Farm fatalities in Northern Ireland agriculture: What fifty years of data tell us

Publication history: Accepted - 8 March 2022; Published online - 10 March 2022.Agriculture is one of the most hazardous sectors in terms of fatal and non-fatal accidents. This paper utilises an administrative dataset that recorded farm fatalities in Northern Ireland over a 50 year timeframe (1968–2017) to undertake an age-period analysis of accident related mortality rates by sex, cause of death, season, and day of the week. Public policies aimed to improve farm safety should consider that fatalities due to animals have increased while the incidence of deaths due to vehicles and equipment has substantially decreased over the years although it is still the primary cause of death. With respect to age, elderly still actively involved in farming and children in the spring and at week-ends are most exposed to the risk of a fatal accident. Overall, men die on farms five times more than women.This research was supported by the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland, grant number E-I 18-01-19

Occupational Injury and Working Days Lost in Northern Ireland’s Farming Sector

Publication history: Accepted - 21 October 2020Agriculture is one of the most hazardous sectors in terms of occupational injuries resulting in 29 more working days being lost. This paper employs a dataset of 7,500 Northern Irish farms 30 over the period 2015-2019 to investigate what factors affect the number of working days lost 31 in agriculture. Results indicate that public policies aimed to improve farm safety should focus 32 on dairy farms, young workers, family members different from the main farmer, and 33 dangerous working practices related to machineries and vehicles. Besides, results indicate 34 that more than 18,000 workdays are lost every year in Northern Irish farms

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Axis 3-LEADER Grants on Job Creation

This study investigates the relationship between the number of jobs created and funding granted as part of the Community Led Local Development element within the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme. Analysis is carried out using ex-post application-level data associated with Axis 3-‘improving the quality of life and the management of economic activity’ during the 2007-2013 period. A two-step procedure is used to estimate a negative binomial model and correct for sample selection. A joint estimation was performed to allow for correlation between the structural and selection equations. Results indicate that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between the number of created jobs and the amount of awarded grant per application and, moreover, that this relationship depends on the categories, or Measures, within Axis 3. The more economic-focused Measures (Diversification into non-Agricultural Activities, Business Creation and Development, and Encouragement of Tourism Activities) showed a statistically significant link between the amount of public funds and job creation. No such relationship was found for the other Measures. Finally, in cases where public funds are linked to job creation, we found that this happens only above a given threshold, namely two or three jobs

Who Really Benefits from Single Payment Scheme (SPS) under Convergence of Payments? Micro evidence from Northern Ireland

The degree of capitalization of subsidies into land rents has been mainly determined by different payments implementation systems and land markets. The 2013 EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform introduces changes in the implementation of decoupled payments towards convergence of payments and associated payment conditions. Using a two-step dynamic system Generalized Methods of Moment (GMM) estimation technique, this paper investigates the effect of these changes on farmland rental rates in Northern Ireland(NI) where a short term conacre land rental system is dominant. The model is able to control for expectation error and unobserved heterogeneity, and endogenous covariates all at once. Our estimates suggest that the capitalization of decoupled payments into land rental prices increases as the payment subsidies converges towards flat rate. Specifically, on average, the marginal effect on rental rates of an additional pound of the SPS is 9 pence (21 pence), increasing to 18 pence (42 pence) following the 2015 reform in the short term (long term). Given that about one third of land are rented in NI, the increase of land capitalisation rate is of particular relevance in designing more efficient future subsidy policy

Food Insecurity and Educational Achievement

This paper investigates the educational achievement for the 5th grade students in Georgia in 2008-2009. The paper employs spatial error regression model to control for the local correlation. The results indicate that the school performance is inversely related to the food insecurity and positively related to the racial diversity

Household Allocation of Microfinance Loans in Kyrgyzstan

Within Kyrgyzstan, microfinance provides the largest source of credit for lowincome households. The allocation of these loans between current consumption and investment has a direct bearing on the impact these loans have on rural development. For investigating this allocation, a multivariate Probit model is developed and populated with borrowers’ loan allocations from 2006 to 2010. Key factors considered are education, gender, equipment ownership, and geographical region. Results indicate that the Naryn region has the largest impact on borrowers’ likelihood to allocate loans toward food and the smallest (negative) impact on the probability of starting a new business. Mobile phone and livestock ownership were identified as two key factors, which decreases borrowers’ probability of using loans to purchase food and increases the probability of agricultural investment or to start a business

Farm Safety: A Study of Young Farmers’ Awareness, Attitudes and Behaviors

Publication history: Published online - 14 February 2023Objectives: Agriculture in the United Kingdom (UK) continues to be one of the most dangerous occupations, accounting for around a fifth of fatal workplace injuries and many other injuries, both major and minor. This study examines young farmers’ awareness of, attitude to and behaviors around safety practices on-farm. Method: A survey was undertaken amongst a group of young farmers aged 16-years and over who were actively engaged in farming in Northern Ireland, focusing on attitudes and behaviors towards safety on-farm. Drawing on previous literature, this study examined whether younger farmers demonstrate a higher degree of risk tolerance and are more likely to engage in risk taking behavior when undertaking routine farming practices leading to potential injuries and lost work-ing days. The young farmers surveyed were classified into three groups and differences in risk perception were examined. Results: The results indicate that, statistically, farmer age, intensity of farming alongside the level of farming experience contribute to incident occurrence. Our results indicate a need for attitudinal and behavioral change, particularly around risk-taking behaviors that ultimately result in farm incidents, impacting on both the performance of the farm business and individual farmer well- being. Conclusion: Policies aimed at addressing perception and acceptance of risks among farmers are recommended.The work was supported by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Micro-credit impact in Kyrgyzstan: A study case

Microcredit has expanded rapidly since its beginnings in the last 1970s, but whether and how much it reduces poverty is the subject of intense debate. Generally it depends on how the program is implemented and the set of policies that regulate it. In this spirit, microcredit impacts in the Kyrgyz Republic are investigated and a modest program evaluation undertaken. Using data set for 5012 households from the Kyrgyzstan Integrated Household Survey (KIHS) that covers 2006-2010. Results indicate micro-credit is more driven forward durable assets as house, land, and to start a new business and less to fight against food insecurity