Farmers’ organizations and sustainable development: An introduction

This special issue features 14 new research papers investigating the role of farmers’ organizations (e.g., collective action, self-help groups, producer companies/organizations, and cooperatives) in supporting sustainable development. The key findings include: (1) farmer groups and cooperatives promote farmers’ adoption of good farm management practices, new agricultural technologies and sustainable farming practices, although not substantially improving farm yield; (2) outsourcing services provided by agricultural cooperatives help to increase the technical efficiency of crop production; (3) cooperative membership enhances members’ bargaining power and enables them to sell their products at higher prices; (4) cooperatives motivate rural laborers to work in off-farm sectors, while self-help groups empower rural women in decision-making; (5) internet use improves agricultural cooperatives’ economic, social, and innovative performances; (6) direct administrative intervention supporting cooperative development may lead to the emergence of shell cooperatives; (7) participation in forest farmer organizations enables wood value chain upgrading; (8) increasing the cooperative size in terms of income, equity, and assets increases the profitability of savings and credit cooperatives; and (9) creating cross-border cooperation between cooperatives generates benefits for all parties involved. These findings can inspire the design of policies aimed to support farmers’ organizations in achieving sustainable development goals

Rural development in the digital age: Does information and communication technology adoption contribute to credit access and income growth in rural China?

Information and communication technology (ICT) plays an important role in rural livelihoods and household well-being. Therefore, this study examines the impact of ICT adoption on farmers' decisions to access credit and the joint effects of ICT adoption and access to credit on household income using 2016 China Labour-force Dynamics Survey data. Both recursive bivariate probit model and a selectivity-corrected ordinary least square regression model are employed for the analysis. The results show that ICT adoption increases the probability of access to credit by 12.8% in rural China and empowers rural women and farm households in relatively less-developed regions to access credit. ICT adoption and access to credit affect household income differently. ICT adoption significantly increases household income, while access to credit significantly reduces it, primarily because farmers do not use the acquired credit to invest in income-generating farm and off-farm business activities. ICT adoption has the largest positive impact on household income at the highest 90th quantile. Our findings suggest that improving rural ICT infrastructure to enhance farmers' ICT adoption and developing ICT-based financial products to enable households to access sufficient funds can improve rural household welfare

An introduction to rural and agricultural development in the digital age

This special issue contributes to the development economics literature by highlighting the role of information communication and technologies (ICTs) in supporting rural and agricultural development. It is comprised of nine papers. Key findings from this special issue include: (1) internet use increases rural consumption diversity and agricultural productivity; (2) smartphone use empowers rural women in household decision-making and off-farm work participation; (3) smartphone-based agricultural extension services boost rural income growth; (4) a lack of ICT infrastructure and inadequate skills to use digital technologies are two key factors that lead to digital poverty traps for smallholder rural farmers; (5) ICT adoption increases the probability of rural households' access to credit and empowers rural women and farm households in relatively less developed regions to access credit; (6) digital financial inclusion reduces farmers' vulnerability to poverty; and (7) e-commerce adoption increases both sales prices and marketing costs, but the magnitude of increasing the former is higher than the magnitude of increasing the latter, which finally contributes to a higher gross return. This special issue also proposes practical instruments and implications for advancing the application of ICTs in rural areas to accelerate rural and agricultural development in the digital age

Does agricultural cooperative membership influence off-farm work decisions of farm couples?

Membership in agricultural cooperatives may influence intra-household decisions regarding the division of household labor. However, the linkages between cooperative membership and labor allocation remain unexplored. To fill this gap, we examine the impact of cooperative membership on off-farm work decisions of couples engaged in farming, using data collected from 595 banana farmers in China. The recursive bivariate probit model and endogenous-treatment Poisson regression model are employed to address the self-selection bias inherent in cooperative membership. The results show that cooperative membership increases the probability of participating in off-farm work by 38% for husbands and 31% for wives. Having large households reduces the probability of husbands but increases that of wives working off-farm. Cooperative membership is also associated with more time spent on off-farm work and higher earnings for both husbands and wives. Our findings point to the potential of agricultural cooperatives to increase farm couples’ off-farm employment, thus increasing household income and quality of life

Factors Influencing Households’ Intention to Adopt Solar PV : A Systematic Review

Rising energy needs, concerns of energy security, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, climate change phenomenon and a push to utilize indigenous sources for energy generation purposes has encouraged the use of solar photovoltaics (PV). The technological advancements of the recent past, improvement in technologies’ performance, reduction in the prices, policy and regulatory support, and its applicability at household level has made solar energy as a preferred form of energy generation. However, despite its rapid diffusion, it is widely believed that its current application is insignificant compared to its potential. This leads us to ask why solar PV has not been adopted to the level it should have. The existing literature has highlighted a number of factors affecting solar PV adoption. This paper systematically reviews the literature to identify the factors that have been instrumental to solar PV adoption. By exploring the Scopus database, this research identifies 39 articles matching the study objectives. Findings of this research will help academics, technology companies and policymakers in understanding the factors influencing the process and proposing solutions to address these.©2020 Springer. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Advances in Human Factors, Business Management and Leadership. AHFE 2020. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50791-6_36fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Drivers of diversification and pluriactivity among smallholder farmers—evidence from Nigeria

Diversification and pluriactivity have become a norm among farm business owners (FBOs) due to persistent low farm income. This study applies the resource-based theory to examine drivers of diversification and livelihood income-oriented towards a sustainable livelihood. Our framework develops hypotheses about the impact of internal and external resources on livelihood choices at the household level. We use a survey of 480 rural Nigerian farmers (agripreneurs), applying a Multivariate Tobit to test our framework. We find that education plays the most significant role in all types of employment options. The more FBOs are educated, the more the likelihood that they will choose non-farm or wage employment. This study revealed that while the agriculture sector’s share of rural employment is declining, non-farm is on the increase. More so, there is a decline in farming among the young generation, marital status bias and gender influence in resource allocation. The socioeconomic (income and food security) and socio-cultural (employment and rural-urban migration) implications of rural sustainability linked to UN Development Goals have been highlighted and analysed in this article

Climate-smart agriculture: Adoption, impacts, and implications for sustainable development

The 19 papers included in this special issue examined the factors influencing the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices among smallholder farmers and estimated the impacts of CSA adoption on farm production, income, and well-being. Key findings from this special issue include: (1) the variables, including age, gender, education, risk perception and preferences, access to credit, farm size, production conditions, off-farm income, and labour allocation, have a mixed (either positive or negative) influence on the adoption of CSA practices; (2) the variables, including labour endowment, land tenure security, access to extension services, agricultural training, membership in farmers’ organizations, support from non-governmental organizations, climate conditions, and access to information consistently have a positive impact on CSA adoption; (3) diverse forms of capital (physical, social, human, financial, natural, and institutional), social responsibility awareness, and digital advisory services can effectively promote CSA adoption; (4) the establishment of climate-smart villages and civil-society organizations enhances CSA adoption by improving their access to credit; (5) CSA adoption contributes to improved farm resilience to climate change and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions; (6) CSA adoption leads to higher crop yields, increased farm income, and greater economic diversification; (7) integrating CSA technologies into traditional agricultural practices not only boosts economic viability but also contributes to environmental sustainability and health benefits; and (8) there is a critical need for international collaboration in transferring technology for CSA. Overall, the findings of this special issue highlight that through targeted interventions and collaborative efforts, CSA can play a pivotal role in achieving food security, poverty alleviation, and climate resilience in farming communities worldwide and contribute to the achievements of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Fuel choices for cooking and heating and gender empowerment: Implications for promoting gender equality and sustainable rural development

This study evaluates the impact of fuel choices for cooking and heating on gender empowerment using rural household survey data from China. We investigate rural households' fuel-stacking behaviors by classifying fuels into non-clean, clean, and mixed categories and distinguish an incomplete energy transition (i.e. switching from non-clean fuels to mixed fuels) from a complete energy transition (i.e. switching from non-clean to clean fuels). The decision-making power of men and women measures gender empowerment. We use the multinomial endogenous switching regression model to address the endogeneity issue associated with rural households' fuel choices. The results show that incomplete and complete energy transitions for heating significantly increase men's decision-making power, while the same transitions for cooking have no significant impact. Incomplete and complete energy transitions for cooking significantly empower rural women, while a complete energy transition for heating also significantly empowers women. These findings suggest that promoting a complete energy transition supports broader rural development by empowering women to participate more actively in household decision-making. We also find that a complete energy transition for cooking and heating reduces the decision-making power gap between men and women more than an incomplete one, highlighting that a complete energy transition contributes more to gender equality. Therefore, fostering complete energy transitions is essential for closing gender disparities and establishing a foundation for sustainable rural development through enhanced female empowerment

Linking farmers to markets: Barriers, solutions, and policy options

The 15 studies highlighted in this special issue collectively underscore the significant impacts of market participation on farmers’ well-being, income, poverty reduction, dietary diversity, and rural economic growth. They also delve into the importance of marketing channel choice and the role of e-commerce in enhancing farmers’ market linkages. In addition, they address farmers’ preferences for market access interventions and the examination of market power within the agricultural industry, especially in low-income countries. The key findings include: (1) Market participation is critical for improving farmers’ subjective and objective well-being, with studies demonstrating positive impacts on income, poverty reduction, and dietary diversity; (2) The choice of marketing channels significantly influences income, with evidence suggesting online sales can substantially increase farmers’ earnings; (3) E-commerce plays a pivotal role in connecting farmers to broader markets, leading to income growth and enhanced market visibility; (4) Understanding and addressing farmers’ preferences for market access through interventions like systematization policies and joint ventures can facilitate better market integration and support inclusive business models; (5) Analysis of market power within the primary foods industry reveals rising markups, particularly affecting low-income countries. These findings suggest that policies and interventions aiming to improve market access, promote e-commerce, and consider farmers’ preferences and market power dynamics can significantly impact farmers’ incomes, poverty levels, and overall rural economic development

Narrowing urban–rural income gap in China: The role of the targeted poverty alleviation program

The Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) program in China is widely regarded for its influence in eliminating extreme poverty of 70 million rural inhabitants. However, little is known about the extent to which the TPA program narrows the income gap between urban and rural households. Therefore, this study estimates the effect of the TPA program on the urban–rural income gap, measured by the Theil index. A difference-in-difference model with fixed-effects is used to estimate the panel dataset of 279 prefecture level cities during 2010–2020. The findings show that the TPA program significantly reduced the urban–rural income gap. We obtain robust results using urban rural income ratio as an income gap measure. Heterogeneous analysis reveals that the income gap reduction effects of the TPA program are largest in the underdeveloped western region, and the effect is smaller for households residing in the central and eastern regions. Effective targeting and a focus on capability building, following regional differences make the program a notable example in reducing poverty and inequality consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals