This study provides estimates of smallholder household＇s production efficiency and its determinants, and separately analyses the technical efficiency of dairy technology adopting and non-adopting farmers using data f...This study provides estimates of smallholder household＇s production efficiency and its determinants, and separately analyses the technical efficiency of dairy technology adopting and non-adopting farmers using data from Ethiopia. Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function was modeled in the context of local level agricultural innovation systems framework and estimated using 2011 milk production data on 304 dairy farmers. Results show that the mean level of technical efficiency among the sampled farmers was about 26%. This result suggests that there is room for significant increases of production through reallocation of existing resources. Despite significant variation among farmers, these results also indicate only 19% of farmers have mean efficiency scores （_〉 50%）, implying a need to focus on creating innovation capacity that pushes the production frontier outward in the dairy production system. It is also revealed that individual farm households＇ efficiency varied widely across dairy technology adoption status, gender and districts. The significant gamma （g） statistic, of 0.9985 in the analysis indicates that about 99.85% variation in the output of milk production would be attributed to technical inefficiency effects （those under farmer＇s control） while only 0.0015% would be due to random effects, i.e., beyond the farmers control and hence calling for a focus on efficiency enhancing investments. Education, farm size, extension visit and off-farm income opportunity were found to be efficiency enhancing. The study recommends that different components of an agricultural innovation system have to interact to improve the innovation capacity of different actors and thereby improve the estimated technical inefficiencies.展开更多
The process of innovative development is stimulated by cities as centers of accumulated （regional） growth and innovative enterprises as elements of urban space. Cities stimulate innovations by creating a specific de...The process of innovative development is stimulated by cities as centers of accumulated （regional） growth and innovative enterprises as elements of urban space. Cities stimulate innovations by creating a specific demand for innovations and innovative products as well as specific incentives such as preferable conditions for creation, accumulation, usage, and exchange of knowledge and information. Diffusion of ideas has an impact on changes in environment resulting in increase in dynamics of innovation, which means possibilities of innovative development for local firms. The paper highlights the idea of an innovative city with respect to the impact of innovations on city development. The concept of an innovative city is not clearly defined because the interpretation of innovation is differentiated and ambiguous except for common denominator of the novelty. The paper underlines the role of city＇s environment for innovations＇ creation acting as an incubator for clusters of firms, particularly those engaged in the process of high-tech involvement （technology parks）. The option of an innovative city approach presented here is the author＇s view on an innovative city＇s growth and it is based on the role of synergic interaction between innovative firms as elements of a city space and an innovative city itself.展开更多
Tbio is a start-up created to give support to commercialize the products of the biofactory installed in the Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, part of the Innovation Program developed by this Un...Tbio is a start-up created to give support to commercialize the products of the biofactory installed in the Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, part of the Innovation Program developed by this University. Its specialty is to innovate, through biological solutions with the vision of the future, once there is a strong demand of food and beverages free of chemical residues and with lower employing of these substances along the production chain by several consumers. The innovative products are generated from microorganisms tested regarding its capacity to promote yield protection, pests and disease control, acceleration of the desmucilage waste water treatment, and improvement of process of faster solubilization, that depends on natural phosphate fertilizers. The goal of this article is to approach the activities that have been developed in this start-up and the knowledge about biocontrol and natural antimicrobials produced by fungi resulting in innovative products to attend the world claim for products free of chemical residues of any kind and harmless to the consumers, environment and workers.展开更多
文摘This study provides estimates of smallholder household＇s production efficiency and its determinants, and separately analyses the technical efficiency of dairy technology adopting and non-adopting farmers using data from Ethiopia. Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function was modeled in the context of local level agricultural innovation systems framework and estimated using 2011 milk production data on 304 dairy farmers. Results show that the mean level of technical efficiency among the sampled farmers was about 26%. This result suggests that there is room for significant increases of production through reallocation of existing resources. Despite significant variation among farmers, these results also indicate only 19% of farmers have mean efficiency scores （_〉 50%）, implying a need to focus on creating innovation capacity that pushes the production frontier outward in the dairy production system. It is also revealed that individual farm households＇ efficiency varied widely across dairy technology adoption status, gender and districts. The significant gamma （g） statistic, of 0.9985 in the analysis indicates that about 99.85% variation in the output of milk production would be attributed to technical inefficiency effects （those under farmer＇s control） while only 0.0015% would be due to random effects, i.e., beyond the farmers control and hence calling for a focus on efficiency enhancing investments. Education, farm size, extension visit and off-farm income opportunity were found to be efficiency enhancing. The study recommends that different components of an agricultural innovation system have to interact to improve the innovation capacity of different actors and thereby improve the estimated technical inefficiencies.
文摘The process of innovative development is stimulated by cities as centers of accumulated （regional） growth and innovative enterprises as elements of urban space. Cities stimulate innovations by creating a specific demand for innovations and innovative products as well as specific incentives such as preferable conditions for creation, accumulation, usage, and exchange of knowledge and information. Diffusion of ideas has an impact on changes in environment resulting in increase in dynamics of innovation, which means possibilities of innovative development for local firms. The paper highlights the idea of an innovative city with respect to the impact of innovations on city development. The concept of an innovative city is not clearly defined because the interpretation of innovation is differentiated and ambiguous except for common denominator of the novelty. The paper underlines the role of city＇s environment for innovations＇ creation acting as an incubator for clusters of firms, particularly those engaged in the process of high-tech involvement （technology parks）. The option of an innovative city approach presented here is the author＇s view on an innovative city＇s growth and it is based on the role of synergic interaction between innovative firms as elements of a city space and an innovative city itself.
文摘Tbio is a start-up created to give support to commercialize the products of the biofactory installed in the Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, part of the Innovation Program developed by this University. Its specialty is to innovate, through biological solutions with the vision of the future, once there is a strong demand of food and beverages free of chemical residues and with lower employing of these substances along the production chain by several consumers. The innovative products are generated from microorganisms tested regarding its capacity to promote yield protection, pests and disease control, acceleration of the desmucilage waste water treatment, and improvement of process of faster solubilization, that depends on natural phosphate fertilizers. The goal of this article is to approach the activities that have been developed in this start-up and the knowledge about biocontrol and natural antimicrobials produced by fungi resulting in innovative products to attend the world claim for products free of chemical residues of any kind and harmless to the consumers, environment and workers.
