Showing papers by "Azhar Abbas published in 2022"

Women’s Entrepreneurial Contribution to Family Income: Innovative Technologies Promote Females’ Entrepreneurship Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract: Women entrepreneurs innovate, initiate, engage, and run business enterprises to contribute the domestic development. Women entrepreneurs think and start taking risks of operating enterprises and combine various factors involved in production to deal with the uncertain business environment. Entrepreneurship and technological innovation play a crucial role in developing the economy by creating job opportunities, improving skills, and executing new ideas. It has a significant impact on the income of the household. The study focused on investigating the role of women’s entrepreneurship and innovation technologies in contributing to household income in the challenging situation of the pandemic COVID-19. The paper emphasized identifying the determinants of female entrepreneurial contribution toward household income. This study collected data from selected rural and urban areas of district Faisalabad through a self-administered questionnaire. Investigators interviewed female entrepreneurs and chose them through the snowball sampling technique from a population of purposively selected female-run businesses. Interviews were conducted with women entrepreneurs to gather relevant information for the survey investigation at their workplaces and home. The effects of various factors, including age, education, family size, income from other sources, time allocated to entrepreneurial activity, firm size, and location (rural/urban) were estimated empirically using an ordered logit model. The study findings exhibited a positive and significant role of respondents’ education, family size, time allocated to entrepreneurial activities, and firm size. The survey outcomes also indicated that the contribution of entrepreneurial income to household income in the rural areas is significantly higher than that in urban areas. This study signifies that regulations against gender discrimination in public and private institutions are helpful. Besides, encouraging an environment for entrepreneurial culture among women in the country would increase family income. The study’s findings and policy implications directly link to Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 5 of Gender Equality (GE) and SDG 8 related to decent work and economic growth.

Survival in Pandemic Times: Managing Energy Efficiency, Food Diversity, and Sustainable Practices of Nutrient Intake Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic led to an economic crisis and health emergency, threatening energy efficiency consumption, sustainable food diversity, and households’ nutrition security. The literature documented that environmental threats can divert attention from renewable energy and food security challenges that affect humans’ environmental behaviors. The COVID-19 crisis has consistently influenced environmental behaviors, as it primarily decreased income and disrupted food systems worldwide. This study investigated the COVID-19 consequences on household income, sustainable food diversity, sustainable energy consumption, and nutritional security challenges. The study used a self-structured online survey due to non-pharmaceutical restrictions and collected data from 728 households. The investigators applied t-test and logit regression to analyze the data for drawing results. Descriptive statistics show that COVID-19 has adversely affected the income of more than two-thirds (67%) of households. The pandemic has influenced households’ food consumption, energy, and dietary patterns to safeguard their income. The t-test analysis indicated that households’ food diversity and energy consumption significantly declined during the pandemic, and households consumed low-diversified food to meet their dietary needs more than twofold compared to pre-pandemic levels. The results showed that all nutrient consumption remained considerably lower in the COVID-19. Cereals are the primary source of daily dietary needs, accounting for over two-thirds of total energy and half of the nutrient consumption amid COVID-19. The share of vegetables and fruits in household energy consumption dropped by 40 and 30%. Results exhibited that increasing monthly income was inversely associated with worsening food diversity and intake with energy efficiency. Compared with farmers and salaried employment, wage earners were 0.15 and 0.28 times more likely to experience a decline in consuming food diversity. Medium and large households were 1.95 times and 2.64 times more likely than small, to experience decreased food diversity consumption. Launching a nutrition-sensitive program will help minimize the COVID-19 impacts on energy consumption, food diversity, and nutritional security for low-income individuals. This survey relied on the recall ability of the households for the consumed quantities of food commodities, which may lack accuracy. Longitudinal studies employing probability sampling with larger samples can verify this study’s insightful results.

Exploring the Role of Agricultural Services in Production Efficiency in Chinese Agriculture: A Case of the Socialized Agricultural Service System

Abstract: In recent decades, the Chinese government launched a socialized agricultural service system to help smallholders quickly modernize. This system helps farmers adopt modern-day farming operations to meet ever-increasing food and fiber requirements. The present study was conducted to analyze the impacts of this system on agricultural production efficiency. To this end, the Hubei province of China was selected, and the required data were retrieved from the Hubei Statistical Yearbook and Rural Statistical Yearbook for the years 2008 to 2019. The entropy method was applied to measure the extent of the adoption of socialized and individual agricultural services, while a data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used for measuring production efficiency. Grey correlation and regression analyses were carried out to analyze the association between production efficiency and agricultural service availability/uptake and the determinants of the former, respectively. The results illustrate that the agricultural socialized service level has increased. Specifically, the service levels of agricultural mechanization and financial insurance increased most rapidly in terms of individual services with the largest numbers of adopters. Science and technology and material services were found to exhibit the most significant relationships with the production efficiency of farmers. The results indicate a greater role of service provision in moderate-to-high-scale development, leading to land productivity and thereby improving agricultural production efficiency. The results also imply a higher demand for socialized agricultural services among farmers considering the value-added potential of such an integrated system with greater spillover options for achieving self-sufficiency in agriculture and ensuring food security.

Impact of Participation in Groundwater Market on Farmland, Income, and Water Access: Evidence from Pakistan

Abstract: Groundwater irrigation has a critical role in the sustainability of arable farming in many developing countries including Pakistan. Groundwater irrigation is generally practiced to supplement surface water supplies in Pakistan. Nevertheless, uninterrupted and extensive use of groundwater irrigation has raised several concerns about its sustainability and resultant environmental implications. Due to the scarcity of groundwater and heterogeneity in farmers’ resources, informal groundwater markets have emerged in Pakistan, where farmers trade water using a contractual system. Yet, the effects of these markets on agricultural productivity and equity remain largely unknown. This paper aims to analyze the impact of participation in the groundwater market on farmland utilization, cropping patterns, water access, and income. We analyze these impacts using primary data collected from 360 farmers in three different zones of the country’s largest province. The farmers were categorized as buyers, sellers, and self-users of water. Results indicate that participation in water markets increased agricultural land utilization, evinced by a higher cropping intensity among participants. A horizontal and vertical equity analysis of water markets shows that although large farmers have better access to groundwater irrigation, water market participation improves equity to water access. Based on income inequality measures such as the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve, water market participation also improves farmer incomes regardless of farm size. Propensity score matching revealed that wheat yield and income among water-market participants went up by approximately 150 kg and PKR 4503 per acre compared with non-participants. Groundwater market participants’ higher crop productivity and income level suggest that water markets need a thorough revisit in terms of policy focus and institutional support to ensure sustainable rural development.

Adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural Practices through Women Involvement in Decision Making Process: Exploring the Role of Empowerment and Innovativeness

Abstract: The sustainability of global food production has been facing many threats, including climate change. The adaptation to such threats is both a challenge as well as an opportunity, especially for woman-operated farms in Pakistan. The challenge is how to devise measures and look for options to counter its impact, while the opportunity lies in developing new techniques, skills, and interventions leading to innovativeness. As women farmers are constrained regarding resources, cultural, societal, and personal reasons in Pakistan’s context, they particularly need innovative behavior and decision power to adapt to climate change. This study aims to measure the decisional empowerment and innovativeness of women farmers and their role in adopting different climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices at the farm level. To this end, data from 384 farms where women were majorly involved are utilized in a multivariate probit model and propensity score matching to reveal various aspects of women’s role in adopting CSA practices. Results reveal that most women farmers lacked decisional power related to productive resources such as sale/purchase and renting of farmland, using farm machinery, and availing credit. Their decisional empowerment and innovativeness positively affected the adoption of CSA practices at the farm level. Females with more decisional power and innovativeness adopted more CSA practices than women with weaker decisional power and innovativeness. Therefore, the world can benefit greatly from giving more power to women in agriculture in terms of increased adoption of CSA practices, consequently improving food security and mitigating climate change. This outcome will assist in achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals of gender equality (SDG5) and climate action (SDG 13).

Tackling Food and Nutrition Insecurity among Rural Inhabitants: Role of Household-Level Strategies with a Focus on Value Addition, Diversification and Female Participation

Abstract: Ensuring food and nutrition security (FNS) is a formidable challenge under increasing population pressure. Governments around the globe have been striving to achieve this goal, but a major impact is attainable once the masses opt for measures at the household level. We conducted this study to explore household-level practices aimed at ensuring FNS and their association with FNS in rural Pakistan. Using cluster analysis, we divided a sample of 200 randomly selected rural households into high and low FNS groups, the majority of which belonged to the low FNS group. Logistic regression was applied to explore the association between household-level measures with the FNS of rural households. The households in the high FNS group adopted a greater number of measures for ensuring FNS. Households headed jointly by a male and female showed to have a higher likelihood of FNS. Similarly, households adopting diversification strategies on their farms were more likely to have high FNS. Moreover, households with working women exhibited a greater probability of experiencing high FNS. Similarly, households’ adoption of value addition in dairy products decreases the probability of food and nutrition insecurity. This study concludes with an emphasis on women’s empowerment, off-farm income diversification, and on-farm enterprise diversification to address FNS challenges.

Food, Energy, and Water Nexus at Household Level: Do Sustainable Household Consumption Practices Promote Cleaner Environment?

Abstract: Governments around the globe are trying to find sustainable solutions for lessening pressure on natural resources and reducing carbon emissions. Daily household consumption of food, energy, and water has an impact on stocks of natural resources, environmental quality, and climate change. Households have significant potential for increasing conservation actions for efficient use of natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions. Households could contribute to a clean and healthy environment by adopting sustainable household practices through lower per capita consumption and carbon emissions. This study explored the role of different sustainable household consumption practices in promoting a clean environment as well as the factors affecting the adoption of these practices in Pakistan. Factor analysis and an ordered probit model were used to analyze the data from 1424 participants chosen through a multistage random sampling technique. The factor analysis identified 35 sustainable household practices for sustainable consumption. These 35 practices were grouped into the underlying factors of “Food” (14 items), “Energy” (12 items), and “Water” (9 items). The results from the econometric model showed a significant relationship between gender, education, residential area, family size, and income and the adoption of sustainable household consumption practices. Statistically, higher levels of reported sustainable consumption practices were apparent among females, households living in urban areas, more educated people, individuals of large family sizes, and more affluent households. Therefore, public policies for taking care of the environment need to put households at the center while at the same time promoting mass uptake of sustainable consumption practices related to food, energy, and water. In addition, the sector-specific policies also need to be augmented through focus on household-level consumption and production dynamics for achieving the UN’s SDGs.

Predicting Bitcoin (BTC) Price in the Context of Economic Theories: A Machine Learning Approach

Abstract: Bitcoin (BTC)—the first cryptocurrency—is a decentralized network used to make private, anonymous, peer-to-peer transactions worldwide, yet there are numerous issues in its pricing due to its arbitrary nature, thus limiting its use due to skepticism among businesses and households. However, there is a vast scope of machine learning approaches to predict future prices precisely. One of the major problems with previous research on BTC price predictions is that they are primarily empirical research lacking sufficient analytical support to back up the claims. Therefore, this study aims to solve the BTC price prediction problem in the context of both macroeconomic and microeconomic theories by applying new machine learning methods. Previous work, however, shows mixed evidence of the superiority of machine learning over statistical analysis and vice versa, so more research is needed. This paper applies comparative approaches, including ordinary least squares (OLS), Ensemble learning, support vector regression (SVR), and multilayer perceptron (MLP), to investigate whether the macroeconomic, microeconomic, technical, and blockchain indicators based on economic theories predict the BTC price or not. The findings point out that some technical indicators are significant short-run BTC price predictors, thus confirming the validity of technical analysis. Moreover, macroeconomic and blockchain indicators are found to be significant long-term predictors, implying that supply, demand, and cost-based pricing theories are the underlying theories of BTC price prediction. Likewise, SVR is found to be superior to other machine learning and traditional models. This research’s innovation is looking at BTC price prediction through theoretical aspects. The overall findings show that SVR is superior to other machine learning models and traditional models. This paper has several contributions. It can contribute to international finance to be used as a reference for setting asset pricing and improved investment decision-making. It also contributes to the economics of BTC price prediction by introducing its theoretical background. Moreover, as the authors still doubt whether machine learning can beat the traditional methods in BTC price prediction, this research contributes to machine learning configuration and helping developers use it as a benchmark.

Empowering Shepreneurs to achieve the sustainable development goals: Exploring the impact of interest‐free start‐up credit, skill development and ICTs use on entrepreneurial drive

Abstract: Recent debates—like agenda 2030—emphasize that women are not just the potential beneficiaries of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), yet they are also active change agents in achieving them. This study used non-parametric techniques to investigate and compare the impact of three entrepreneur-supporting interventions—interest-free start-up credit, skill-development short courses, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) use—in lowering the impediments defying women entrepreneurs in Punjab-Pakistan. We identified 33 barriers and three groups of respondents based on intervention(s) availed. Mean score ranking analysis reveals 25 out of 33 barriers as critical in affecting women entrepreneurs in category one, whereas women entrepreneurs in category two and three are found to face 20 and 14 critical barriers, respectively. Furthermore, we used factor analysis to group these 25 critical barriers into five principal groups: (1) business management & marketing barriers, (2) gender & social barriers, (3) client and customer-related barriers, (4) public policy and governance barriers, and (5) innovation & knowledge-management barriers. Moreover, the study advances a comprehensive understanding of underlying grouped barriers to devise coherent plans and collaborative actions—involving local institutions, stakeholders, academia, and industry—for containing these snags and to better harvest the impacts of development initiatives. The study extends the existing literature on techno-economic disclosure, digital transformation and entrepreneurship, and sustainable knowledge management.

Sustainable Agriculture through Reduced Emission and Energy Efficiency: Estimation of Input–Output Energy and GHG Emission under Tunnel Cultivation of Tomato

Abstract: Tomato production under tunnel structures has shown promising returns in recent years in Pakistan. However, the energy use and GHGs dynamics remain largely unknown for tomato production under controlled conditions. This study estimates the energy budgeting and GHG emission in off-season (tunnel-farming) tomato production. Study data were gathered from 70 tunnel tomato growers through a simple random sampling technique. Energy use efficiency, energy productivity, and net energy along with covariates of energy output were estimated through Cob–Douglas regression. The results indicate that the total input energy consumption and production were 91,376.38 MJ ha−1 and 56,764.64 MJ ha−1, on average, respectively. The contribution of fertilizers (60.78%) was higher in total input energy followed by diesel and chemicals. The value of energy use efficiency was 0.652, which was higher for small farms (0.678) and lower (0.604) for large farms. Energy productivity (0.815 kg MJ−1), specific energy (1.355 MJ Kg−1), and net energy (−34,611.743 MJ ha−1) were also estimated. The total greenhouse gas emission was 3426.66 kg CO2 eq. ha−1, which is low for large farms (3197.57 kg CO2 eq. ha−1). The contribution of farmyard manure to total GHG emissions was high. The results show the inefficient use of inputs, responsible for GHG emissions. Fertilizers were a major contributor both in total input energy and GHG emission. The efficient utilization of agricultural inputs is a solution to reduce GHGs emissions in crop production. Therefore, the agriculture department should play its role to ensure the optimal or efficient use of agricultural inputs. The Department of Extension is working to guide farmers about crop production at each stage. Thus, regular visits from extension staff are recommended to guide vegetable producers about efficient input use.

Nexus between Climate-Smart Livestock Production Practices and Farmers’ Nutritional Security in Pakistan: Exploring Level, Linkages, and Determinants

Abstract: Livestock plays a vital role in humans’ food and nutrition security under rapidly changing climatic scenarios. This study investigates the nature and factors affecting livestock farmers’ choices of climate-smart livestock practices by using a multivariate probit model and then estimates the average effect of these adopted strategies on per capita daily dietary (calorie, protein, and calcium) intake among livestock herders. For this purpose, data were collected from 196 livestock farmers residing in the Punjab province of Pakistan, selected through multistage purposive and random sampling. The Simpson diversity index results revealed that farmers used diversified food in their daily diet. The results also showed that farmers consumed more protein-rich food items as compared to calorie and calcium-rich food items in their daily diet. Moreover, the average per capita calorie intake of livestock farmers was 2413.19 kcal/day. Livestock farmers adopting a higher number of climate-smart livestock practices consumed more daily per capita calories, protein, and calcium compared to those who adopted a lower number of climate-smart livestock practices on livestock farms. Moreover, climate-smart livestock practices produced more and better nutritional outcomes in combination with each other than in isolation. Livestock training was found to be positively associated with the adoption of more climate-smart practices. Therefore, livestock training is necessary to expedite the adoption of climate-smart practices and to improve the nutritional security of the farmers.

Role of Nutrition Information in Acceptance and Willingness to Pay for Biofortified Cereal Food: Implications for Better Health and Sustainable Diet

Abstract: A range of nutritional needs are met through the use of fortified farm-based foods. Wheat biorfortification with zinc is such an example where biorfortification is carried out for a crucial element like Zinc. Zinc-biofortified wheat (Zn-wheat) has been officially launched in Pakistan since 2016 but its wide-scale dissemination, adoption and consumption have not taken place till to date. On the other hand, essential nutrients deficiencies have wide-ranging implications for public health especially for children and lactating mothers. This study is undertaken to know the reasons for the slow progression of scaling up of biofortified wheat varieties in Pakistan, people’s awareness about biofortified wheat and to recognize the role of information in acceptance and willingness to pay for this wheat. For this purpose, randomly selected 474 households were interviewed from four districts of Punjab province. They were categorized into four groups based on their exposure to information in real and hypothetical cheap talk (game theory context). Study findings reveal that respondents were ready to pay for fortified wheat if they are aware about nutrient aspects and Zn deficiency. Using Discrete Choice Experiment, the preferences for and factors affecting the willingness to pay for fortified wheat are evaluated. Main factors having positive impact include household head’s education and income, having pregnant women and children <5 years age. It was also found that people having valid information about nutrients of a food would be willing to pay more. The study highlights need for policy focus on educating people about nutritional aspects as well as making available biofortified foods to promote healthy living.

Sustainable Cotton Production through Increased Competitiveness: Analysis of Comparative Advantage and Influencing Factors of Cotton Production in Xinjiang, China

Abstract: Cotton production makes an important contribution to the income of rural residents and the economy in Xinjiang province, which leads other provinces in terms of planted area, total production, and average yield of cotton in China. This study analyzed the competitiveness of cotton production in the study area using the efficiency advantage index (EAI), scale advantage index (SAI), and aggregated advantage index (AAI). Moreover, the factors influencing the productivity of cotton have been investigated by the use of ridge regression and correlation matrix using a dataset for the period 2005 to 2018. The results showed that cotton production had a large comparative advantage in Xinjiang from 2005 to 2018. The average of efficiency advantage index (EAI), scale advantage index (SAI), and aggregated advantage index (AAI) are 1.50, 12.96, and 4.35, respectively. Overall, Xinjiang cotton production has a higher planting scale advantage and productivity. By using ridge regression to calculate the impact of cotton production on agricultural output value in Xinjiang, the results showed that total cotton production, fiscal expenditure on agricultural support, total agricultural machinery power, and fertilizer use had significant positive effects, whereas cotton sown area, average cotton yield, and the proportion of affected area by insects and diseases had negative impact agricultural output value. The study implies the need for a implementing a well-thought and empirically backed plan to support cotton production based on comparative advantage for a specific area, building a cotton production standard system, reducing the cost of cotton production, and building a cotton risk-protection system to protect the interests of cotton farmers and promote the sustainable development of the cotton industry.

Ecological Sustainability and Households’ Wellbeing: Linking Households’ Non-Traditional Fuel Choices with Reduced Depression in Rural China

Abstract: A sustainable and pleasant environment is deemed to offer various positive externalities such as scenic, visual and behavioral archetypes and patterns exhibiting in various forms. Such a scenario can significantly relieve households from many psychological and personal complications such as depression. Depression has aroused great concerns in recent years due to its personal and social burdens and unforeseeable damage. Many studies have explored the effects of air pollution caused by traditional fuel consumption on depression. However, limited evidence is available on how household non-traditional fuel choices affect depression. Based on a nationally representative dataset collected from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2012, this paper employs an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model and an endogenous switching probit (ESP) model to address the endogenous issue and to estimate the treatment effects of non-traditional fuel choices on depression in rural China. The empirical results show that non-traditional fuel users have significantly lower Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores, indicating non-traditional fuel users face a lower risk of depression. Compared to solid fuels, employing non-traditional fuels will lead to a 3.659 reduction in depression score or decrease the probability of depression by 8.2%. In addition, the results of the mechanism analysis show that household non-traditional fuel choices affect depression by reducing the probability of physical discomfort and chronic disease. This study provides new insight into understanding the impact of air pollution in the house on depression and how to avoid the risk of depression in rural China effectively.