Impact of solar energy subscription on the market performance of micro, small & medium enterprises in Nigeria

Access to clean, affordable and reliable energy is a major developmental challenge in Africa. The present study investigates the determinants and impact of adopting solar energy on Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) market performance in Lagos, Kano and Ondo states in Nigeria using survey data from 700 MSMEs. We estimated the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) and average treatment effect (ATE) of adopting solar energy on MSMEs' income. The findings indicate that adoption of solar energy is associated with an increment in MSMEs' monthly earnings by 27% (nearest neighbor matching), 24% (Kernel matching) and 23% (radius matching). The study points out that powering MSMEs through solar energy decreases their energy expenditure. By adopting solar energy, MSMEs using the national grid and standby generators can cut down their average monthly energy expenditure by 36.64%. MSMEs' decision to adopt solar energy is influenced by trade-offs between the possible production, economic and environmental effects as well as business owners, business, and product characteristics. To the extent that governments, non -governmental organizations and policymakers are committed to providing reliable, cheaper and cleaner energy systems, they must raise broader awareness of the potential benefits of adopting solar energy

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: Perceived risks, management strategies and emerging opportunities for small and medium agri-food enterprises in a developing country

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to small- and medium-sized agri- food enterprises (SMAEs) in developing countries. However, research investigating what risks Covid-19 posed to these firms, how they responded, and what business opportunities emerged to SMAEs from the pandemic remains scanty. Drawing on a sample of 166 specialist SMAEs in Egypt, this study addressed these entwined questions by using multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) and mediation analysis. Our results point out that the Covid-19 pandemic ex- posed Egyptian SMAEs to complex and multidimensional risks, and caused profound effects on both upstream and downstream stages of their supply chains. In general, Egyptian SMAEs adopted a 'wait -and -see' approach to cope with such Covid-19 risks and impacts, which was at- tributed to their lack of sufficient financial resources to develop risk management strategies and formalize structures to deal with unexpected events. Interestingly, the results showed that several business opportunities emerged from pandemic; but SMAEs' resource disadvantages constrained their capacity to seize and exploit these opportunities. Moreover, we found that mitigation strate- gies adopted by SMAEs present a mediating factor between perceived Covid-19 risks and per- ceived business opportunities. Overall, our findings call for a paradigm shift in relation to enter- prise risk management in developing countries' SMAEs toward more holistic frameworks to en- hance their preparedness to future shocks, make mature operational and strategic management decisions, and exploit strategic opportunities

The Development and Promotion of Sweet Potato Yoghurt in Ghana: Implications for Sustainable Production and Consumption Policies

This paper analyzes how a newly developed food product (potagurt) with nutritional and health benefits can be promoted in Ghana. We employ the hedonic modeling and contingent valuation methods to estimate monetary values attached to the product's attributes using 400 consumers in the Ashanti, Eastern, and Greater Accra regions of Ghana. The findings reveal that consumers have positive perceptions on the health and nutritional benefits of the product. Buyers place a higher value on potagurt relative to normal yogurt. The high value attached to potagurt is mainly linked to the health, nutritional, food safety, and quality attributes of the product, as well as perception. Consumers' socioeconomic factors such as income, educational, and awareness levels also play a significant role in explaining their choice of the product. The practical implication is that the development and promotion of potagurt could stimulate sustainable economic development through better consumer health and improvement in the livelihoods of many players in the sweet potato value chain, especially the producers of potagurt and sweet potato farmers. We conclude that the promotion of the innovative food product could contribute to sustainable production and consumption of sweet potatoes

Dairy farmers' heterogeneous preferences for animal welfare-enhancing flooring properties: A mixed logit approach applied in Sweden

In this paper, we examine preferences for flooring properties that enhance animal welfare in dairy cattle barns among a sample of Swedish dairy farmers. The findings reveal that respondents differ in their choice of flooring properties that improve farm animal welfare. The findings also show that they consider low-slip risk and the softness of floors to be the most important properties. Findings from a latent variable model revealed that floor packaging and installation, workability and animal welfare are important factors that explain the respondents' preferences for different types of floors. The findings demonstrate that dairy farmers who prefer soft, low-slip and less abrasive floors are influenced by the way the floors are incorporated and installed into the building design, the ease with which other tasks can be performed after installing the flooring and the welfare that the specific flooring provides for the animals. The findings contribute relevant insights that are needed for the promotion and adoption of farm management practices that improve animal welfare

Use and non-use values to explain farmers’ motivation of the provision of animal welfare

This paper examines how differences in motivation in terms of use and non-use values affect the choice of animal welfare improvement practices. The application is focused on Swedish dairy farmers’ preferences for different flooring systems’ attributes. Using multiple indicators and multiple causes and hybrid latent class models, the findings demonstrate that dairy farmers who favour flooring solutions that enhance farm animal welfare are motivated by a complex set of both use values relating to internal and external pressures and non-use values linked to animal freedom, ethical codes of farmers and building business-to-customer relationships. The findings imply that measures to stimulate more uptake of animal welfare improvement practices can be better targeted by using insights into motivational constructs of farmers and by adopting policy communication that captures the whole breadth of use and non-use motivational constructs held by farmers

Editorial: Climate change, variability and sustainable food systems

Peer Reviewe

Economic impact of investment in animal welfare-enhancing flooring solutions - Implications for promoting sustainable dairy production in Sweden

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to assess the economic impact of investment in different animal welfare-enhancing flooring solutions in Swedish dairy farming.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed a bio-economic model and used stochastic partial budgeting approach to simulate the economic consequences of enhancing solid and slatted concrete floors with soft rubber covering.FindingsThe findings highlight that keeping herds on solid and slatted concrete floor surfaces with soft rubber coverings is a profitable solution, compared with keeping herds on solid and slatted concrete floors without a soft covering. The profit per cow when kept on a solid concrete floor with soft rubber covering increased by 13%-16% depending on the breed. Practical implicationsPromoting farm investments such as improvement in flooring solution, which have both economic and animal welfare incentives, is a potential way of promoting sustainable dairy production. Farmers may make investments in improved floors, resulting in enhanced animal welfare and economic outcomes necessary for sustaining dairy production.Originality/valueThis literature review indicated that the economic impact of investment in specific types of floor improvement solutions, investment costs and financial outcomes have received little attention. This study provides insights needed for a more informed decision-making process when selecting optimal flooring solutions for new and renovated barns that improve both animal welfare and ease the burden on farmers and public financial support

Dairy cow longevity: Impact of animal health and farmers? investment decisions

A dairy farmer's decision to cull or keep dairy cows is likely a complex decision based on animal health and farm management practices. The present paper investigated the relationship between cow longevity and animal health, and between longevity and farm investments, while controlling for farm-sp ecific charac-teristics and animal management practices, by using Swedish dairy farm and production data for the period 2009 to 2018. We used the ordinary least square and unconditional quantile regression model to perform mean-based and heterogeneous-based analysis, re-spectively. Findings from the study indicate that, on average, animal health has a negative but insignificant effect on dairy herd longevity. This implies that cull-ing is predominantly done for other reasons than poor health status. Investment in farm infrastructure has a positive and significant effect on dairy herd longevity. The investment in farm infrastructure creates room for new or superior recruitment heifers without the need to cull existing dairy cows. Production variables that prolong dairy cow longevity include higher milk yield and an extended calving interval. Findings from this study imply that the relatively short longevity of dairy cows in Sweden compared with some dairy producing countries is not a result of problems with health and welfare. Rather, dairy cow longevity in Sweden hinges on the farmers' investment decisions, farm-specific characteristics and animal management practices

Dairy cow longevity and farm economic performance: Evidence from Swedish dairy farms

The longevity of dairy cows is mainly determined by farmers' subjective culling decisions and can be linked to the environmental impact of dairy production and to the social acceptance of the industry. Still, the economic impacts of dairy cow longevity are not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine how herd average dairy cow longevity is related to the farm economic outcome. We used 3 indicators of economic outcome: technical efficiency, profitability, and average milk yield per cow. We used 2 indicators of dairy cow longevity: average herd length of life and average herd length of productive life. The study was based on a unique and detailed dataset from Swedish dairy agriculture, where herd-management data from the national dairy herd recording scheme were combined with farm-level economic variables from the Swedish Farm Accountancy Survey, for a total of 1,959 observations from 2010 to 2018. The regression results highlight that both measures of average herd dairy cow longevity have an overall positive and significant association with farm-level economic performance. These associations had an inverted U-shape, which implies that the association is first positive and then declines. Descriptive statistics indicate that the point where the maximum economic performance is attained varied across the economic indicators. Our results are relevant for individual dairy farmers and their advisors, who are interested in understanding how herd average longevity relates to economic performance on the farms. Our results are also important from a greater sustainability perspective, because linking them to previous knowledge about the environmental and social sustainability benefits of keeping cows longer highlights longevity-associated trade-offs between those benefits and the farm economic outcomes

Dairy cow longevity : impact of animal health and farmers' investment decisions

A dairy farmer's decision to cull or keep dairy cows is likely a complex decision based on animal health and farm management practices. The present paper investigated the relationship between cow longevity and animal health, and between longevity and farm investments, while controlling for farm-specific characteristics and animal management practices, by using Swedish dairy farm and production data for the period 2009 to 2018. We used the ordinary least square and unconditional quantile regression model to perform mean-based and heterogeneous-based analysis, respectively. Findings from the study indicate that, on average, animal health has a negative but insignificant effect on dairy herd longevity. This implies that culling is predominantly done for other reasons than poor health status. Investment in farm infrastructure has a positive and significant effect on dairy herd longevity. The investment in farm infrastructure creates room for new or superior recruitment heifers without the need to cull existing dairy cows. Production variables that prolong dairy cow longevity include higher milk yield and an extended calving interval. Findings from this study imply that the relatively short longevity of dairy cows in Sweden compared with some dairy producing countries is not a result of problems with health and welfare. Rather, dairy cow longevity in Sweden hinges on the farmers' investment decisions, farm-specific characteristics and animal management practices.The Swedish Government Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS; Stockholm, Sweden).http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-dairy-sciencehj2023Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen