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Murray, Andrea Clare. "Smallholder tea producer experiences of Voluntary Private Standards." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2014. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/smallholder-tea-producer-experiences-of-voluntary-private-standards(5b4f451a-5403-4b84-ac3c-6278242c9dbd).html.
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I analyse smallholder tea producer experiences of dual-certification to Fairtrade and Organic Voluntary Private Standards (VPSs). Dual-certification represented a gold-standard in pro-development certifications, implying alignment between the standards and producer priorities. Yet certification required smallholders to implement two different and challenging standards simultaneously, and the smallholder category was heterogeneous. Gaps in knowledge persisted regarding smallholder implementation of dual-certification in South Indian tea. The main contribution of this research was empirical, investigating 1) reasons for the extension of dual-certification, 2) implications for export-market access and 3) conflicts of practice with norms among tea farmers. I adopted an agricultural marketing network scope to tether Global Value Chain analytical tools into producer contexts. This maintained the connection of producers with global tea buyers and global standards, contributing to understanding the exercises of power by institutions. This research examined the context of South Indian tea, identifying tea production and marketing networks of industry actors, local institutions, industry conventions and Fairtrade-Organic governance. The use of secondary data was complimented by qualitative techniques. I used a case study approach, recruiting one Fairtrade-Organic, dual-certified producer group and one non-certified producer group of smallholders. I sampled key power nodes in networks to generate interview data with key agents including farmers, producer group managers, tea buyers, standard setters and background institution informants. I held 40 interviews with 60 participants during 7 months in South India and the UK.Global Value Chain analysis represented the founding framework that considered standards as governing production and trade in certified commodities. GVC approaches analysed the distribution of benefits and market access between actors in GVCs. Powerful lead firms controlled chain coordination, shaped competition, market access and costs of compliance. The sociological redefinition of power led to standards theorised as legitimated conceptions of the good, the fair and the environmental, with attention turning to producer accounts of governance and standards. The thesis contributes to a growing literature highlighting agency, governmentality, and powers of institutions, in GVCs. Global standards were expressions of fragmented power in governmentality. I analysed accounts of the extension of dual-certification, attendant changes to market access and performances of implementation, seeing through farmers‘ eyes. I derived from data 3 empirical contributions. Firstly, producer institutions and gatekeepers exercised power by affecting smallholder certifications. Yet smallholders were purposeful agents who drove their certification statuses. Secondly, certification did not define market access; quality remained paramount. Fairtrade-Organic standards carried definitions of quality that were intangible, taking the ascertainment of leaf quality from the hands of farmers. Finally, smallholder agent behaviours were analysed as negotiations of Fairtrade-Organic and tea industry valuations of good tea practices. Standards were not pre-defined, bringing compliance costs; rather, Fairtrade-Organic existed in, was constituted by, smallholder performances. Attempts to enhance the legitimacy of FLO governance by aligning standards with producer priorities involved producer regional forums. Alignment was skewed by FLO‘s failure to distinguish smallholder from plantation priorities. This parallels a pro-market pragmatism about the future of Fairtrade.
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Villa, Rodríguez Abel Osvaldo. "Global value chains (GVC) and social learning : developing producer capabilities in smallholder farmers : the case of San Francisco Produce/Peninsula Organics (SFP/PO)." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/33272.
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The thesis examines how resource-poor smallholder farmers in Mexico are integrated into a Global Value Chain. Most Global Value Chains depend on production located in developing countries. In agriculture, Global Value Chain tend to concentrate production in large enterprises and exclude smallholder farmers. The logic of Global Value Chains is to reduce the cost of production by allocating low value activities, such as production of commodities to developing countries to take advantage of cheap labour cost. High value activities such as branding, marketing and product development remain in high income countries. The thesis consists of the in-depth case study of San Francisco Produce/Peninsula Organics (SFP/PO) Global Value Chain. It is located throughout Southern Baja Peninsula in Mexico and San Francisco California, U.S.A. It sells organic certified produce to the American market, particularly California and east coast. SFP/PO was founded by a social entrepreneur and has been functioning for over 30 years. This Global Value Chain has an explicit social purpose. It focuses on integrating smallholder farmers into agricultural production. This value chain requires farmers to adopt organic production. The methods consisted of semi-structured interviews. In total, 50 interviews were conducted in Mexico to farmers that belong to the value chain in 9 co-operatives and 3 single farmers. The interviews focused on how farmers learned organic production to meet quality requirements of global buyers. The analysis uses three perspectives to explain the integration of smallholder farmers into SFP/PO and the development of organic production capabilities. First Global Value Chains are used to describe the network, connections and production activities smallholder farmers and global buyer carry out. The study sheds light on how the value chain achieves its social aims by using global markets and providing external inputs to improve farmers' livelihoods. Second, using Technological Capabilities the study explains the skills farmers need to develop to participate in the value chain. Third, a Communities of Practice perspective is used to explain how social learning is involved in developing production capabilities. The research explains how farmers collectively define competence and how they display three different levels of participation in the value chain, periphery, medium and full participation. And fourth, using the theory of Knowing in Action, the research explores co-learning between novice and expert farmers and the interactions among farmers that results in co-innovation to develop new technical solutions and crop varieties. The thesis presents a case of a value chain which is motivated by social purpose to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The study demonstrates that there is a change of ethos, where global value chain integrates farmers into agricultural production. These data highlight the importance of social structures which allow farmer-to-farmer connections which enhance novice farmer skills enabling interactions where there is respect, and negotiation of knowledge. These interactions take indigenous farmers' knowledge into account in ways that can be acknowledged and harnessed in the form of practices and techniques to produce globally marketable products.
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Trebbin, Anika [Verfasser], and Markus [Akademischer Betreuer] Hassler. "Smallholder farmers market integration through Producer Organizations - An analysis of the Producer Company model in the context of India’s emerging modern food retail sector / Anika Trebbin. Betreuer: Markus Hassler." Marburg : Philipps-Universität Marburg, 2013. http://d-nb.info/1032314060/34.
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Mzuyanda, Christian. "Assessing the impact of primary agricultural co-operative membership on smallholder farm performance (crops) in Mnquma Local Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1021285.
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Yang, Yilin S. M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Incentive design for quality investment by smallholder producers." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122526.
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Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computation for Design and Optimization Program, 2019<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-85).<br>The food safety problem has been challenging the traditional operating model of Chinese agricultural supply chain. In the recent decades, more and more agribusinesses and cooperatives in China have adopted contract farming to strengthen food safety control during the sourcing process. Meanwhile, several pricing schemes are applied to incentivize the quality-improving effort from producers of different risk attitudes and defaulting likelihoods. In this paper, we consider a producer-agribusiness supply chain with stochastic wholesale market price and random production yield. We model the three commonly-observed pricing schemes of contract farming in China: 1. Markup contract, 2. Fixed-price contract and 3. Protective-price contract. We characterize the equilibrium of the contracting game under each pricing scheme with risk-neutral and/or risk-averse producer. Furthermore, we investigate the optimal contract selections under different producer characteristics. We find that compared to the most frequently-used markup contract, the fixed-price and protective-price contract better incentivize the risk-averse producer to exert higher levels of quality-improving effort; In addition, switching from a markup contract to a protective-price contract or a fixed-price contract (under a certain threshold of defaulting rate) will achieve a win-win outcome where both the expected profit of the company and the utility of the risk-averse producer increase. Finally, we offer insights on the selection between the protective-price contract and fixed-price contract under different market price and production yield conditions.<br>by Yilin Yang.<br>S.M.<br>S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computation for Design and Optimization Program
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Fevola, Martina. "Quality evaluation of cocoa beans produced by smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2018.
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Il cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) è un’importante coltura a livello mondiale. La sua produzione è alla base dell’economia della maggior parte dei paesi produttori e dei profitti di molte industrie dolciarie.
Attualmente, circa il 70% delle fave di cacao nel mondo è raccolto in Africa. Il Ghana è il secondo paese produttore dopo la Costa d’Avorio. La maggior parte del cacao proviene da piccoli agricoltori che spesso usano sistemi di coltivazione obsoleti e poco organizzati.
La crescente domanda di cacao nel mercato mondiale ha aumentato l’attenzione su una produzione sostenibile attraverso una serie di miglioramenti per la coltivazione e i processi post-raccolta. Questa tesi fa parte di un progetto che ha come obiettivo a lungo termine quello di incrementare la produzione di cacao di alta qualità da parte di piccoli coltivatori in Africa occidentale.
Per questo lavoro sono state esaminate fave di cacao prodotte da 30 piccoli agricoltori di sei regioni del Ghana. I campioni sono stati analizzati e comparati sotto forma di fave di cacao intere, in polvere e liquore di cacao.
I risultati hanno rilevato alcuni difetti nel processo di fermentazione evidenziati dai bassi livelli dell’ indice di fermentazione e dalla presenza di Ocratossina A. Dai risultati si evince anche che le fave di cacao prodotte in Ghana hanno grandi dimensioni, alto contenuto di grassi e presentano note aromatiche fruttate.
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Othman, Nasuddin bin. "Factors affecting cocoa productivity among the smallholders in West Malaysia." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/3501.
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The principal objectives of this study are to identify the production factors that influence cocoa productivity at the smallholder's level and to examine resource allocation and technical efficiency in cocoa production. Cross-sectional data collected from 260 cocoa smallholders were used for the study. Both the average production function estimated by the Ordinary Least Squares techniques and the frontier production function estimated by the Linear Programming methodology were employed in the analysis. The results indicated that the input factors which had a significant impact on the production of cocoa were land size, labour, living capital, farm implements and fertilisers. Among the management proxies, only farmer's age, extension contact, farmer's education and the practice of keeping farm records and accounts were important. The data presented in this study 1end support to the hypothesis that the cocoa smallholders were highly inefficient allocatively. Inputs comprising land, fertilisers, and farm implements were underused while labour and living capital were overused. Technical inefficiencies were also present in the study area. The study revealed that a large proportion of the farmers have output levels below their potential. Output could be increased between 18 to 52 per cent if all the least efficient farmers attained those levels of technical efficiency that were achieved by the best farmers in the sample. The variations in technical efficiency in this area were explained by differences in land size, farmer's educational level, their age and the practice of keeping farm records and accounts. This study emphasises the need that increasing efforts must be directed at the least efficient farmers through better and effective management practices and better organization of farm activity without major new investments, at least in the short-run.
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Makhura, Moraka Thomas. "Overcoming transaction costs barriers to market participation of smallholder farmers in the Northern Province of South Africa." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2001. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-09012001-131116/.
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Unahalekhaka, Aukrit. "Product design for social impact : a case study of smallholder farmers in Thailand." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107585.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2016.<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (pages 72-76).<br>75% of the worlds poor (<2$/day) are smallholder farmers where they produce 80% of the food in Asia and Africa. Not only are these farmers poor, but they are also food insecure. By 2050, the world will need to produce at least 50% more food to feed 9 billion people. Compounding this problem is climate change, which will cut crop yields by more than 25%. Unless we change how smallholder farmers grow their food, food security will be at risk. These dual-pronged problems of poverty and food insecurity are caused by three main issues in the agricultural value chains: Supply Chain Inefficiencies, Financial Exclusion, and Information Asymmetry. These problems are synergistic and reinforce the vicious cycle of poverty and food insecurity. Growth in agriculture has been shown to be three times more effective in alleviating poverty compared to growth in other sectors. Innovative product development for smallholder farmers can be an integral part to help alleviate these issues and make a significant positive impact on the society. This thesis takes a holistic system level approach to the problems that smallholder farmers in developing country face. Nineteen case studies are presented to help readers learn from what other successful organizations have done from various parts of the world. This thesis narrows down to the context of Thailand to give a specific example and demonstrate to the reader how the frameworks, diffusion strategy, and case studies presented can be applied to their country of choice. The overall goal of this thesis is to provide a product design and development framework with the hope that this paper can help guide readers to develop and launch innovations that can make a difference to the lives of hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries.<br>by Aukrit Unahalekhaka.<br>S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Edirisinghe, Jagath Chaminda. "Technology Adoption,Efficiency and Market Access of Smallholder Dairy Producers in Sri Lanka : A Bayesian Perspective." Thesis, University of Reading, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.533784.
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Donovan, Jason A. "Value chain development for addressing rural poverty : asset building by smallholder coffee producers and cooperatives in Nicaragua." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 2011. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/12762/.
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Bulale, Abdinasir Ibrahim. "Smallholder dairy production and dairy technology adoption in the mixed farming system in Arsi Highland, Ethiopia /." Berlin : Köster, 2000. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=009047143&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
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Kabambe, Dalitso Singano. "An economic analysis of the impacts of international trade liberalisation on smallholder export crop supply chains and producers in Malawi." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/8852.
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Ceballos, Francisco [Verfasser], Matin [Akademischer Betreuer] Qaim, Maximo [Gutachter] Torero, and Oliver [Gutachter] Mußhoff. "Demand and Design Considerations for Smallholder Farmers’ Weather Index Insurance Products / Francisco Ceballos ; Gutachter: Maximo Torero, Oliver Mußhoff ; Betreuer: Matin Qaim." Göttingen : Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1151700762/34.
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Mwangi, Nungari. "The power to flourish : unearthing the roots of Kenyan flower producers' market access strategies." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2019. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289438.
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Powering Kenya's agricultural economy, the Kenyan flower industry is prided as an example of successful African integration into global agricultural trade. Export markets are bifurcated due to a marked shift from the Dutch flower auctions and an increase in trade within 'direct markets' which includes supermarkets and florists. While flower production is dominated by a few vertically integrated, large scale flower farms (>100 ha), mid-scale (20-80 hectares) and small-scale (>0.25 hectares) flower farms which are the focus of the thesis, face a unique set of challenges in terms of navigating access to the more stable direct markets. The overall narrative is that even in a buyer-driven market, Kenyan cut flower producers at the mid and small scale have agency, and they exercise their bargaining power for favourable export access by diversification and differentiation in strategies and networks. Two meta-narratives framing the sector coalesce around the development angle which showcases contestations around labour and environmental abuses and the political economy angle focusing on governance structures and power relations of production. This thesis goes deeper than these meta narratives by introducing micro-level, relational perspectives using the GPN framework, and asks what strategies Kenyan mid and small scale cut flower producers employ to navigate the shifts in export markets as producers diversify from the Dutch auctions towards supermarkets. My findings identify diversification as the common factor in mid and small scale producers' strategies for securing a range of lucrative export markets. Producers' enhance their bargaining power to access diverse markets through adaptable production, relationally through collective action, and in the regulatory sphere by circumvention, compliance or contestation for more favourable 'rules of the game'. Going beyond labour and environmental analyses, the thesis uniquely analyses the knowledge economy originating from the cut flower sector as an undertheorized aspect of its development impact.
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Worinu, Mark. "The operation and effectiveness of formal and informal supply chains for fresh produce in the Papua New Guinea highlands." Master's thesis, Lincoln University. Agriculture and Life Sciences Division, 2007. http://theses.lincoln.ac.nz/public/adt-NZLIU20080318.100431/.
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The research aim was to gain a more detailed understanding of the operation of different key segments for fresh produce supply chains originating in the Highlands Provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The research investigates a number of supply chain dimensions of effectiveness which include, value creation and integration of processes, logistics, quality, information, relationship/vertical integration and overall effectiveness. These were linked together in SC framework. Two potato chains were investigated, one formal, the other informal. The informal potato chain involves small holder farmers, input suppliers and local markets including kai bars and the urban market. The chain originates and ends within the Western Highlands Province. The formal potato chain has farmers, input suppliers, wholesaler/marker, transport companies (trucking and coastal shipping agents), supermarkets, hotels and kai bars. This chain originates in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province and ends in Port Moresby, National Capital District. The effectiveness of both the formal and informal chains was identified, and comparisons were made to see how each chain differed. The informal chain was found to have different problems to the formal chains. However, participants to both chains demonstrate a high entrepreneurial behavior. A key finding of the study was that the chains spread their risk by operating in multiple market segments and this can help to solve issues with variable quality. The marketers in each chain position themselves in these different market segments. It was clear from this work that focusing on functions and not the whole chain can lead to a distorted view of chain performance. For example, for the informal chain, a focus on logistics issues, particularly poor roads and problems with availability of seeds, can misrepresent the effectiveness of this chain. Therefore, it was concluded that it is important to look at the overall performance of each chain rather than looking specifically at particular chain functions in isolation.
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Arowolo, Steven Alaba. "Implications of food value chain support structures for water resource management by smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1001027.
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Smallholder agriculture is faced with so many challenges despite all the policies and programmes that have been channelled towards ensuring improvement in this sector. Improving smallholder agricultural productivity requires that smallholder farmers gain access to reliable and adequate farmer support services such as physical infrastructures like good road network, functional irrigation facilities, extension services, finance and efficient marketing system. However, these support services are lacking in a vast majority of the rural communities in which the smallholder farmers live and work. This study is centred on governance within the food value chains, with specific focus on butternuts and chicken value chains;with a view to identifying those factors preventing smallholder farmers from accessing the mainstream market. Ciko and Mbozi villages in Mbashe local municipality were used as the research sites for the study. Data were collected across the two villages through sampling of 100 individual farming households based on random selection; questionnaires and checklist of questions were used as tools to access information from farmers through focus group discussions, personal interviews and key informants. In addition,Ciko Santrini project and foundation community project, which are the two agricultural community projects located within the study area were also investigated. Conceptual and analytical frameworks were employed in the research analysis. Williamson’s 4-level of social analysis and the sustainable livelihood frameworks were used to conceptualize the analysis. Inferential analysis was carried out using binary logistic regression and discriminant analysis with focus on butternuts and cSmallholder agriculture is faced with so many challenges despite all the policies and programmes that have been channelled towards ensuring improvement in this sector. Improving smallholder agricultural productivity requires that smallholder farmers gain access to reliable and adequate farmer support services such as physical infrastructures like good road network, functional irrigation facilities, extension services, finance and efficient marketing system. However, these support services are lacking in a vast majority of the rural communities in which the smallholder farmers live and work. This study is centred on governance within the food value chains, with specific focus on butternuts and chicken value chains;with a view to identifying those factors preventing smallholder farmers from accessing the mainstream market. Ciko and Mbozi villages in Mbashe local municipality were used as the research sites for the study. Data were collected across the two villages through sampling of 100 individual farming households based on random selection; questionnaires and checklist of questions were used as tools to access information from farmers through focus group discussions, personal interviews and key informants. In addition,Ciko Santrini project and foundation community project, which are the two agricultural community projects located within the study area were also investigated. Conceptual and analytical frameworks were employed in the research analysis. Williamson’s 4-level of social analysis and the sustainable livelihood frameworks were used to conceptualize the analysis. Inferential analysis was carried out using binary logistic regression and discriminant analysis with focus on butternuts and chicken production among the smallholder farmers in the study area to determine factors that could encourage farmers ‘access markets. The results showed that factors such as; assistance from government agency, partnerships with private and public institutions and farmers’ decision due to access to information were significant at 1% level for both butternuts and chicken production. On the other hand, factors such as provision of input subsidy and farmers’ membership of agricultural development projects are significant at 5% level. The findings suggest that adoption of any or combination of the significant factors could serve as good support structures for farmers and they could directly help them market their produce efficiently.
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Estrella, Andrea Verfasser], and Thomas [Akademischer Betreuer] [Dietz. "The effects of Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the economy of smallholder farmers in Latin America : An investigation of the impact pathways of sustainability standards leading to improved economic outcomes for certified coffee producers / Andrea Estrella ; Betreuer: Thomas Dietz." Dortmund : readbox unipress in der readbox publishing GmbH, 2020. http://d-nb.info/1216560978/34.
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Estrella, Andrea [Verfasser], and Thomas [Akademischer Betreuer] Dietz. "The effects of Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the economy of smallholder farmers in Latin America : An investigation of the impact pathways of sustainability standards leading to improved economic outcomes for certified coffee producers / Andrea Estrella ; Betreuer: Thomas Dietz." Dortmund : readbox unipress in der readbox publishing GmbH, 2020. http://d-nb.info/1216560978/34.
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Powae, Wayne Ishmael. "Fair trade coffee supply chains in the highlands of Papua New Guinea : do they give higher returns to smallholders? : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science at Lincoln University /." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1413.
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This research focussed on Fair Trade (FT) coffee supply chains in Papua New Guinea. Three research questions were asked. First, do small holders in the FT chains receive higher returns than the smallholders in the conventional chains? Secondly, if smallholders in the FT coffee chains receive higher returns from their coffee than the smallholders in the conventional chains, what are the sources of these higher returns? Finally, if smallholders in the FT chains don't receive higher returns than in the conventional chains, what are the constraints to smallholders receiving higher returns from the FT coffee chains than the conventional chains? A conceptual framework for agribusiness supply chain was developed that was used to guide the field work. A comparative case study methodology was selcted as an appropriate method for eliciting the required information. Four case study chains were selected. A paired FT and conventional coffee chains from Okapa and another paired FT and conventional chains from Kainantu districts, Eastern Highlands Province were selected for the study. The research found that smallholders in the FT chains and vonventional chains receive very similar prices for their coffee (parchment price equivalent). Hence, there was no evidence that smallholders in the FT chains received higher prices or returns from their coffee production than smallholders in conventional chains. This study also found that there was no evidence of FLO certification improving returns to smallholders in the FT chains over those returns received in the conventional chains, but the community that the FT smallholder producers come from did benefit. The sources of these community benefits lies in the shorter FT chains and the distributions of the margin that would have been otherwise made by processors to producers, exporters and the community. In addition, this study found that constraints associated with value creation are similar in all the four chains studies. However, there are some added hurdles for the FT chains in adhering to FT and organic coffee standards. Moreover, FT co-oeratives lacked capacity to trade and their only functions were to help with FLO certification and distribute the FT premium to the community. The findings of this research support some aspects of the literature, but not others. The research contribution is the finding that in this period of high conventional coffee prices, returns to smallholders from FT chains were no bettter than the returns gained in conventional chains, which leads to oppotunism and lack of loyalty by smallholders in the FT chains. The other contribution of this research is in identifying a particular type of free rider who is not a member of the FT co-operative but has right to the community benefits generated by the FT chain.
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Barragan-Ochoa, Fernando. "Les petits producteurs, les villes et le lait : défis du ravitaillement alimentaire dans les Andes du nord de l'Equateur." Thesis, Paris 1, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017PA01H049/document.
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Cette thèse déchiffre les défis rencontrés par les petits producteurs dans l'approvisionnement alimentaire urbain dans les Andes du Nord en Équateur, avec une étude de la structure et du fonctionnement du système d'approvisionnement urbain en produits laitiers à l'échelle nationale. Les stratégies de production et de commercialisation des petits producteurs sont observées au niveau local à travers deux exemples: Machachi et Nono. Le système d'approvisionnement est analysé comme un réseau spatial où les zones de production, les points de vente et de consommation sont interconnectés, ceci générant des dynamiques dialectiques de transformation mutuelle il travers les interactions des différents acteurs. Historiquement, le système s'est structuré en fonction des besoins et des caractéristiques des producteurs de moyenne et grande taille. Cependant, au cours des dernières décennies, les petits producteurs sont devenus des acteurs essentiels grâce à des stratégies entre les villes et la campagne. L'incorporation des petits producteurs dans cette dynamique montre leur grande capacité d'adaptation face aux opportunités générées par un marché en pleine croissance. Malgré tout, leur interaction avec les autres acteurs dénote une inégalité dans les relations de pouvoir qui reste encore peu modifiée. D'autres modalités d'intégration des petits producteurs restent à construire<br>This thesis focuses on the small producers challenges in the food supply to cities in the Northern Andes in Ecuador. It analyses the structure and functioning of the complex of dairy product supply to cities at national level. Production and commercialisation strategies adopted by small producers' are studied at local level with two examples: Machachi and Nono. The supply complex is analysed as a spatial network where the areas of production and points of sale and consumption arc interconnected generating dialectical dynamics of mutual transformation through the interaction of all the different stakeholders. Historically the complex has been structured according to the needs and characteristics of the medium and large-sized producers. In the last decades though, small producers have been using different strategies between the countryside and cities und have become key stakeholders. The incorporation of small producers in this dynamic shows their great ability to adapt to opportunities created by a growing market. However, their interactions with the other stakeholders show inequality in the power relations, which has only marginally been addressed. Different modes of integration for small producers are yet to be created<br>Esta tesis se interesa por los desafíos de los pequeños productores en el abastecimiento alimentario urbano a través del caso de los Andes norte en Ecuador. Se estudia la estructura y el funcionamiento del complejo de aprovisionamiento urbano de productos lácteos en una escala nacional. Las estrategias productivas y de comercialización de los pequeños productores son observados en una escala local a través de dos ejemplos: Machachi y Nono. El complejo de abastecimiento es analizado como una red espacial, donde las áreas de producción, los puntos de comercialización y de consumo están interelacionados generando dinámicas dialécticas de transformación mutua a través de las interacciones de los diversos actores.Históricamente el complejo ha sido estructurado acorde a las necesidades y características de los productores medianos y grandes. En las últimas décadas, los pequeños productores empleando diversas estrategias productivas y comerciales entre campos y ciudades se han convertido en actores fundamentales.La inclusión de los pequeños productores en esta dinámica muestra su gran capacidad de adaptación frente a las oportunidades generadas por un mercado en crecimiento. A pesar de esto, sus interacciones con a otros actores muestran las inequidades en las relaciones de poder que no han podido ser sino débilmente modificadas. Diferentes modalidades de integración de los pequeños productores lácteos quedan por construirse
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Csaky, Eva. "Smallholder Global Value Chain Participation: The Role of Aggregation." Diss., 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10161/9384.
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<p>Smallholder farmers have been at the center of the development discourse not only because they represent a significant portion of the world's extreme poor but because of their potential role in food security, climate change and gender equality. Smallholders account for 70% of global food production but most of them in the developing world operate in the informal markets. Market formalization is accelerating even in the least developed countries, however, and formal market channels are gradually displacing informal ones. Global value chain based formal markets may also offer opportunities for smallholders to tap into fast growing international markets for high value agricultural products.</p><p> One of the key challenges policymakers, the development community and agribusinesses face, however, is smallholders' limited formal organization ("producer organizations") that aggregate their production and demand for goods and services in order to enable more effective market participation ("aggregation"). Only 5-10% of farmers globally are estimated to participate in formal producer organizations. This is despite the fact that such organizations have been supported by both policymakers and the development field as a way of tackling poverty and addressing market failures. </p><p>The shift towards food production being organized based on global value chains and production networks and the fast dissemination of supermarkets and other modern food retail outlets around the world is creating increased need for smallholders to partake in some form of aggregation mechanism in order to become contributors to the global food system.</p><p>Agribusinesses that buy agricultural products have therefore also been encouraging producer organizations as a way to improve their ability to source from smallholders. Nonetheless, of the producer organizations that do exist in emerging economies, only a negligible portion have been able to achieve stable access to the growing global market of high value agricultural products.</p><p>The objective of this dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of this paradox and to identify factors that may improve the likelihood and effectiveness of aggregation. The structure of this work is as follows: first the research problem and the gap in the literature (Chapter 1) will be defined, followed by the review of existing scholarship on smallholder agricultural producers, the globalization of agribusiness and global value chains as well as the literature on the aggregation of smallholder production, producer organizations and their access to global and modern value chains (Chapter 2). </p><p>Next a conceptual framework will be proposed based on which a model for smallholder global-value-chain-relevant aggregation (Chapter 3) will be developed that takes into account the producer organization types, the services offered by the producer organizations, producer organizations' access to financing and the requirements of global value chains. </p><p>The model will be tested first using the population of Hungarian producer organizations, and then a sample of Central American and Peruvian producer organizations (Chapter 4), utilizing the following hypotheses:</p><p>1. "Collective identity narratives", manifesting themselves in Collective Identity Activities, play an important role in facilitating the growth and competitiveness of POs.</p><p>2. Services, including access to financing for farmers, provided by POs play an important role in facilitating scaling.</p><p>3. Cooperatives are at a disadvantage compared to other producer organization (PO) forms in achieving the conditions of global value chain access.</p><p>The empirical analysis has five main findings. First, because trust is so important in enabling farmer participation in collectives, shared narratives that establish collective identity may play a role in ensuring not only farmer loyalty but also may help improve producer organizations' performance, particularly as organizations grow. Second, organizations that offer more services to farmers are more likely to scale and hence achieve global value chain access. However, this study found that considerable variation among services, some having much more significant relationship to the ability to scale than others. Third, cooperatives, the producer organization form most often supported by policymakers and the development field, on average were found less effective than other forms of producer organizations in their ability to connect farmers to global value chains. Having said that, it is important to highlight that the study also identified several cooperatives and some common patterns among them that outperformed both their cooperative and non-cooperative peers. Fourth, while this study adds to the evidence that smaller farmers within the smallholder group are at a disadvantage when it comes to PO participation and may, therefore, require differentiated support when it comes to interventions, it also identified several POs that work with some of the smallest farmers and still outperform their peers. Fifth, the study found that POs' access to financing is important for modern market access, in addition to meeting quantity and quality requirements.</p><p>The policy implications of these findings are considerable and recommendations for interventions conclude the paper (Chapter 6) after the discussion of this study's limitations (Chapter 5). The key policy findings include that cooperatives are not the panacea for development and policymakers should also consider other forms of producer organizations for support. Importantly, policymakers should rather consider linking their support to certain aggregator characteristics and activities, including services offered since some services appear to have stronger relationships than others with POs' ability to succeed. Among these services access to finance for farmers as well as research and development and innovation play crucial role and therefore deserve heightened attention from policymakers while access to finance at the PO level has also been found to be important. In addition, PO activities that help build collective identity are associated with POs' productivity and ability to scale.</p><p>In terms of the arguable trade-off between sustainability and smallholder inclusion, a finding of the present work is that smallholders have the potential to achieve significantly higher productivity than their larger counterparts and their POs can successfully access modern markets as long as they are provided with the necessary support related to sustainable intensification of their production and access to capital for making the necessary investments.</p><br>Dissertation
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Manari, Ndishavhelafhi. "Assessment of comprehensive agricultural support programme to the smallholder producers of Lejweleputswa District, Free State Province, South Africa." Diss., 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11602/352.
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Maiwashe, Aluwani. "Towards a framework for effective performance of smallholder agricultural cooperatives in Limpopo Province, South Africa." Thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11602/884.
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PhD (Agricultural Economics)<br>Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness<br>The high attrition rate of cooperatives in Limpopo Province is a great concern considering that cooperatives globally and in South Africa have been esteemed to play a role in rural development and poverty reduction. The problem of attrition is a threat in the development of our societies. In response to this, the study investigated the formation of cooperatives, influence of social, human capital and household characteristics. The study also assessed the differences that can be used to discriminate cooperatives earning monthly income and those without a monthly income. The main aim of the study was to develop a framework that could be used to create sustainable cooperatives in the future in Limpopo Province. The study was conducted in five districts of Limpopo Province namely: Sekhukhune, Waterberg, Mopani, Capricorn and Vhembe. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 146 cooperatives. Key respondents were cooperatives leaders. Focus group data from Mopani district cooperatives was used to provide a background to the researcher in the development of the framework. Focus group discussion information was only used by the researcher in order to understand the cooperative member’s views. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 146 cooperatives due to the availability and accessibility of the cooperatives. SPSS analytical tool was used to analyse the data. Models used in the study were Binary logistic, Multinomial and Discriminant analysis. The findings of the study revealed that household characteristics such as gender, member affiliation affected the formation of legitimate cooperatives. Social capital indicators such as access to information and benefits derived by relatives encouraged the need for funding. However human capital indicators were found not to influence the need for external funding. The study also discovered that there were major differences between cooperatives earning a monthly income and those without the income. There were various benefits derived from the cooperatives by members. The study concluded that for cooperatives to be sustainable, focus should be on human capital, extension services and improvement of the level of education. The notion is that an informed, trained and educated cooperative society is the future.
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Thaba, Katlego. "Analysis of factors affecting proper functioning of smallholder agricultural cooperatives in the Lepelelle Nkumpi Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa." Diss., 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11602/617.
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MSCAGR<br>Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness<br>Agricultural cooperatives have been generally promoted as a vehicle for smallholder agricultural development in South Africa. As a result, agricultural co-operative registrations in South Africa are increasing. However, research suggests that South African co-operatives have generally not been effective, successful and functional. The study determined factors affecting proper functioning of smallholder agricultural cooperatives in Lepelle Nkumpi Municipality. Simple random sampling method was used to select a sample of 140 active cooperative members from 13 registered agricultural cooperatives. A list of agricultural cooperatives was obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Limpopo Province to facilitate the process. Primary data was collected using designed questionnaires and secondary data was collected from journal articles, internet and other recorded data. All questionnaires were handed out during face to face interviews held with participants. Discriminant analysis was used to analyse the data. The model was used to identify different factors which might have positive or negative effects on the functioning of agricultural cooperatives.
The discriminant analysis results revealed that functional smallholder agricultural cooperatives were characterized by high level of training of members; interaction with other stakeholder and satisfaction with the training and assistance received. On the other hand Dysfunctional smallholder agricultural cooperative were characterized by high age group, low level of meeting attendance, large cooperative size, dissatisfaction of assistance and training received and high number of females.
The weighting coefficients of the standardized canonical discriminant coefficients of the independent variables showed that variables that discriminated between functional and dysfunctional cooperatives were: cooperative size (-0.852), interaction
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with stakeholders to improve the level of skill (0.579), satisfaction with assistance provided (0.516), number of females in cooperative (-0.455), years in existence of cooperative (0.452), members participation in decision making (0.407) and age group (0.446).
The finding obtained in this study could be quite useful to policy makers. This study recommended that government should intensify effort on cooperative training, extension service and assistance to support functioning of agricultural cooperatives in the study area. Cooperative members should also participate in decision making and attend cooperative meetings to acquire more agricultural information
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Chibanda, Mutsa. "Institutional and governance factors influencing the performance of selected smallholder agricultural cooperatives in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/562.
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This dissertation investigates the impact of institutional and governance factors on the performance of 10 selected smallholder agricultural cooperatives (case studies) in KwaZulu- Natal (KZN). All the selected cooperatives were traditionally structured (e.g., one-member, one-vote system). Due to logistical and administrative constraints, the selected smallholder cooperatives were drawn from the EThekwini and UMgungundlovu Districts (the latter comprising of two sub-districts, namely Camperdown and Msunduzi), which incorporate the major cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Five of the cooperatives grow and market vegetables, three produce and market poultry, one is a beef production cooperative and another operates a bakery. Information from the interviews suggests that members of the selected smallholder cooperatives do not fully understand cooperative principles and have high expectations of potential benefits of being members. Descriptive analysis of the case studies describes total membership of each selected cooperative; average number of management meetings per month; gender and age composition of cooperative members; the characteristics of chairpersons of these cooperatives (e.g., gender, age and education); the initial capital structure of these cooperatives; annual turnover; growth opportunities; and institutional and governance factors influencing the performance of these cooperatives. The results of a cluster analysis suggest that the performance of the selected smallholder cooperatives is influenced by institutional and governance problems. Institutional problems give rise to low levels of equity and debt capital, reliance on government funding, low levels of investment, and subsequent loss of members. Governance problems are strongly linked to the absence of secret ballot, low levels of education, lack of production and management skills training, weak marketing arrangements and consequent low returns to members as patrons or investors. The conclusion is that appropriate institutional arrangements and good governance are important to the performance of enterprises initiated by groups of smallholders. South Africa’s new Cooperatives Act prevents smallholder cooperatives from adopting good institutional arrangements. Alternative ownership structures such as close corporations and private companies offer better institutional arrangements and opportunities for equity-sharing partnerships.<br>Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.
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Mucavele, Custodio Estevao. "The economics of smallholder rice producers in Bilene-Macia District, southern Mozambique." Diss., 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/29117.
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Research carried out in several countries has concluded that high yielding varieties (HYV) of rice have tremendous potential compared to traditional rice varieties in alleviating poverty. On the other hand, it is argued that despite increase in yields, high yielding varieties do not benefit the poor farmers because of high costs associated with input acquisition and other operational costs. To further understand the issues related to production and economics of HYV, this study was carried out with its primary objective to assess the profitability of smallholder rice production in Mangol, Bilene district in southern Mozambique. Out of a total population of eighty farmers, sixty farmers participated in this research. Two groups of farmers, one using traditional rice varieties and the other using high yielding varieties were surveyed. The study consisted of field observations; yield measurements and interviews of the farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Gross margins were calculated for both traditional input users (TIU) and modem input users (MIU). Results show that an average farmer using high yielding varieties produces 4.4 tons of rice per ha, corresponding to a gross margin of 4 238 000,00 MZM. The highest yield obtained with high yielding varieties was 7.3 tons of rice per ha, producing a gross margin of 10 038 000,00 MZM. On the other hand, an average TIU farmer produces 2.5 tons per ha, realising a gross margin of 3 483 125, 00 MZM. The maximum yield attainable using traditional inputs is 2.9 tons per ha, producing a gross margin of 4 283 125, 00 MZM. The results also show that the lowest yield obtained by farmers using modern inputs was 3.1 tons per ha, producing gross margins of 1 638 000,00 MZM while the lowest attainable when using traditional inputs is 1.7 tons producing gross margins of 1 913 125,00 MZM. The main conclusion of this study was that HYV are more profitable than traditional varieties, both in financial terms, to individual farmer and in economic terms, to the society as a whole. However, due to high production costs, farmers producing HYV must attain yield levels not less than 3.4 tons per ha as yields below that level make little financial incentives and does not motivate farmers to shift from traditional varieties to modern varieties. In order to ensure high yields, farmers must be assisted to carefully implement the recommended agronomic practices because the adoption of high yielding varieties does not ensure profitable yields if the other agronomic and management practices are not observed during the production process. The study also assessed the contribution of agricultural support services such as input supply, credit and extension, on the adoption of new technologies and it was concluded that when agricultural support services are available, farmers can successfully adopt recommended technologies.<br>Dissertation (M Inst Agrar (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2006.<br>Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development<br>unrestricted
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Ceballos, Francisco. "Demand and Design Considerations for Smallholder Farmers’ Weather Index Insurance Products." Thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-002E-E340-C.
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Chen, Yen-Ling, and 陳妍羚. "A Study on Consumers’ Preferences for Fresh Milk Produced by Smallholders." Thesis, 2019. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/cgi-bin/gs32/gsweb.cgi/login?o=dnclcdr&s=id=%22107NCHU5411002%22.&searchmode=basic.
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碩士<br>國立中興大學<br>農業經濟與行銷碩士學位學程<br>107<br>In recent years, the competition in Taiwan''s fresh milk industry has become increasingly fierce, products have gradually diversified, and consumers have more and more product choices. This study explores the potential demand preferences of Taiwanese consumers for the attributes of fresh milk products by choice experiment method. Using multinomial logit model to estimate consumers'' willingness to pay for five attributes of fresh milk products, such as "brand", "fresh milk label", "certification institution", "organic feed" and "feeding method", provide relevant units to make reference in marketing strategy, product positioning and policy formulation.
A total of 266 questionnaires were collected in this study. The empirical results show that the highest willingness-to-pay among consumers in the individual attributes is 111.99 NTD for organic feed, followed by 110.18 NTD for feeding method, 69.67 NTD for fresh milk label, 47.95 NTD for certification institution, and 46.95 NTD for brand. In addition, among the different respondents, the interviewed group with the habit of purchasing organic fruits and vegetables has the highest price of 215.76 NTD for the organic feed attribute. Moreover, compared with other interviewed groups, women over the age of 40 has the highest willingness-to-pay for five attributes of fresh milk products, which includes brand, fresh milk labels, certification institution, organic feed and feeding method.
Therefore, based on the empirical results, this study provides the following recommendations to the dairy industry: (1) It can help to make full use of this important attribute of organic feeding, combined with the way of organic feeding production, to promote its products for the consumer groups that have the habit of buying organic fruits and vegetables. It will help to gain a competitive advantage over traditional fresh milk. (2) Setting the female consumers over the age of 40 as the target group for major marketing and sales can effectively expand the sales volume of fresh milk products, thereby increasing market share.
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Rangoato, Phakisho Mangawa Amagolo. "Market access productivity of smallholder maize farmers in Lepelle Nkumpi Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa." Thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2217.
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Thesis (M.Sc. Agric. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018<br>Agriculture is the backbone and a very important sector of the South African economy. This is because it provides food and employment to a lot of people in the country especially those living in the rural areas. Smallholder farmers also play an important role in livelihood creation and also alleviation of poverty among the population in Limpopo province, but despite this, their productivity is low. A decline in agricultural productivity reduces market access resulting from low quality and quantity of produce by smallholder farmers which invariably affect their accessibility to market.
This study therefore examined the determinants of market access and productivity among smallholder maize farmers in Lepelle-Nkumpi municipality using the Probit model and Cobb Douglass production functions. While the Probit regression model was used to analyse the effect of socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder maize farmers on market access, the Cobb Douglass production function was used to examine the determinants of productivity among the farmers in the study area. The results of the Probit regression analysis indicated that farm size, hired labour and maize produced per hectare had positive significant influence on probability of farmers accessing markets. Farm size and maize produced per hectare were statistically significant at 1% and hired labour was statistically significant at 5%. The results of Cobb Douglas Production Function indicated that the elasticities of market access, farm experience, fertilizers, capital and membership of association were significant and positive. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that farmers should be provided with market infrastructure and marketing information services. This will help the farmers in a way that the transaction cost will be minimised and farmers will not incur more cost when they participate in the markets. Farmers in the study area indicated that transportation cost is the major challenge facing them. This is because of the poor conditions of roads in the study area. Therefore, the study recommends that there should be inputs subsidy that helps farmers to improve their productivity.
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Bilal, Muhammad. "Food security effects of multinational brands crop protection products: Evidence from cotton-wheat zone Punjab, Pakistan." Doctoral thesis, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/21.11130/00-1735-0000-0005-13D7-3.
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Lukangu, Gastao. "Factors influencing smallholders participation in agricultural markets in Southern Niassa, Mozambique." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/4093.
Full textAbstract:
Government, donors and NGOs in southern Niassa have been, after the 1992 peace
agreement, extensively involved in agricultural development programmes to improve
smallholders' food security. A study of the area and literature review revealed that many
factors limited the benefits of agricultural market development programmes. Yet,
opportunities in southern Niassa suggested that appropriately designed programmes could
improve the standard of living of smallholders if these programmes were designed on a
solid understanding of factors and strategies influencing agricultural market participation by
smallholders.
The main research hypothesis of this study was that: smallholders would participate in
agricultural markets when their wealth status was high, when they had enough available
household labour and when cash crops were profitable." Four main hypotheses were
investigated: (i) factors and strategies identified through smallholder perceptions would
provide local and time specific information on the constraints and solutions to smallholder
market participation; (ii) wealth status and wealth-ranking factors were positively related to
market participation where agriculture was the main economic activity as in southern
Niassa; (iii) labour aspects such as crop labour requirements (CLR) could be negatively
related, while available household labour (AHL) and the ratio AHL/CLR could be
positively related to smallholders cultivation of cash crops and subsequent participation in
agricultural markets; and (iv) aspects of profitability and indicators could be used to predict
smallholder cash crop preferences.
Data for this study were collected in Cuamba district of Mozambique from nine focus group
discussions (FGDs) with community leaders, 287 household-head questionnaires and staff
interviews during September 2002. Nine villages were randomly selected. The leaders'
FGDs provided the criteria utilised to rank households according to wealth status and much
of the qualitative information of this study. The wealth-ranking tool was used to identify
and analyse the socio-economic factors that influenced smallholder market participation. A
follow-up interview of managers of promoting institutions also provided greater insight on
some aspects raised by smallholders. The study employed (i) descriptive statistics such as
means and frequencies; (ii) correlation analysis and standard scores (iii) qualitative analysis
was also used for some wealth-ranking, perceived labour demand and aspects of
profitability influencing cash crop cultivation, preference and market participation based on
information from FGD, farmers and staff; and (iv) simple mathematical expressions for
analysis and interpretation of the research findings.
This study relied on perceptions, knowledge and experience of smallholders, leaders and
leaders of promoting institutions. Smallholder-suggested factors and strategies were in line
with the limitations of socio-economic characteristics such as low effective household
labour, particularly for females. These strategies included an improvement in outputs and
inputs markets, agricultural services and credit at a subsidised prices or low interest rates.
Other strategies for improving smallholders' participation in agricultural markets included
promotion of profitable cash crops, household food security, provision of extension support
services and information about cultivation and agricultural markets. However, smallholders
did not identify some factors that have been acknowledged to influence agricultural market
participation: ecological and natural resources, policies, institutional infrastructures and
physical infrastructures. Smallholders also did not mention socio-economic factors (except
household labour) as influencing their decisions to participate in agricultural markets in
spite of the fact that researchers assume these factors in almost every study on smallholder
market participation.
The findings of this research confirmed that a wealth-ranking tool could be used to identify
the socio-economic factors affecting smallholders' participation in agricultural markets. The
identified wealth-ranking factors such as labour, livestock number, implements and bicycles
significantly correlated with wealth status and subsequently to smallholder agricultural
market participation. Conversely, household socio-economic characteristics not indicated as
wealth-ranking factors such as age and gender related poorly to market participation. The
wealth-ranking tool could also be used to identify strategies for improving smallholder
participation in agricultural markets, and to evaluate an agricultural market development
programme.
The study found that, other factors being held constant, CLRs were negatively related to
market participation. Weeding was the most labour intensive operation followed by
harvesting, soil preparation, transportation, land clearing and seedling preparation. It also
found that AHL and the ratio AHL/CLR were positive and significantly related to market
participation. The ratio AHL/CLR together with household consumption requirements and
yield were used to estimate the total area a household could cultivate, both for food crops
for consumption and for cash crops; the proportion of farmers likely to participate in the
market; and those unable to cultivate enough for consumption.
The research also confirmed that profitability-related aspects correlated to cash crop
preferences. Yield was the most important factor that influenced smallholders' preference
for cash crops. It was also found that indicators incorporating more aspects of profitability
correlated strongly with cash crop preferences. The correlation increased as more aspects
were incorporated. A crop, such as tobacco, with a profit of more than twice the profit for
food cash crops was preferred more than food cash crops. The indicators and underlying
aspects of profitability were used to interpret the current and projected cash crop preference.<br>Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.
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Kabwe, Michael. "Assessing technical, allocative and economic efficiency of smallholder maize producers using the stochastic frontier approach in Chongwe District, Zambia." Diss., 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/26423.
Full textAbstract:
Smallholder farmers' efficiency has been measured by different scholars using different approaches. Both parametric and non-parametric approaches have been applied; each presenting unique results in some ways. The parametric approach uses econometric approaches to make assumptions about the error terms in the data generation process and also impose functional forms on the production functions. The nonparametric approaches neither impose any functional form nor make assumptions about the error terms. The bottom line of both approaches is to determine efficiency in production. In this study a parametric stochastic frontier approach is used to assess technical, allocative and economic efficiency from a sample of smallholder maize producers of Chongwe District, Zambia. This approach was chosen based on the fact that production among this group of farmers varies a great deal, and so the stochastic frontier attributes part of the variations to the random errors (which reflects measurement errors and statistical noise) and farm specific efficiency. Using a Cobb-Douglas frontier production function which exhibits self dual characteristics, technical efficiency scores for the sample of the smallholder maize producers are derived. With the parameter estimates(âi) obtained from the Cobb-Douglas stochastic production frontier, input prices (âi) and taking advantage of the self dual characteristics of the Cobb-Douglas, a cost function is derived. This forms the basis for calculating the farmers' allocative and economic efficiency. Results obtained from the study showed considerable technical, allocative and economic inefficiencies among smallholder maize producers. Technical Efficiency (TE) estimates range from 40.6 percent to 96.53 percent with a mean efficiency of 78.19 percent, while Allocative Efficiency (AE) estimates range from 33.57 to 92.14 percent with a mean of 61.81. The mean Economic Efficiency (EE) is 47.88 percent, with a minimum being 30 percent and a maximum of 79.26 percent. The results therefore indicate that inefficiency in maize production in Chongwe District is dominated by allocative and economic inefficiency. Additionally, in the two stage regression households characteristics: age; sex; education level; occupation; years in farming; land ownership; household size; access to extension and access to credit services; are regressed against technical efficiency scores using a logit function. Results obtained shows that land ownership, access to credit services, access to extension services, land ownership and education level of up to post primary (secondary and tertiary) have a positive influence on the households' technical efficiency. On the other hand, age of the household head; female headed household and lack of education (though not statistically significant at any confidence level) have a negative influence on this group of maize producers. In a similar two stage regression, access to extension services, membership to producer organisation, access to credit and disaster experienced on the farm such as floods, drought and hail, are regressed against AE. The result shows that access to extension services, access to credit services, membership to cooperatives and natural calamities affect AE. Results therefore show that there is a great deal of both allocative and economic inefficiency among smallholder maize farmers than there is technical inefficiency. To address these inefficiencies observed there is need to design policies that will ensure that environmental (e.g. poor land practices which lead to nutrient depletion from the soils), economic (e.g. high transport cost due to poor road infrastructure) and institutional issues (access to credit) are addressed. In other words, Government should help create credit facilities to provide affordable loans to this group of farmers. Additionally, there is need to improve extension systems to help educate farmers about better farming practices and other innovative technologies to further improve their efficiency in production. Issues of land ownership among this group of farmers needs to be addressed as this will not only raise confidence but will also ensure that their cost of production is reduced since there will be no need for payment of rental charges, and that farmers will adhere to good farming practices knowing they own title to land. Copyright<br>Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012.<br>Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development<br>unrestricted
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Mushayanyama, Tinashe. "Improving access by smallholder farmers to organic crop supply chains : evidence from the Ezemvelo Farmers' Organization, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/5540.
Full textAbstract:
The 48 members of the Ezemvelo Farmers' Organisation (EFO) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South
Africa (SA), that were fully-certified as organic farmers were surveyed during October-December
2004 to assess their perceived level of satisfaction, trust, cooperation and commitment in a
formal supply chain producing amadhumbes (a traditional vegetable tuber), potatoes and sweet
potatoes for a major SA supermarket group. Empirical recursive models show that a high level of
satisfaction in the working relationship results in these farmers trusting the pack-house agent
more. High levels of trust, in turn, lead to higher levels of both commitment to, and cooperation
in, the supply chain. A simultaneous-equation model showed that EFO farmers with higher levels
of commitment tend to be more cooperative, and that members with higher levels of cooperation
tend to be more committed toward the working relationship.
These results suggest that strategies to improve the working relationship with the pack-house
agent need to promote satisfaction, trust, cooperation and commitment. For example, co-investment
in better crop storage facilities at farm-level would promote satisfaction and hence
trust. There is also scope for more cooperation in the planning of new organic crop products to
grow and market, and to remove some price uncertainty by giving EFO farmers more information
about prices that they will be paid by the pack-house agent in this supply chain. In addition,
satisfaction and, hence, trust, cooperation and commitment may be improved by adopting a formal
contract between the EFO farmers and the pack-house agent to replace the current, incomplete
verbal contract that governs trading. Some issues that may be addressed in this contract are
improved communication systems via regular meetings, renegotiations of trading terms so that
farmers can benefit from positive changes in organic crop prices; guidelines for paying farmers
more quickly by the pack-house agent; mechanisms to trace crop quality to a specific farmer to
avoid free riding; and penalties for breaching the contractual arrangements.
The 48 EFO farmers were also asked to give their perceptions of the main constraints on
organic crop production and marketing in the formal organic crop supply chain. They
perceived that uncertain climate, unavailability of tractor or draught power when needed,
delays in payments for crops sent to the pack-house, lack of affordable inputs (particularly
labour and manure), a lack of cash and credit to finance inputs, lack of affordable transport to
market crops, more work than the family can handle, a lack of manure to purchase; and a lack
of crop storage facilities and telephones to negotiate sales as the current top 10 constraints.
Principal Component Analysis summarized the underlying dimensions in the 20 constraints
ranked by these farmers as indicating "lack of market information and lack of market power";
"crop production expansion constraints"; "commitment to crop area expansion"; "lack of
liquidity"; "lack of proper storage facilities"; and "lack of information about alternative
markets".
Potential solutions to better manage these perceived constraints include: improved risk
management practices (e.g., supplemental irrigation, water-harvesting and small boreholes),
improving access to tractor services via improved tractor scheduling or using local contractor
services, quicker pack-house delivery payments, improving quality inspection at the departure
points at EFO farm-level to reduce crop rejection rates and "free riding" by producers of lower
quality organic crops, more interaction with the retailer to promote sales of organic crops,
providing advice on how the EFO farmers can improve their bargaining power, and providing
more information (e.g. crop prices) about other organic markets and changing consumer
preferences. Apparently, the costs and benefits of these potential solutions, and how they will
be financed, need to be evaluated.
Real accounting marketing margins since 2001 showed that the farmer's share of the
consumer's rand for the 48 fully certified organic EFO farmers rose, while their net returns
(selling price less accounting costs) were lower than those of the pack-house agent and
hawkers selling at the Isipingo market on the South Coast of KZN. Net returns for the 48 EFO
farmers also seemed to be relatively higher if they sold through the informal supply chain
(hawkers) rather than the formal supply chain. The EFO farmers' net returns may be improved
by lowering operating costs and by aggressive marketing to customers willing and able to pay a
price premium for organic crops. These farmers may also consider performing some of t he
marketing services themselves (e.g. crop cleaning, grading and packaging) if they have the
skills and can access more finance. There are, however, hidden benefits from maintaining the
formal supply chain relationship, as the pack-house agent helped to secure tractor services and
fencing, and facilitates access to the retailer.<br>Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.
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Kalauba, Puseletso Perpetua. "Factors influencing production and market participation among smallholder tomato farmers in Madibong and Manganeng Villages, Makhuduthamaga Municipality in Greater Sekhukhune District." Thesis, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/3468.
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Thesis (M.Sc. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021<br>The agricultural sector in the Limpopo Province, comprises both commercial and subsistence farming. The smallholder farmers in the province are mainly producing for subsistence purposes and play an important role in poverty alleviation and livelihood creation. These smallholder farmers produce lower quantities of products that are also of low quality. Consequently, their products are rejected in the markets and by processors, and this affects the extent to which they participate in the market. This presents a challenge since the smallholder farming is highly labour intensive and represent the main source of income-generating occupations and a source of economic relief for the majority of people residing in the former homeland areas of the Limpopo Province.
This study examined the factors influencing production and market participation among smallholder tomato farmers in Madibong and Manganeng Villages, at Makhuduthamaga Municipality in Greater Sekhukhune District, using the Multiple Linear and the Logistic Regression Models. The Multiple Linear Regression Model was used to analyse the socio-economic factors influencing tomato production among smallholder farmers in the study area. The results of the model indicated that extension access, fertiliser application, marital status, use of agricultural equipment and income from production output significantly influence tomato production among smallholder farmers.
The Logistic Regression Model was used to analyse the socio-economic factors influencing market participation among smallholder tomato farmers in the study area. The Logistic Regression results indicated that factors such as educational level, gender of the farmer, farming experience, marital status, and farm size positively and significantly influence market participation while market distance negatively influences market participation among smallholder tomato farmers in the study area.
Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the local municipality invest more in rural adult education in order for the farmers to adopt new farming skills and utilise the market information provided. In addition, the investment in adult education has the potential to contribute to rural development and job creation in the study area. The study recommends that there should be a comprehensive producer support such
as input subsidies, that focuses primarily on subsidising smallholder farmers when purchasing production input such as fertilisers and pesticides.<br>NRF (National Research Foundation)
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Benali, Marwan. "Export vegetable supply chains, household labour allocation and poverty effects among small producers – Evidence from Northern Tanzania." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-002E-E47D-B.
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Mchunu, Bongumusa Reginald Emmanuel. "Seeking a deeper understanding of the quality of relationships in the smallholder maize production system in Msinga." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/8537.
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In South Africa, the majority of inhabitants rely on agriculture as the main source of livelihood.
Agricultural crop production remains the primary source of subsistence, employment, and
income. Due to policies put in place by the apartheid government, agriculture remained divided
into large scale commercial farming and subsistence small scale farming. The 1913 and 1936
Tenure Acts and the 1927 Administration Act favoured white farmers of large scale commercial
farms who produced and supplied markets. These acts were effective until 1994. Smallholder
farmers were not supported to operate at commercial farming levels and instead remained as
subsistence farmers. However, the present government has been putting policies in place to
encourage smallholder farmers to operate at commercial farming levels.
Smallholder farmers are faced with many challenges that restrict them from being commercially
active in crop production. Their challenges range from the lack of land, equipment, and financial
resources. They may also struggle to meet the quality and safety standards set by food
processors, large retailers, wholesale buyers, and exporters. Smallholder farmers are also
constrained by limited support services provided by government.
When addressing problems that smallholder farmers are facing it is a common practice to focus
on increasing production rather than to look at issues that affect production. It is thus important
to look at the whole production system when the aim is to address problems affecting production
and to understand the linkages in the system.
The objective of this research was to seek a deeper understanding of the quality of relationships
among smallholder farmers, extension officers, input suppliers, and output buyers in the maize
production system in Msinga, South Africa. This objective was addressed in the application of
social learning which was informed by systems thinking in order to gain a deeper understanding
of the perspectives, practices, and experiences of all role players involved in maize crop
production.
This research was conducted through five levels of deeper learning where the first level was the
review of literature. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were carried out as
tools for data collection in the other four levels of deeper learning. The second level sought to
gain individual role player’s perspectives, practices, and experiences on the linkages and the
quality of relationships in maize crop production. The third level consisted of two separate focus
group discussions that brought together role players that worked together and were familiar with
one another. The linkages and the quality of relationships were explored further. The fourth level
brought together all role players into one group discussion where there was reflection on the
findings of the previous group meetings and a cause and effect analysis on the quality of
relationships. The fifth and final level was to establish strategies to improve the quality of
relationships among role players in the maize production system.
Communication, trust, communal and exchange relationships, control mutuality, satisfaction, and
commitment were through a review of literature established as being important indicators of
quality of relationships,. It was established that these indicators are interrelated where
communication is the most important construct of the quality of a relationship and that the rest of
the indicators are developed through communication.
However, the findings of the research showed that weak linkages and poor quality relationships
among role players of the Maize Production System occurred as a result of farmers’ practices,
low literacy levels, lack of financial resources, inappropriate extension approaches, weak
production input distribution channels, and farmers’ lack of information and access to output
markets. Moreover, limited communication among role players in the system resulted in poor
quality of relationships because communication is the most important construct of the quality of
relationships. Communication is also the construct through which other indicators are developed.
Nevertheless, through social learning, the awareness of the quality of relationships that exist
among role players informed new thinking and, as a result it was recognized that change was
required. These new insights led to multi-stakeholder conversations over the development of
strategies to improve the quality of relationships among role players. These strategies were
aimed at improving not only the quality of relationships among role players, but also the forward
and backward linkages which would be beneficial to all stakeholders in the maize production
system.<br>Thesis (M.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.
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Buthelezi, Thokozile Cynthia. "Pro-poor value chain governance in the mtateni irrigation scheme at Tugela ferry, Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal." 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/3258.
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Magister Philosophiae - MPhil<br>This study explored value-chain governance in the Tugela Ferry Irrigation Scheme in KwaZulu-Natal, and presents data on input markets, vegetable production and output markets. Rural poverty is a major problem in post-apartheid South Africa, and smallholder agriculture has been identified by the Economic Development Department as a key component of its New Growth Path framework. Some scholars argue that since water is a scarce resource, irrigation farming should form a key focus of pro-poor land redistribution policy. The 1994 democratic dispensation saw the dismantling of the agricultural homeland parastatals which managed these schemes, causing them to collapse or near collapse. Yet they
may have the potential to reduce rural poverty. While markets are key for viable production of fresh produce, some scholars assert that globally, input suppliers, food processors and supermarkets dominate the agro-food industry resulting in negative outcomes for smallholder producers. In South Africa, four major supermarkets (which together claim 55% of retail market share) were in the past located mainly in cities, but the trend now is that they are moving to small towns and townships. There are documented cases where pro-poor governance of fresh produce value chains has resulted in positive outcomes in South Africa. The re-governing markets concept which postulates that a multi-stakeholder approach to making the governance of agricultural value chains pro-poor, is offered as a solution to reducing poverty. This thesis argues that the incorporation of smallholder farmers into modern markets remains ineffective in dealing with poverty because it includes only a few smallholder farmers and those included face exclusion when they are exposed to harsh market conditions.
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Tadesse, Tesfaye Melak. "Efficacy of filter cake and Triplex against stored- product insects on concrete surfaces and grain: safer alternatives to protect stored grain of Ethiopian smallholder farmers." Diss., 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/39264.
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Doctor of Philosophy<br>Department of Grain Science and Industry<br>Subramanyam Bhadriraju<br>Filter cake and Triplex are powdered by-products of aluminum sulfate and soap factories, respectively. Studies were designed to determine elemental composition of these two powders and evaluate the efficacy against stored product insect species on concrete surfaces and commodities. Elemental composition of the powders was determined using conjugated scanning electron microscopy and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. No heavy metals were found in both powders, and the dominant elements found were silicon and oxygen in the form of silicon dioxide. The efficacy of filter cake and Triplex against the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky; rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (Linnaeus); lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica Fabricius; red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst); saw-toothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (Linnaeus); and Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), was determined using a range of concentrations and exposure times. On concrete surfaces ≥ 7.5 g/m² of filter cake produced more than 99% mortality of S. zeamais and S. oryzae adults within 12–24 h, whereas more than three times the concentration of filter cake was required to achieve similar mortality of both species in Triplex treatments. At 3 g/m² of filter cake, 99% mortality S. zeamais and S. oryzae adults was achieved within 22–27 h of exposure. The corresponding exposure time at 9 g/m² of Triplex was 39 h to achieve 99% mortality of both species. For both powders, lower concentrations and exposure times were required to achieve complete suppression of progeny production, percentage of insect damaged kernels, and percentage of grain weight loss compared to the concentrations and exposure times required for 00% mortality. Filter cake treated wheat at concentrations above 0.7 g/kg produced more than 99% mortality of S. zeamais and S. oryzae adults. Similarly, filter cake concentrations above 2 g/kg on wheat produced more than 99% mortality of R. dominica, T. castaneum, and O. surinamensis adults. However, on maize ≥ 3 g/kg of filter cake concentration was required to achieve similar mortality of R. dominica, T. castaneum, and O. surinamensis. Higher concentrations of Triplex were required to achieve similar mortalities of tested species on maize and wheat. Reduction in progeny production was greater when adults were exposed to higher concentrations than lower concentrations. Complete suppression of live larvae and adult emergence of P. interpunctella was achieved after exposure of eggs for 21 and 42 d to ≥ 2 g/kg of filter cake treated maize and to ≥ 0.5 g/kg of filter cake treated wheat. Similarly, complete suppression of live larvae and adult emergence was achieved when eggs were exposed to ≥ 6 g/kg of Triplex treated maize and to 3g/kg of Triplex treated wheat. In general, our study consistently showed that filter cake was more efficacious compared to Triplex against all tested species on both surfaces and commodities. Filter cake and Triplex should be recommended for protecting grain stored by smallholder farmers in Ethiopia to discourage farmers from using dangerous chemical insecticides. However, field studies should be done using both powders against stored product insects in smallholder farmers’ traditional storages structures in Ethiopia to determine concentrations that are practical under field conditions. The effective duration of protection offered by these powders should also be investigated.
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Le, Ngoc Huong. "Contract Farming in Vietnam: Empirical Research on Marketing Determinants, Farm Performance and Technical Efficiency of the Export-oriented Rice Sector in the Mekong River Delta." Doctoral thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-002E-E56D-7.
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