekte baie meer volhoubaar, maar meer fokus moet geplaas word op die ontwikkeling van die aandeelhouers se begrip van die finansiële kant van die boerdery asook eienaarskap op die plaas. Die tyd het aangebreek dat slegs haalbare projekte befonds moet word en dat die regering hierdie projekte moet ondersteun met goeie mentorskap beleid. Daar is nie meer plek vir "sosiale besigheids planne" in die Suid-Afrikaanse grondhervormingsproses nie. Goeie werkbare plaas besigheidsplanne is nodig as 'n baie belangrike eerste stap om volhoubare boerdery ondernemings daar te stel. Hierdie studie is 'n waardevolle hulpmiddel in die regering se hand vir die evaluering van besigheidsplanne van grondhervormings projekte.
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Mniki, Sicelo. "An assessment of the impact of Local Economic Development in Mbhashe Local Municipality with special focus on agricultural projects." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018579.
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The need to achieve developmental local government in South Africa has necessitated that the municipalities and other government departments pay more attention to the poor so that they can be helped to live more fruitful lives and become the instruments for the growth of local economy. This study seeks to assess the impact of Local Economic Development (LED) initiatives in Mbhashe Local Municipality with special focus on the Maize Production Project (MPP). The areas of Mbhashe municipality that were included in the study include Ndakeni village near Dutywa, Tswele-litye near Willowvale and Madwaleni near Elliotdale. The study followed both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches and the respondents were made up of a sample of MPP beneficiaries from the three areas mentioned above, Community Leaders and the Officials. The objectives of the study were to identify MPP objectives, to identify challenges in the implementation of the MPP, to assess the availability of remedial measures and lastly, to assess whether the community has benefited from the maize production project or not. Among others, the objectives of the MPP were to maximise maize production, to make profit, to create employment opportunities for the unemployed. Only 13 percent of the surveyed beneficiaries believe that their expectations of this initiative were fully met. The majority (two thirds) believe that their expectations were partly met, whilst one in five (20 percent) believe that their expectations were not met at all. The MPP implementation challenges included delays caused by the municipal procurement processes, unfavourable climate conditions, poor service delivery by the appointed service providers who provide tractors, shortage of funds and late start for ploughing. Even though the remedial measures seem to be in place, the implementation and the communication of the strategies remains a big challenge. Furthermore a proportion of the respondents were unhappy with the public participation process that preceded the implementation of the project.According to the findings, two thirds (67 percent) of the surveyed farmers believe that their communities have benefited from the MPP, although one third (33 percent) disagreed. The challenges of an insufficient budget, procurement delays and late commencement of ploughing need to be addressed if the maize production initiative is to yield the desired results.
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Linklater, Scott W. "Trusted Advisors in Agricultural Finance| An Exploration of Proficiencies that Lead to Trust-Based Relationships." Thesis, Gonzaga University, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13808872.
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Since the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916, a cooperative system of lending associations has helped provide stable financing to agricultural operators throughout the United States and played a crucial role in maintaining a stable food supply. At the heart of this system are relationships between agricultural operators and lenders who function as their trusted advisors. This study explores the proficiencies of trusted advisors at one of these associations: Northwest Farm Credit Services. With an interdisciplinary view of trust, 25 qualitative interviews were conducted with existing trusted advisors, as well as group interviews with 38 customers, to understand the factors which help create and maintain trust-based relationships. From my findings, trusted advisorness is defined and a framework describing trusted advisorness in seven embodied elements is proposed. This framework describes how a trusted advisor walks and cares, for what a trusted advisor looks and listens, how a trusted advisor thinks, and what a trusted advisor says and does.
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Shoko, Ropafadzo. "The effects of the economic structural adjustment programs on agriculture in Sub Saharan Africa: a case study of Zimbabwe 1990-2000." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28984.
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The Zimbabwean economy has been in decline for the past two decades with the economic situation reaching its worst state in 2008. This period was followed by the adoption of a multi-currency regime in 2009, which the Zimbabwean government hoped would lend some stability to the crumbling economy. The agricultural sector, which was previously considered the cornerstone of the economy has been contributing increasingly less and less to the country's gross Domestic Product, with the current state of the sector being the worst it has been since the country's independence in 1980. Much research has been done to establish the source of the decline in the sector with the major findings pointing toward unfavourable weather conditions, the issue of the equitable distribution of land and the IMF and WB mandated Economic Structural Adjustment Program. This research focused on the effects of ESAP on the agricultural sector with a view to highlight the themes that emerged on key indicators over the adjustment period from 1990 to 1995 as well as a period after to 2000 in order to consider the time lagged effects of adjustment policies. In addition to this, this research investigated the extent to which the ESAP policies were applied, and whether this may have been a reason for ESAP's perceived failings. This paper concluded that despite the shortcomings of ESAP, policies recommended pursuant to this program were not the direct source of the decline of the sector, but rather the non or poor implementation of policies as well as the socio-political environment in the country.