Showing papers on "Subsistence agriculture published in 2008"

World development report 2008 : agriculture for development

Abstract: Agriculture is a vital development tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goal that calls for halving by 2015 the share of people suffering from extreme poverty and hunger. That is the overall message of this year's World Development Report (WDR), the 30th in the series. Three out of every four poor people in developing countries live in rural areas, and most of them depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. This report provides guidance to governments and the international community on designing and implementing agriculture for development agendas that can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of rural poor. The report highlights two major regional challenges. In much of Sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is a strong option for spurring growth, overcoming poverty, and enhancing food security. Agricultural productivity growth is vital for stimulating growth in other parts of the economy. But accelerated growth requires a sharp productivity increase in smallholder farming combined with more effective support to the millions coping as subsistence farmers, many of them in remote areas. Recent improved performance holds promise, and this report identifies many emerging successes that can be scaled up. In Asia, overcoming widespread poverty requires confronting widening rural-urban income disparities. Asia's fast-growing economies remain home to over 600 million rural people living in extreme poverty, and despite massive rural-urban migration, rural poverty will remain dominant for several more decades. For this reason, the WDR focuses on ways to generate rural jobs by diversifying into labor intensive, high value agriculture linked to a dynamic rural, non-farm sector. In all regions, with rising land and water scarcity and the added pressures of a globalizing world, the future of agriculture is intrinsically tied to better stewardship of natural resources. With the right incentives and investments, agriculture's environmental footprint can be lightened and environmental services harnessed to protect watersheds and biodiversity.

Disturbance Pharmacopoeias: Medicine and Myth from the Humid Tropics

Abstract: The much-publicized quest for miracle drug plants in tropical rainforests has provided compelling support for the preservationist agenda. This article questions the assumptions that underpin this claim, particularly the myth that pristine forest represents the primary repository of nature's medicinal providence. After tracing colonial European efforts at medicinal plant discovery, intellectual property exploitation, and plant transference and acclimation, I review the recent resurgence of scientific interest in tropical folk pharmacopoeias. In spite of the image marketed by environmental entrepreneurs, the medicinal foraging preference of rural tropical groups is largely successional mosaics of their own creation—trails, kitchen gardens, swiddens, and forest fallows. Focusing on the subsistence transition from hunting and gathering to small-scale cultivation, I propose that disturbance pharmacopoeias are the logical outcome of changing subsistence strategies, ecological processes, and disease pat...

Nature and Power: A Global History of the Environment

Abstract: 1. Thinking about environmental history 2. The ecology of subsistence and tacit knowledge - primeval symbioses between humans and nature 3. Water, forests, and power 4. Colonialism as a watershed in environmental history 5. At the limits of nature 6. In the labyrinth of globalization Conclusion.

Using ICT to reduce transaction costs in agriculture through better communication: A case-study from Sri Lanka

Abstract: This paper considers the specific role of information and communication technologies [ICT] in reducing transaction costs in agriculture by enabling timely and affordable communication. Segmenting transaction costs in to several components, the paper isolates the costs associated with information search as the specific costs that could be influenced through ICT. Analyzing the findings of a case study among a group of smallholder vegetable farmers in Sri Lanka the paper identifies the specific information needs of these farmers along the agriculture value chain starting with the decision on the crop to be planted and ending with the sale of produce at the wholesale market and measures the information search costs associated with this group of farmers. The paper concludes by indicating the possibility of dramatic reductions of transaction costs with the use of ICT to reduce information search costs to enable greater farmer participation in commercial agriculture as opposed to subsistence farming that continue to force so many farmers in developing countries in to poverty.

Perspectives on livestock production systems in China

Abstract: This review paper describes the livestock production systems in China, their status and trends, driving factors, and major issues with profound impact. Three distinct livestock production systems are discussed; grazing, mixed farming, and industrial systems. The ‘grazing system’ is generally characterised by harsh climate, rangeland, and low livestock output. Market forces, biophysical constraints and environmental concerns are putting a ceiling on the potential for intensification of the grazing system except in some areas where the agro-ecological potential permits. This system needs to be re-oriented towards adding ecosystem service provision, rather than mere production or subsistence. The ‘mixed farming system’, with the highest share of most kinds of livestock commodities, forms the backbone of China’s agriculture and is undertaking a notable intensification and specialisation process. The ‘industrial system’ is geographically concentrated in areas close to densely populated demand centers. Although growing fast, the share of national livestock output remains relatively small. The past two decades have seen a rapid growth in both consumption and production of livestock food products in China. This new food revolution has been driven to a great extent by the rapid growing economy, personal income and urbanisation. Among the most important issues related to livestock production systems in China are severe rangeland degradation, caused mainly by overexploitation of these lands, increasing demand and competition for feed grain, and environmental and public health risks associated with industrialised livestock production. China will have to cope with such challenges through proper policy and technological interventions to sustain the livestock development and simultaneously secure the natural resources and environmental health.

Malthusian population dynamics: Theory and evidence

Abstract: This paper empirically tests the existence of Malthusian population dynamics in the pre-Industrial Revolution era. The theory suggests that, during the agricultural stage of development, resource surpluses beyond the maintenance of subsistence consumption were channeled primarily into population growth. In particular, societies naturally blessed by higher land productivity would have supported larger populations, given the level of socioeconomic development. Moreover, given land productivity, societies in more advanced stages of development, as reflected by their cumulative experience with the agricultural technological paradigm since the Neolithic Revolution, would have sustained higher population densities. Using exogenous cross-country variations in the natural productivity of land and in the timing of the Neolithic Revolution, the analysis demonstrates that, in accordance with the Malthusian theory, societies that were characterized by higher land productivity and an earlier onset of agriculture had a higher population density in the time period 1-1500 CE.

Indigenous knowledge of field insect pests and their management around lake Victoria basin in Uganda

Abstract: Food security and poverty alleviation has remained the primary agenda in the Eastern Africa regional food policies, and Uganda is no exception. Field pests that attack crops are among the greatest threat to increased food production. The subsistence farmers in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) rarely use synthetic pesticides in the field due to the high cost and availability issues. Therefore, some rely on the use of botanical pesticides and other natural methods of pest control. However, this indigenous knowledge (IK) on botanicals has remained largely unexploited with limited regional research and resources committed and these are the premises upon which this ethnobotanical fieldpests management survey was launched and conducted. Most of the respondents were women (59%). The study findings revealed that the major field pests reported by farmers in declining order of importance, included banana weevil, bean fly, cereal stem borers, pod feeders, grain moth, rodents, moths, termites, birds, aphids and cutworms. The anti-pest plants documented included, Capsicum frutescens,Tagetes spp, Nicotiana tabacum, Cypressus spp., Tephrosia vogelii,Azadirachta indica, Musa spp, Moringa oleifera, Tithonia diversifolia, Lantana camara, Phytollacca dodecandra, Vernonia amygdalina, Aloe spp., Eucalyptusspp., Cannabis sativa, Cofea species and Carica papaya. The study has demonstrated that usage of botanical pesticides in field pest management is normal around Lake Victoria basin for the subsistence farmers since all the 117 respondents had ever tried or used botanical pesticides. We recommend more specialized studies in the usage of the plant-based pesticides to ensure safety and effectiveness that will enhance food security and environment protection. In addition, appropriate recommendations generated on the issues investigated will be advanced as leads for further research, extension and regional industrial endeavors in the LVB. Key words: Indigenous knowledge, field pests, pesticide plants, Uganda, Lake Victoria Basin

Boreal Fire Effects on Subsistence Resources in Alaska and Adjacent Canada

Abstract: Rural communities in the northern boreal forest depend on a suite of wild species for subsistence, including large game animals, furbearers, fish, and plants. Fire is one of the primary ecological disturbances and determinants of landscape pattern in the northern boreal forest. We review responses of key boreal subsistence species to variation and change in post-fire stand age and other characteristics. Available data for 17 species indicate highly varied post-fire habitat requirements. Mosaics of differing stand ages generated by fire could therefore be most effective in supplying a suite of subsistence species to hunting-and-gathering communities. Recent and projected increases in frequency of large-fire years might produce a more homogeneous landscape dominated by younger stand ages. Increases in fire suppression around communities might also produce a more homogenous landscape, but dominated by older stand ages. Neither of these scenarios provides mixed habitats for a diverse suite of subsistence species. We suggest that one aspect of the complex suite of human-fire interactions is an understanding of wildlife and plant species' response to fire in a subsistence region, in an effort to sustain ecosystem services critical to human well-being.

Rice contract farming in Lao PDR: Moving from subsistence to commercial agriculture

Abstract: Poverty is prevalent among small farms in transition economies such as the Lao PDR, where market failures prevail and subsistence production is the norm. Contract farming is emerging as a promising tool to facilitate market linkages and provide the necessary supports that enable small farms to transition to commercial production. Using data from a household survey of 332 contract farmers and 253 non-contract farmers, this study attempts to empirically assess the potential of contract farming as a development tool to increase small farm incomes and reduce rural poverty. Using propensity score matching methodology and an endogenous switching regression model to assess the profitability of contract and non-contract rice farms in the Lao PDR, we found that contract farmers earn significantly higher profits than non-contract farmers. The results also show that contract farming tends to provide the greatest increase in income to farmers with below-average performance. These findings suggest that contract farming can be an effective private-sector-led mechanism to facilitate the transition to commercial agriculture. In addition to bringing foreign direct investment (FDI) into the rural sector, contract farming can be an effective tool to improve the profitability and raise the incomes of small farmers, thereby reducing poverty in rural areas with limited market development. JEL Classification: Q12, Q13, O31 ADBI Discussion Paper 90 Setboonsarng, Leung, and Stefan

Smallholders and the ‘Household Responsibility System’: Adapting to Institutional Change in Chinese Agriculture

Abstract: During the last quarter century, China’s agricultural sector has undergone a dramatic transformation from collective to private production under the so-called “Household Responsibility System.” This incentive system, designed to increase yields, reallocated communal land to peasant households, creating hundreds of millions of smallholders with relative autonomy over land use decisions and crop selection. Based on recent ethnographic research, this paper discusses the smallholder farming system of a mixed-ethnic community that intensively cultivates small land plots for subsistence and market exchange in China’s populous southwestern province of Sichuan. The paper characterizes the smallholder system in terms of biodiversity of plant and animal species, market distribution of crops, multiple cropping systems, and labor and technology inputs. The paper also describes how smallholders adapt their agricultural practices and decisions to changing market conditions and agricultural policies. Significantly, these adaptive strategies focus on shifting to the production of various cash crops, including melons and mangoes. Implications for the long-term viability of China’s smallholders, particularly in ecologically and economically marginal areas, are also discussed.

Rice Contract Farming in Cambodia: Empowering Farmers to Move Beyond the Contract Toward Independence

Abstract: From the farmer’s perspective, contract farming provides stable market access, credits, extension services, infrastructure and other benefits, but has drawbacks such as limiting the flexibility of farming and marketing. Based on a survey of rice contract farming for export in Cambodia, this paper uses simple mean comparison, propensity score matching comparison, and switching regression comparison to assess the impact of contract farming on farmers’ performance. Farmers with larger family sizes, younger and more educated household heads, less asset value, and those with farm locations closer to the highway are more likely to join the contract. The results provide evidence that contract farming of non-certified organic rice has a positive impact on farmers’ profitability. They also suggest that progressive farmers living near the highway tend to join the contract first, but leave contract farming early, while farmers in more remote areas remain under contract. It appears that the sample former-contract farmers’ profitability did not decline after leaving contract farming as they further intensified their farming systems to produce for the less chemical conscious market. Thus, contract farming may be involved in the process of helping subsistence farmers develop into independent commercial farmers. This study provides empirical evidence that contract farming of safe food in remote areas where land is less contaminated could be an effective private-sector led poverty reduction strategy. However, since contract farming in this case is not inclusive of the poorest farmers, public sector support is required to lower the transaction costs of working with them. JEL Classification: D02, Q12, R32 ADBI Discussion Paper 109 Cai, Ung, Setboonsarng, and Leung

Farm Households and Land Use in a Core Conservation Zone of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala

Abstract: This paper employs cross-tabular analysis, and multivariate and logistic regression to explore demographic, political-economic, socioeconomic, and ecological patterns of farm households and land use outcomes in an emergent agricultural frontier: the Sierra de Lacandon National Park (SLNP)-a core conservation zone of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), Peten, Guatemala. Data were obtained from a 1998 probability sample of 241 farm households, the first large detailed household land use survey in Guatemala’s Selva Maya-the largest lowland tropical forest in Central America. Virtually all settler households were poor maize farmers who colonized the SLNP in search of land for subsistence. While they faced similar ecological and economic conditions, land use strategies and patterns of forest clearing varied with demographic, household, and farm characteristics. Findings support and refute elements from previous frontier land use theory and offer policy implications for conservation and development initiatives in the Maya Forest specifically, and in tropical agricultural frontiers in general.

Macroeconomics of subsistence points

Abstract: This paper explores the macroeconomic consequences of preferences displaying a subsistence point. It departs from the existing related literature by assuming that subsistence points are specific to each variety of goods rather than to the composite consumption good. We show that this simple feature makes the price elasticity of demand for individual goods procyclical. As a result, markups behave countercyclically in equilibrium. This implication is in line with the available empirical evidence.

Modelling the crop variety demand of semi-subsistence households: Bananas in Uganda

Abstract: We propose an approach to model the derived demand for crop varieties among semi-subsistence farmers in a developing economy, and apply it to smallholder banana producers in Uganda We model variety planting decisions as being composed of an extensive margin decision to grow a subset of locally available varieties (variety choice); and an intensive margin decision about the scale or extent of variety cultivation per farm (variety demand) We estimate variety demand equations using a more complete representation of the choice set upon which observed planting decisions are made Computed elasticities of variety demand with respect to variety attributes indicate that the relative importance of consumption and production attributes varies by location and proximity to markets, from which we draw implications for the social and economic impact of crop improvement The approach that we propose has broad appeal for analysing adoption decisions for modern or traditional varieties of both major and minor crops in developing countries

Livelihood change, farming, and managing flood risk in the Lerma Valley, Mexico

Abstract: In face of rising flood losses globally, the approach of “living with floods,” rather than relying on structural measures for flood control and prevention, is acquiring greater resonance in diverse socioeconomic contexts. In the Lerma Valley in the state of Mexico, rapid industrialization, population growth, and the declining value of agricultural products are driving livelihood and land use change, exposing increasing numbers of people to flooding. However, data collected in two case studies of farm communities affected by flooding in 2003 illustrate that the concept of flood as agricultural “hazard” has been relatively recently constructed through public intervention in river management and disaster compensation. While farming still represents subsistence value to rural households, increasingly rural communities are relying on non-farm income and alternative livelihood strategies. In this context, defining flooding in rural areas as a private hazard for which individuals are entitled to public protection may be counterproductive. A different approach, in which farmers’ long acceptance of periodic flooding is combined with valuing agricultural land for ecoservices, may enable a more sustainable future for the region’s population.

Integrating Seasonal Forecasts and Insurance for Adaptation among Subsistence Farmers : The Case of Malawi

Abstract: Climate variability poses a severe threat to subsistence farmers in southern Africa. Two different approaches have emerged in recent years to address these threats: the use of seasonal precipitation forecasts for risk reduction (for example, choosing seed varieties that can perform well for expected rainfall conditions), and the use of innovative financial instruments for risk sharing (for example, index-based weather insurance bundled to microcredit for agricultural inputs). So far these two approaches have remained entirely separated. This paper explores the integration of seasonal forecasts into an ongoing pilot insurance scheme for smallholder farmers in Malawi. The authors propose a model that adjusts the amount of high-yield agricultural inputs given to farmers to favorable or unfavorable rainfall conditions expected for the season. Simulation results - combining climatic, agricultural, and financial models - indicate that this approach substantially increases production in La Nina years (when droughts are very unlikely for the study area), and reduces losses in El Nino years (when insufficient rainfall often damages crops). Cumulative gross revenues are more than twice as large for the proposed scheme, given modeling assumptions. The resulting accumulation of wealth can reduce long-term vulnerability to drought for participating farmers. Conclusions highlight the potential of this approach for adaptation to climate variability and change in southern Africa.

Marketing in Subsistence Marketplaces

Abstract: Management research has recently begun to shed new light on the role and nature of business innovations targeted at subsistence marketplaces (Viswanathan and Rosa 2007), the four billion poor that have also been referred to as constituting the Bottom of the Pyramid (Prahalad 2005). The notion that ways might be found for business to effectively serve the needs of subsistence markets is gaining increasing currency, and holds promise for both firms and consumers. For firms, it constitutes potential access to a vast, undertapped market for products and services. For subsistence consumers, it includes the promise of affordable access to products hitherto unaffordable or unavailable. Although gaining momentum, this viewpoint still faces many challenges, including the central question of whether business really can help to overcome the problem of poverty. We contend that the best way to begin to address such issues is to develop deep understanding of the lives of individuals living in subsistence conditions. This paves the way for a bottom-up, grounded understanding of the potential for business to contribute to economic and social development among the poor. Our subsistence marketplaces perspective is a bottom up approach to understanding buyer, seller, and marketplace behavior that complements mid-level business strategy approaches, such as the base of the pyramid approach, and macro-level economic approaches to studying business and poverty that currently exist in the literature.

Issues in evaluating fish consumption rates for Native American tribes.

Abstract: The environmental health goals of many Native American tribes are to restore natural resources and ensure that they are safe to harvest and consume in traditional subsistence quantities. Therefore, it is important to tribes to accurately estimate risks incurred through the consumption of subsistence foods. This article explores problems in conventional fish consumption survey methods used in widely cited tribal fish consumption reports. The problems arise because of the following: (1) widely cited reports do not clearly state what they intend to do with the data supporting these reports, (2) data collection methods are incongruent with community norms and protocols, (3) data analysis methods omit or obscure the highest consumer subset of the population, (4) lack of understanding or recognition of tribal health co-risk factors, and (5) restrictive policies that do not allow inclusion of tribal values within state or federal actions. In particular, the data collection and analysis methods in current tribal fish consumption surveys result in the misunderstanding that tribal members are satisfied with eating lower contemporary amounts of fish and shellfish, rather than the subsistence amounts that their cultural heritage and aboriginal rights indicate. A community-based interview method developed in collaboration with and used by the Swinomish Tribe is suggested as a way to gather more accurate information on contemporary consumption rates. For traditional subsistence rates, a multidisciplinary reconstruction method is recommended.

Commercialisations in agriculture

Abstract: Policy discourses around agricultural commercialisations tend to separate producers into different types of farm (small farms, large farms) growing different types of crops (food crops, cash crops) with simple distinctions made between ‘subsistence' and ‘commercial' or ‘export' agriculture. Lack of clarity about what commercialisation actually means may give rise to misconceptions, evoking certain fears that can obstruct the passage of policy into practice. Writing on commercialisation highlights a number of aspects to what it means to be commercialised. However, the lynchpin of most, if not all, definitions of agricultural commercialisation is the degree of participation in the (output) market, with the focus very much on cash incomes. However, there are other dimensions to agricultural commercialization. First, there is the degree of participation in input markets. As farms become more commercial, they tend to rely less on own-produced inputs (e.g. manure, retained seed) and services from mixed farming systems (e.g. animal traction) and instead depend more on markets to supply their inputs (improved seed, inorganic fertiliser, crop protection chemicals) and services (mechanised equipment for ploughing, planting, weeding, harvesting etc – either hired/rented or purchased). Thus, on the input side we might define commercialisation as value of inputs acquired from market/ agricultural production value Some writing on commercialisation highlights the importance attached to the profit motive within the farm business as an indicator of commercialisation. Agricultural commercialization means more than the marketing of agricultural output, it means the product choice and input use decisions are based on the principles of profit maximisation. Looking beyond purely the agricultural activities of a household, some authors (e.g. von Braun and Kennedy (1994) propose household commercialization as a measure of integration into the cash economy, which they define as the proportion of total value of goods and services acquired through cash transactions or the share of gross income from all market sources. In recent time commercialization of smallholder agriculture has got increased attention by policy makers. However, more often than not large farm bias may develop in practice even though policy appears to be pro-smallholder on paper. Actions to encourage smallholder commercialisations could include more attention to food crops, pro-actively encouraging asset accumulation processes and making markets work for poor farmers in poor areas. However, to ensure that pro-smallholder policy documents lead to pro-smallholder policy on the ground, policy makers should create enabling environment for smallholders and strengthen the service delivery process. Yet, creating a good enabling environment and ensuring sufficient, timely and efficient service delivery is crucially dependent on policy processes. Ethiopian Journal of Economics Vol. 16 (1) 2007: pp. 3-42

Development Strategy for the Hill Districts of Uttarakhand

Abstract: Uttarakhand, in spite of being a small state, has certain key features that make it distinct from other states of the country and highlights its potential for development. However, development has predominantly been in the plains, and the hill districts have been left behind. All the hill districts have subsistence farming as their main economic activity. Due to subsistence livelihood, migration and a remittance economy operate in the hill districts. They are land-locked with huge distances between the markets and resources. Because of these constraints, traditional agriculture cannot be the lead sector for development. Thus the state faces the challenge of promoting livelihoods to minimize migration through local employment and income generation, and to enhance the quality of life of people living in villages. The positive features of these hill districts are that they have enormous potential for tourism, a suitable climate for high-value agriculture, and a pleasant environment due to 60 pert cent forest cover. These have to be harnessed for a development strategy. The development strategy for Uttarakhand hills should be based on developing brand equity under the name of Organic Green State and an Uttarakhand Brand Equity Fund should be set up. This can be achieved by working towards this common goal through infrastructure development, tourism promotion, agriculture diversification, poultry- and wool-based livelihoods, and SMEs based on the above that capture linkages with industry and tourism.

Cooperation for Competition: Linking Ethiopian Farmers to Markets

Abstract: Throughout history, rural smallholders have formed various forms of associations to confront access-barriers to the market. It is estimated that 250 million farmers participate in agricultural cooperatives in developing countries. Agricultural cooperatives are considered to be a fundamental pillar of rural development strategies, as well as a core institution in the process of governance decentralization and agri-business development. In Ethiopia, where agro-ecological conditions are generally favourable, 85 percent of the national population lives in rural areas under subsistence or semi-subsistence regimes. Agricultural cooperatives are advocated by the government as key market institutions to exploit Ethiopia's agricultural growth potential. The scope of this study is to improve the understanding of the role played by cooperative organizations in linking Ethiopian smallholder farmers to emerging markets. Through exploring the evolution of supermarkets, integrated supply chains, and global commodity exchange networks, this study sheds light on the relationship between rural cooperation and farmers' competitiveness. Quantitative data that form the basis for this study were collected from the Highland regions of Ethiopia, in the period between 2003 and 2006. Findings suggest that cooperatives are not a panacea to boost rural competitiveness. Collective action assists smallholders in procuring state subsidy for production, but does not necessarily lead to increased commercialization. Only when collective action involves collective marketing do farmers become more commercial, further improving production volumes and productivity. However, in the process of commercialization and production intensification quality management is often neglected in Ethiopian agricultural cooperatives. This study reveals guidelines for public-private partnerships so that cooperative farmers can maximize commercialization and optimize the balance between quality and productivity.