Climate change and profit efficiency in Punjab, Pakistan: Evidence from household-level panel data

Abstract. This study seeks to examine, both theoretically and empirically, the impact of climate change on farm Profit efficiency in Rural Punjab Pakistan. Current study explores the climate change impact by using Stochastic Profit Frontier Model at farm level with panel data. The outcomes of this study are indicative of a strong impact of climate change on the agriculture of Punjab, Pakistan. Increase in long run normal precipitation and temperature have significant effect on farm profit that fluctuates in direction as well as magnitude across quarters. The incidence of weather shocks and socioeconomic characteristics of the farming households are important factors of profit efficiency at farm level. The quasi fixed inputs are positively and significantly related to farm profits while input prices contribute negatively to farm profitability. The average profit efficiency score turned out to be 0.72, suggesting that the average farm, by improving their efficiency can increase the profit up to 28 percent. The findings of present study are evocative of huge impact of climate change on the rain-fed areas of Punjab since these are water scarce areas depending on rain fall for cropping. Arguably, it is vital for the better performance of the agriculture sector to combat the impact of climate change more effectively through implementation of adaptation strategies.Keywords. Agriculture, Farm production, Climate change, Profit efficiency, Stochastic profit frontier model and farm level panel data.JEL. C23, D01, Q12

Comparative study of irrigation advance based infiltration methods for furrow irrigated soils

This study was attempted to evaluate infiltration methods based on irrigation advance for furrow irrigation. Irrigation advance data were collected at Latif farm, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam for three irrigation events. To achieve the objectives of the study two different methods viz. Upadhyaya and Raghuwanshi and Valiantzas one-point, were tested against the two-point method. Evaluation of employed methods was undertaken to know the best method for the prediction of cumulative infiltration and advance. The results revealed that Upadhyaya and Raghuwanshi (ME=-5.25) and Valiantzas one-point (ME=-0.99) are unsuitable for silt loam soil with their original constants as these methods show great scatter when compared with reference method and measured data. Thus, it is suggested that these methods must be evaluated before use

A quantitative survey of water management issues in rural Sindh

Agriculture and water management are of the important tools to poverty reduction among farming communities that helps to provide individual and collective benefits, and enhance quality of life. But in real, the farmers of Sindh province are largely dissatisfied with what they have, indicated by the current situation. Therefore, the researcher focused on the background of farming communities to reveal the facts and figures of rural people connected with water management. In this regard, the crosssectional data were collected on a structured scale through personal interview method, using multi-stage cluster sampling from 457 farmers in Sindh province of Pakistan, and analysis was performed by means of SPSS-20. The results regarding the background of the farmers illustrate that the majority of the farmers aged 36 to 56 were involved in water management activities. In connection with the marital status, an overwhelming majority (98%) of the respondents were married, showing the picture of common rural values, about three fourth (75%) of the respondents are habituated in an extended/joint family system, and a little less than half (47%) of the respondents were illiterate or do not have any formal education. A simple majority (50.5%) of the respondents were landlord-cum-farmers (owner-cultivator), however, an unfair distribution of agricultural land is frequently observed among the farmers in Sindh province of Pakistan. Water logging and salinity was found to be a major issue in the study area as reported by the respondents. Simultaneously, an overwhelming majority of the farmers in Sindh province of Pakistan showed their concern over existing irrigation and drainage system and of the opinion that the institutional corruption and bad governance are hurdled behind the issue

Household-level risk factors for secondary influenza-like illness in a rural area of Bangladesh

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Objective To describe household‐level risk factors for secondary influenza‐like illness (ILI), an important public health concern in the low‐income population of Bangladesh. Methods Secondary analysis of control participants in a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of handwashing to prevent household ILI transmission. We recruited index‐case patients with ILI – fever (<5 years); fever, cough or sore throat (≥5 years) – from health facilities, collected information on household factors and conducted syndromic surveillance among household contacts for 10 days after resolution of index‐case patients’ symptoms. We evaluated the associations between household factors at baseline and secondary ILI among household contacts using negative binomial regression, accounting for clustering by household. Results Our sample was 1491 household contacts of 184 index‐case patients. Seventy‐one percentage reported that smoking occurred in their home, 27% shared a latrine with one other household and 36% shared a latrine with >1 other household. A total of 114 household contacts (7.6%) had symptoms of ILI during follow‐up. Smoking in the home (RRadj 1.9, 95% CI: 1.2, 3.0) and sharing a latrine with one household (RRadj 2.1, 95% CI: 1.2, 3.6) or >1 household (RRadj 3.1, 95% CI: 1.8–5.2) were independently associated with increased risk of secondary ILI. Conclusion Tobacco use in homes could increase respiratory illness in Bangladesh. The mechanism between use of shared latrines and household ILI transmission is not clear. It is possible that respiratory pathogens could be transmitted through faecal contact or contaminated fomites in shared latrines

Analysis and Modification of an Electro-Oculometer

This paper describes an electro-oculometer and analyzes the electronic circuits required to process the signal. This electro-oculometer is a passive, two-channel device which detects the eye orientation using commercially available electrodes attached near the eyes. The electro-oculometer is composed of a special amplifier followed by a parabolic filter. The amplifier has high common mode rejection ratio, low drift, and low input bias current. Both DC and AC analyses of the electro-oculometer have been performed. The common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of the input stage of the device is computed both at low and high frequencies. The experimental data were then compared with theoretical results. A parabolic low pass filter was designed and implemented as part of the electro-oculometer. A parabolic filter was chosen because it gives a minimum overshoot step response. The input stage (preamplifier) of the electro-oculometer is modified so as to prevent a latch up problem. This latch up is a saturated state of the system. When the output of the system reaches saturation, the system cannot reset itself. The new configuration of the preamplifier does not require any extra active elements