Factors Affecting the Adoption of Agricultural Mechanization Technologies by Women Farmers in the Karaga District of Ghana

Labour-saving or mechanization technologies have become the driving force behind modern agriculture, yet adoption of these technologies remains low in many parts of the developing world, particularly among female farmers in Ghana. This study aims to investigate the factors that hinder the adoption of agricultural mechanization technologies by female farmers in the Karaga District of the Northern Region of Ghana. This region is known for its large agricultural lands and significant role in commercial farming. The research was conducted using qualitative research methodology and involved interviewing 60 female farmers using an interview guide. The principle of sample saturation was used, meaning that further interviews were deemed unnecessary after the 60th interview. The results showed that low adoption of agricultural mechanization technologies is due to poor access to commercial lands, gender biases, lack of access to credit, and poor awareness about the benefits of these technologies. In conclusion, the low adoption of agricultural mechanization technologies is preventing women farmers in the Karaga District and elsewhere in Ghana from fully participating in commercial agricultural production. It is recommended that gender biases and cultural stereotypes be addressed to improve women farmers’ access to lands and credit, which will facilitate the adoption of mechanization technologies and lead to improved agricultural production.

An agent-based model of agricultural land expansion in the mountain forest of Timor Island,Indonesia

The Mutis-Timau Forest Complex,located on Timor Island,Indonesia,is a mountainous tropical forest area that gradually decreases due to deforestation and forest degradation.Previous modelling studies based on patterns indicate that deforestation primarily occurs at lower elevations and near the boundaries of forests and settlements,often associated with shifting cultivation by local farmers.This study adopts a process-based modelling approach,specifically the agent-based model,to simulate land changes,particularly farmers'expansion of agricultural land around the Mutis mountain forest.The underlying concept of this agent-based approach is the interaction between the human and environmental systems.Farmers,representing the human system,interact with the land,which represents the environmental system,through land use decision-making mechanisms.The research was conducted in the Community Forest of the Timor Tengah Utara District,one of the sites within the Mutis-Timau Forest Complex with the highest deforestation rate.Land use change simulations were performed using agent-based modelling from 1999 to 2030,considering the socio-economic conditions of farmers,spatial preferences,land use decisions,and natural transitions.The results revealed that the agricultural area increased by 14%under the Business as Usual scenario and 5%under the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scenario,compared to the initial agricultural area of 245 hectares.The probability of farmers deciding to extend agricultural activities was positively associated with the number of livestock maintained by farmers and the size of the village area.Conversely,the likelihood of farmers opting for agricultural extensification decreased with an increase in the area of private land and the farmer's age.These findings are crucial for the managers of the Mutis-Timau Forest Complex and other relevant stakeholders,as they aid in arranging actions to combat deforestation,designing proper forest-related policies,and providing support for initiatives such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation programs or further incentive schemes.

Exploration and Practice of Ideological and Political Teaching Construction for Biochemistry Course in Agricultural Colleges and Universities

Biochemistry is a fundamental core course in disciplines such as agriculture,forestry,medicine,animal husbandry,veterinary medicine,and food science.By prioritizing"educating people"in the teaching process of this professional course,we can unearth diverse ideological and political elements related to agricultural production practices within the curriculum knowledge system and the forefront of discipline development.Exploring various teaching methods and utilizing diverse teaching tools are effective strategies to achieve ideological and political education that silently influences students in the field of biochemistry.The goal is to nurture students strong ideals and beliefs,fostering a deep connection to the sentiments of"agriculture,rural areas and farmers in a great nation."This approach aims to instill a sense of responsibility towards strengthening agriculture,shaping students into individuals from South China Agricultural University who possess lofty aspirations and the courage to shoulder responsibility in the new era.

Empirical Study on the Effect of Abolishing Agricultural Tax on Farmers' Income

The panel dataset which covered the socio-economic data of 31 provinces （municipalities and autonomous region） in China from 2000-2007 was used to do empirical analysis on the effect of abolishing agricultural taxes on farmers＇ income by referring to the fixed effect estimation method. It found that the abolition of agricultural taxes increased farmer＇s net income per capita by 2%. Combining with the results of empirical analysis, related policy suggestions were put forward to increase farmers＇ income.

Agricultural Extension in Balochistan, Pakistan:Date Palm Farmers' Access and Satisfaction

This study analyzed information gathered from 200 date palm households in the mountainous Panjgur District of Balochistan in Pakistan with the aim of determining date farmers＇ access to and satisfaction with agricultural extension services. Information was collected through a structured questionnaire survey, group discussions and semi- structured personal interviews. The findings of the analysis revealed very poor access to extension services. The results of logistic regression analysis identified five variables out of six which significantly influence date farmers＇ access to extension services： household bead＇s age, household bead＇s literacy, number of date palm trees owned, mostly inherited date palm trees, and percentage of dead date palm trees. The overwhelming majority of farmers were dissatisfied with all three main types of extension services being provided by public extension officials. Explanations for this as well as for associations between access to extension services and the six independent variables are provided. Important policy conclusions are drawn based on the findings.

Link-up between Farmers and Supermarket based on China's Fresh Agricultural Products

Link-up between farmers and supermarket is a new move adopted actively by the current government, conducive to consumers, farmers and circulation enterprises. At present, link-up between farmers and supermarket is launched in China's 15 provinces and cities, which will set off the revolution in the field of agricultural circulation. Based on the current situation of link-up between farmers and supermarket and the existing problems, we put forth the following recommendations: promoting the quality of farmers' cooperative organizations; establishing the logistics center of fresh agricultural products; using economies of scale to reduce the fresh logistics costs; improving the operation and management level of fresh agricultural products in supermarket.

Comparative Analysis on Farmers' Specialized Cooperatives from the Perspective of Agricultural Industry Chain

Taking three typical farmers' specialized cooperatives in Jingyuan County of Gansu Province as example,this paper compared with the operating mode of three cooperatives and their position in the agricultural industry chain,and analyzed operating characteristics,problems,and similarities of three cooperatives and their functions in the agricultural industry chain.The study indicated that the farmers' specialized cooperatives can accurately find their position in the agricultural industry chain.This is helpful for raising their comprehensive competitiveness and it is very important to manage the survival and development of farmers' specialized cooperatives,which is of utmost importance to their effective operation.According to this study,the government should strengthen its support,speed up the cultivation of new-type professional farmers,while farmers' specialized cooperatives should grasp the operating characteristics,locate themselves and integrate multi-resources.These are effective measures for promoting healthy operation of farmers' specialized cooperatives.

Effect of Agricultural Comprehensive Development on Increasing Income of Farmers in Jiangsu Hilly and Mountainous Areas

To adapt to rural and agricultural economic development,Jiangsu Province adjusted main task of comprehensive development of hilly and mountainous areas to supporting and promoting agricultural structural adjustment of hilly and mountainous areas and promoting increase of agricultural benefits and farmers' income. Through typical survey,this paper made an objective evaluation of effect of agricultural comprehensive development of hilly and mountainous areas in Jiangsu Province from increasing farmers' income. Results indicated that agricultural comprehensive development investment projects in Jiangsu hilly and mountainous areas are closely coupled with local agricultural production structure; financial funds promote social capital input to construction of economic forest,fruit and grass planting,and livestock raising. Through demonstration and guidance of farmers,it promoted adjustment of agricultural production structure and increased farmers' income. Finally,it came up with pertinent policy recommendations.

Operation Mechanism of Farmers' Professional Cooperatives from the Point of Low-Carbon Agricultural Products

We firstly take a look at internal logic of cluster development of low-carbon agricultural products.In combination with operation features of farmers' professional cooperatives and actual requirements for cluster development of low-carbon agricultural products;we elaborate establishing benefit allocation mechanism,bearing education and training functions,forming low-carbon value,building low-carbon identification system,as well as realizing low-carbon value.According to these situations,we systematically analyze operation mechanism of farmers' professional cooperatives suitable for cluster development of low-carbon agricultural products.To promote cluster development of low-carbon agricultural products,we put forward following suggestions,including government guidance and encouragement,social acceptance and active cooperation,and integration into global low-carbon development system to share benefit of low-carbon development.

Changes in Agricultural System as Farmers Adapt to Economic-Social and Climatic Changes in the Min Upriver Rural Areas in Western Sichuan,Southwestern China

Rapid economic growth in China has brought about great economic-social changes in rural areas, having considerable impact on the society in economy and environment. With a per capita possession of about 0.08 ha of cropland, Chinese farmers in rural areas adopt various ways in response to these changes in a bit to maintain their livelihood, wherein the agricultural system is facing one more options possible. To understand how rural communities have used different mechanisms to adapt to the economic and natural changes, we joined a survey in dry valleys of the Min upriver area under Maoxian county of western Sichuan province, southwestern China and visited the local people. Changes in the main crop cultivation have shown up an important means to keep up their household income. Farm households start seeking economic growth through diversified cultivating of cereal and economic crops in five lines, namely cereal, apple monoculture, apple and vegetables, plum and vegetables, mixed fruits and vegetables. These new lines mirror farmers' flexibility to cope with today's economic-social and climatic changes. The farming operation has changed all the more from a subsistence on grain to special agricultural products. Economic reforms in the early 1980 s motivated theprogress first in conversion of production from grain to fruits, and the desire to increase family income turned out to be an impetus for the subsequent events. At present, more farmers moving out of the rural areas, uneasy availability of labor force, increased opportunity cost of labors and their wages, increased farm size, and the urgent demand for the agricultural labor force, all these combine into the trend of the agricultural system of China on facing further economic-social reforms and reconstruction of the countryside across China.

Agricultural production structure,market conditions and farmers’nutritional intake in rural China

Nutrition poverty alleviation is an effective measure to improve the nutritional status of economically disadvantaged individuals,fundamentally improving their health and reducing poverty.Based on the Entitlement Theory and using the China Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS)data,this paper examines the relationship between farmers’nutritional intake,production structure and regional market conditions.Results show that farmers with diversified production have better nutritional intake than those who specialize.Furthermore,the correlation between regional market conditions and nutritional intake varies between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged households.Market conditions significantly influence the carbohydrate and fat intake of economically disadvantaged households and are positively associated with the dietary structure and nutritional intake of non-economically disadvantaged ones.Moreover,income is positively correlated with the nutritional intake of non-economically disadvantaged households but not with economically disadvantaged ones.

Advantages,Difficulties and Countermeasures of Farmers’ Professional Cooperatives Guaranteeing the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products

Food safety concerns the health of consumers,while quality and safety of agricultural products are the source of food safety,and it is of great significance to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products.The decentralized production mode of Chinese farmers is the main threat to the source of food production safety in China.In this paper,the advantages of Chinese farmers'professional cooperatives in controlling quality of agricultural products and difficulties in the quality and safety assurance of agricultural products are analyzed.Finally,the guaranteeing measures of the quality and safety of agricultural products by Chinese farmers'professional cooperatives are proposed.

The Construction of Intensive and Organized Agricultural Industrialization Model with Farmers as the Main Body

The current agricultural conflicts of China are analyzed and the forms and drawbacks of current agricultural industrial structure are listed.The situations for intensifying the farmland with appropriate scale are analyzed from the aspects of policy,farmers,farms and modernization of agriculture.It is pointed out that the situations for the intensive use of land are becoming mature.Taking the single pig-breeding chain as an example,the agricultural industrialization model,which takes farmers as the main body,is expounded.Besides,its functions and significance in solving "the three agriculture problems" and facilitating the modernization of agriculture are discussed.

Agricultural Support Policy and Farmers' Income in China

This paper reviewed the main components and contents of agricultural support policy system in China. By using the fundamental definition and measuring method from OECD,the research studied the relation between agricultural support level and farmers' income from 2003 to 2012. The aim of the paper is to discuss the effect of agricultural support policy on farmers' income,and provide policy suggestions for the policy makers.

Analysis of the Dynamic Relationship among Financial Fund for Agriculture, Agricultural Output Value and Farmers' income

By using the methods of co-integration, impulse response function and variance decomposition, I conduct the empirical research on the dynamic relationship among China's financial fund for agriculture, agricultural output value, and farmers' income from the year 1978 to the year 2009. The results indicate that the government's financial fund for agriculture plays the significant role in promoting agricultural output value and farmers' income in the long run, but this role of promoting is not prominent in the short run; in the mean time, agricultural output value plays insignificant role in promoting farmers' income and the government's financial fund for agriculture; farmers' income plays the significant role in promoting agricultural output value and the government's financial fund for agriculture.

International Experience of Farmers Specialized Cooperative Economic Organizations in Marketing of Agricultural Products

In the world,development modes of farmers specialized cooperative economic organizations mainly includes two types:( i) specialized agricultural cooperatives with the United States of America as representative,and( ii) comprehensive agricultural cooperatives with Japan and South Korea as representative. In comparison,China mainly develops farmers specialized cooperatives which are agricultural production with family as unit and small in land and management scale like agricultural production in Japan. Therefore,in marketing of agricultural products,cooperatives in the United States of America and Japan have successful experience. China may learn such experience in the development of farmers specialized cooperatives.

Study on the Influence of Farmer Social Capital on Cooperative Supply Willingness of Agricultural Disaster Reduction Public Goods——Based on the Investigation on 515 Farmers

Based on social capital theory,related factors of three dimensions( structure dimension,cognition dimension and relation dimension) of farmer social capital are taken as independent variables,and famer's willingness to cooperatively supply agricultural disaster reduction public goods is taken as dependent variable. Taking 515 farmers in 27 villages of Hubei Province as investigation objects,the influence of farmer social capital on cooperative supply willingness of agricultural disaster reduction public goods is explored by Logistic regression model. Research results show that social solidarity,common value concept,social trust and reciprocal content have positive impact on farmer's willingness of cooperative supply,while annual household income,number of agricultural disaster reduction public goods and social network have negative impact on farmer's willingness of cooperative supply.

Problems and Countermeasures in Benefit Linkage between Agricultural Leading Enterprises and Farmers

The agricultural leading enterprises and farmers have formed a mutual linkage,mutual restraint,and interdependent benefit linkage mechanism.This paper mainly analyzes the existing problems in the benefit linkage between the agricultural leading enterprises and farmers,and draws on the successful domestic benefit linkage model,and comes up with policy recommendations to provide an effective approach for agricultural leading enterprises to promote development of farmers.

Motivations,enablers and barriers to the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices by smallholder farmers:Evidence from the transitional and savannah agroecological zones of Ghana

This paper examined the prioritized climate-smart agricultural practices by smallholder farmers,the motivations of adopting climate-smart agricultural practices,the enablers to the successful adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices,and the barriers to the successful adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices in the transitional and savannah agroecological zones of Ghana.Specifically,we employed ethnographic research using participatory approaches,including two stakeholder workshops and household surveys with 1061 households in the transitional and savannah agroecological zones of Ghana.The weighted average index(WAI)and problem confrontation index(PCI)were used to rank smallholder farmers’perceived enablers to the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and the barriers affecting climate-smart agricultural practices,respectively.Results suggest that the majority of the respondents used a suite of climate-smart agricultural practices,including the timely harvesting of produce and storage,emergency seed banking,appropriate and timely weed and pest control,and early planting as practices to build climate resilience.The majority of smallholder farmers primarily employed climate-smart agricultural practices to improve household food security(96.2%),reduce pests and diseases(95.6%),and obtain higher yields and greater farm income(93.2%).Findings also show that secured land tenure system arrangement,understanding the effects of climate change,and access to sustainable agricultural technologies were ranked the first,second,and third most important enablers to the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices with the WAI values of 2.86,2.75,and 2.70,respectively.Key barriers to the successful adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices included incidences of pests and diseases(PCI=2530),inadequate access to agricultural credit(PCI=2502),high cost of improved crop varieties(PCI=2334),and limited government support with farm inputs(PCI=2296).Smallholder farmers need to be better supported through the provision of appropriate institutional and policy arrangements together with improved land management extension advice to overcome these barriers and facilitate the more effective implementation of climate-smart agricultural practices in Ghana.

Impact of social capital on farmers' response to different policies for controlling agricultural non-point source pollution

Chinese society in rural areas is typically a geographically and genetically related society.Scattered farmers can be connected to form small groups through their social capital,which can affect farmers' agricultural activities in the process of controlling agricultural Non-point Source pollution.An ordered Logit model can be built to analyze the effects of social capital to farmers' responsive willingness to different measurements of controlling agricultural NPS pollution by using survey data in Shaanxi Province.This paper characterizes farmers' social capital in three dimensions:social trust,social participation and social network.The results indicated that farmers' social capital significantly affects farmers' response to different policies.When governments construct and implement policies to control agricultural NPS pollution,the effects of social capital need to be considered at same time with the effects of governmental supervision,market and education measurements.