Keys to success for prospective agricultural exporters

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Evaluation of an International Entrepreneur Exchange Program: Impacts, Lessons Learned, and Implications for Agricultural Development

This study evaluated a two-way, visitor exchange project for entrepreneurship development between three African countries and the United States. The study’s purpose was to determine outcomes, understand lessons learned, and derive implications for international agricultural development. Findings of the study confirm visiting African Entrepreneur Fellows (AEFs) developed entrepreneurial knowledge, gained business skills, and acquired positive attitudes toward U.S. business and culture. The majority of AEFs had applied acquired knowledge and skills to improve their businesses and promoted open economic ideals, business ethics, and human rights in their businesses. As a result, AEFs were able to expand their business into new ventures, improve customer services, establish communication networks, and serve their communities. Visitor exchange, entrepreneurship-building programs are effective strategies in contributing to development efforts in developing countries. Paying due attention to the selection and matching of U.S. mentors with the business interests and learning needs of international fellows is necessary to ensure their learning expectations are met. It is important to assign international participants with suitable mentors for longer periods of time to increase the likelihood of receiving more in-depth learning experiences and develop lasting professional relationships to further collaboration. Realization of the potential of entrepreneurship-focused, visitor exchange programs between nations as a strategy for international agricultural development is the major implication of this study

Online versus Face-to-Face: Students’ Preferences for College Course Attributes

The objectives of this article were to determine: 1) students’ preferences for college course attributes; and 2) how the amount of course attribute information impacts enrollment. Results indicate students had the highest preferences for face-to-face (F2F) courses offered late morning and early afternoon and two to three days per week. Students selected online over F2F courses depending on course makeup; for example, course topic, online course design technology, and when the F2F version was offered. Additionally, students selected online courses more frequently when additional online course attribute information was available during course selection

Total factor productivity change in China's grain production sector: 1980–2018

This study analyses changes in total factor productivity (TFP) of grains as an aggregate commodity and major grain crops including rice, wheat, and corn, using pooled provincial and time-series data from 1980 to 2018 for China. Results show that the growth of TFP in the grain sector was driven by technical improvements. Moreover, the grain output and wheat production benefited more from TFP growth, whereas the growth in the usage of inputs drove the growth in rice and corn production. Findings also indicate that the laissez-faire market-oriented policy led to a dramatic fall in output while the intervention-led policy resulted in a substantial rise in output, but neither of them fostered the growth of productivity. Conversely, the incentive-led policy in a market-oriented environment that raised the comparative profitability in grain production promoted the growth in both output and productivity in the grain sector. As the comparative advantage shifts away from agriculture in China, an appropriate support is thus necessary to stimulate farmers' incentive in growing grain crops

Income Growth, Urbanization, and Food Demand in China

A complete demand system is estimated separately for urban and rural residents using a two-stage AIDS-QUAIDS model and pooled provincial and time-series data from 2000 to 2010. The estimated models are then used to project China’s rural and urban food demand in the future. Results suggest that with the continued rise in per capita income and urbanization rate, the budget shares of food grains and vegetables are expected to decrease while the shares of foods with animal origin and other high-valued foods are expected to rise. Moreover, urban residents will dominate the food demand in China