IMPORTANCE, CAUSES, AND MANAGEMENT RESPONSES TO FARM RISKS: EVIDENCE FROM FLORIDA AND ALABAMA

Despite the contention that risk and uncertainty play an important role in agriculture in North Florida and South Alabama, very little is known about producers' perceptions of risk. This paper describes the procedures used and the results obtained from a statistically random survey of farmers' perceptions of the importance of various sources of risk and alternative risk management practices. Initially, farmers were asked to define risk and then to rank various sources of risk and management responses to risk based on the relative importance of each to their operation. Summary statistics, Chi-squares analyses, and logistic regression techniques were used to analyze the data.Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

Determinants of economic growth in Brunei Darussalam

This study analysed the factors that have influenced long-run economic growth in Brunei Darussalam using available data from government’s archives and publications. Multiple regression analysis based on a relatively new cointegration technique was used to construct a variant of the neoclassical growth model. This model was based on annual growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) as the dependent variable. The independent variables were the annual growth of total exports, government size measured as the ratio of total government expenditures with respect to GDP, total investment-GDP ratio, annual growth of labor and a dummy variable representing the effect of the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis. The results showed that the growth of exports significantly influenced long-run economic growth rates as expected. The other main factor influencing long-run economic growth was the relative size of government. The relative size of government influenced long-run growth rate in the form of a cubic function. Large government sizes impeded economic growth while moderate government sizes enhanced economic growth.20 page(s

Marriage and female labour supply in Brunei Darussalam : a case study of urban women in Bandar Seri Begawan

We analyse the relationships between marriage and female labour supply for urban householders in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital city of Brunei Darussalam in Southeast Asia. This analysis is based on a survey of 151 adult women. We establish that age, total number of career work position(s) held, expressing the degree of labour mobility, and the level of educational attainment influence participation of women (both married and single) in formal labour markets. A major factor influencing the likelihood of married women working is the number of their children below the age of 18. Higher propensity to work occurs with decreasing number of children. Wage incomes of working women are largely determined by the level of educational attainment, work experience and social class status. Married women are more likely to work than unmarried women and on average earn about 53% more than unmarried women assuming other things constant. The main factors influencing the value of time in marriage of currently married women are the income of husband, their work experience, educational attainment and age. This value decreases with increasing age of the woman spouse but it increases with higher levels of work experience and educational attainment of the woman, and higher income of her husband.16 page(s

A STOCHASTIC DOMINANCE ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR MIXED CROP FARMS IN NORTH FLORIDA

Cumulative probability distributions of income for management scenarios involving four pre-harvest marketing strategies are subjected to stochastic dominance analysis to determine risk-efficient sets of strategies for different groups of farmers in North Florida. Results indicate that farmers should behave differently in their choice of marketing strategies according to their risk attitudes. Highly risk-averse farmers should prefer some forward contracting while low risk-averse and risk loving farmers should prefer cash sales at harvest. Use of the futures markets leads to both higher income and greater risk than forward contracting but lower income and risk than cash sales

Farmers' perceptions of the quality of extension services provided by non-governmental organisations in two municipalities in the Central Region of Ghana

Since independence in 1957, the provision of major support services for farmers such as physical infrastructure and research services for the agricultural sector in Ghana has been the preserve of the government. However, with respect to agricultural credit, extension and marketing services, there has been a mix of both public and private sector participation with public services declining in quantity over the period of structural adjustment programmes in the country beginning in 1983-2006. Over this 24-year period, government involvement in extension delivery to farmers declined. Since 2007 the level of government support for the agricultural sector has increased considerably with government support for investment in agriculture outpacing its recurrent expenditures for the sector. The decline of government extension delivery led to an increased role for not-for-profit organizations such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in supporting farmers. We assessed the quality of extension services provided by four NGOs in two municipalities of the Central Region of Ghana: Mfantseman and Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEAA). The study was based on random sampling of farmers with the gender used as the key attribute in the choice of the optimal random sample. Beneficiary farmers assessed six main services provided by NGOs, namely information support, input supply, training, technology transfer, credit and monitoring and evaluation of extension activities. Farmers generally perceived the services to be relevant to their operations. However, they had mixed opinions concerning the services with respect to their adequacy, availability and their timeliness of supply. Monitoring and evaluation of extension activities by NGOs was generally acceptable.7 page(s