Determinants of Farmers’ Awareness and Adoption of Extension Recommended Wheat Varieties in the Rainfed Areas of Pakistan

Scientific evidence suggests that there is room for eradicating poverty and hunger by increasing food production through the adoption of modern agricultural practices by farmers. This study aimed, first, to explore the relationship between the farmers’ awareness and adoption of improved wheat varieties. Second, it aimed to find the key factors that govern the farmers’ awareness and adoption of extension-recommended innovations in the rainfed cropping system of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Data were collected from 395 respondents. A binary logit model was used to analyze the effect of the farmers’ socioeconomic and farm-specific characteristics on their awareness and adoption of the extension-suggested wheat varieties. Moreover, qualitative data from 40 key informants were collected for in-depth analysis. The results show a strong association between the farmers’ awareness of a technology (improved wheat varieties) and its adoption. The results of the logit model show that their extension contacts, income from agriculture, and access to credit positively affected the farmers’ awareness, whereas their education and household sizes negatively affected their awareness. Moreover, the factors that positively influenced the farmers’ decision to adopt the technology included the extension contact, the confidence in the extension, the risk-bearing attitude, and the credit access, whereas the household size and education negatively affected it. The results of the key informant interviews reveal that the high incidence of poverty, the low soil fertility, the farmers’ inability to make effective decisions, the lack of accurate weather predictability in the rainfed farming system, the lack of government interest, and the asymmetric information in the inputs markets contributed to the farmers’ low levels of awareness and to their poor adoption of improved agricultural technologies. These results indicate that any intervention aimed at the awareness and adoption by farmers of improved technologies, such as new wheat varieties, should recognize the heterogeneity in the farmers’ socioeconomic and farm-specific characteristics

Agricultural Market Competitiveness in the Context of Climate Change: A Systematic Review

Climate change poses a significant threat to food security, poverty alleviation, and the economic growth generated by agriculture. In 2020, it is anticipated that the massive impacts of climate change, warfare, pests, and spreading infectious diseases will jeopardize food production, damage the supply chains, and over-stretch people’s ability to obtain nutritious foods at affordable/reasonable prices, threatening agricultural markets’ competitiveness. The study compiles information on climate change, competitiveness, and literature that links these phenomena to agricultural market competitiveness. The objective is to investigate the peer-reviewed and gray literature on the subject and explore the link between climate change and agricultural market competitiveness. Moreover, this study aims to find an appropriate technique to validate this assumed relationship. The findings indicate that there is currently no comprehensive measure/composite index for assessing the agricultural sector’s global competitiveness. The majority of used indicators of agricultural competitiveness do not account for the effects of climate change on agricultural market competitiveness. The study concludes by outlining implications/justifications for developing a global agricultural competitiveness index incorporating climate change impacts. The index is essential to maximize the potential of agricultural markets for optimizing the agricultural sectors’ competitiveness, and also to ensure global food security

Factors Determining Child Labor: Empirical Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Received 30 July 2021. Accepted 17 February 2022. Published online 11 April 2022.Children are forced to work when their families face financial pressures due to poverty, illness, or the loss of jobs. There is, however, still a perceived lack of research on the key factors contributing to child labor in Pakistan. This study examines the determinants of child labor in Mardan and Nowshera districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan. A total of 200 households were interviewed. A semistructured questionnaire was developed to collect data from the family heads whose children are in child labor. A stepwise-regression model was adopted to explore the strength of the relationship between independent variables and dependent variable. The dependent variable was the child labor ratio and the independent variables were the socio-economic and demographic’ characteristics such as age, education, family size, parents’ occupation, the number of adult males and females, family income. The findings show that the family size was the most important determinant of child labor. Likewise, the number of adult females, parents’ occupation as daily wages labor, and the parents’ age had a positive influence on the extent of child labor. However, the number of adult males, family income, and parents’ education had a negative relationship with the extent of child labor. The questionnaire survey had shown that families considered poverty to be the main reason behind child labor, unemployment was the second reason and the third was number of dependent females within the families. Therefore, the government may target these families from lower socio-economic backgrounds to disseminate information about family planning and also include these people in the current governmental program to help them financially

Satisfaction of Tuberculosis Patients with Directly Observed Treatment Strategy under Pakistan Health Care Policy: A Mixed-Method Study

(1) Background: Patients’ satisfaction is based on the perceived health care services of individuals and is influenced by the level of care provided by the health care system. It is often based on the patients’ expectations of care and self-assessment of their experiences. The success of the Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (DOTS) also depends on the quality of health care provided at the Tuberculosis (TB) centers, which can be evaluated by satisfaction levels of the patients. (2) Methods: A tuberculosis facility-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. A mixed-method approach was adopted for data collection. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for quantitative data collection from 269 patients who were registered at 11 TB centers and private clinics. Qualitative data were collected through 20 in-depth interviews, 15 key informant interviews, and a focus-group discussion. Binary logistic regression was employed for analysis of the data. (3) Results: More than half of the respondents (63.94%) were satisfied with the DOTS strategy. A high percentage of patients were dissatisfied with the availability of safe water, waiting space for patients, waiting time, privacy, and the processing of appointments. Results from the binary logistic regression showed that gender (AOR = 2.21, CI 1.07–4.58, p = 0.033), marital status (AOR = 3.12, CI 1.45–6.73, p = 0.004), employment status (AOR = 5.22, CI 2.44–1.21, p = 0.000), home ownership (AOR = 3.82, CI 1.94–7.54, p = 0.000), literacy (AOR = 2.17, CI 1.11–4.25, p = 0.023), households’ main occupation (AOR = 4.42, CI 1.12–17.38, p = 0.033), and level of income (AOR = 2.39, CI 1.13–5.04, p = 0.023) were the significant factors affecting satisfaction levels of the patients. (4) Conclusion: There are a number of areas that need improvement for successful TB eradication. Significant work is required to improve the quality of TB care in these specific areas from the patients’ perspective. For instance, female health workers’ involvement in the DOTS program can solve the problems of female respondents in rural areas. Improving the infrastructure facilities at the TB centers, allocation of doctors and nurses at the rural health centers would result in positive outcomes of the DOTS in Pakistan as well as in other developing countries

Factors determining subsistence farmers' access to agricultural credit in flood-prone areas of Pakistan

This paper examines the factors influencing farmers' access to agricultural credit in a flood disaster risk-prone area in Pakistan. Multistage sampling through a structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 168 subsistence landholders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The empirical results of the heteroscedasticity corrected and weighted least squares regression with robust standard errors revealed that education, farming experience, total landholding, monthly income, family size, and proportion of owned land were significant factors in farmers' access to credit. The findings of this study reveal that socio-economic factors play a key role in farmers' access to agricultural credit in flood-hit areas in Pakistan. Hence, there is a need for credit policy to address the issues of farmers living in risk-prone areas. Moreover, the existing credit policy could be amended to protect the interest of tenant farmers, who lack collateral security. Keywords: access to credit, flooding, multiple regression, Pakistan, socio-economic factor

Entrepreneurial Income and Wellbeing: Women’s Informal Entrepreneurship in a Developing Context

This study examines the impact of women’s entrepreneurial income on wellbeing. Women entrepreneurs (N = 504) from district Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan participated in the study. ANOVAs and multiple regressions were used to analyze the impact of predictors on the dependent variables (i.e., per capita income, education, health, entertainment, social, household, and other miscellaneous expenditures, investment, savings, and charity). The findings indicated that women’s informal entrepreneurship has a significant role in family, economic, and societal wellbeing. The results contribute to the understanding of women’s entrepreneurial income on individual and family wellbeing. Women’s informal entrepreneurship plays an important role, particularly in the developing world, consistent with the multiplier effect of women entrepreneurs’’ wellbeing. Measures were suggested to empower such women informal, home-based entrepreneurs in view of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

Women’s Home-Based Entrepreneurship and Family Financial Position in Pakistan

Women’s entrepreneurship is critical for fostering economic growth and inclusive development globally. Women’s home-based businesses are crucial for women with restricted mobility and employment options to earn an income in developing countries. This study considers the impact of women’s home-based entrepreneurship on their family’s financial position. We collected data from 504 women entrepreneurs in Mardan City, Pakistan using a questionnaire/interview procedure. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to analyze the predictors of family financial position. The results showed that women entrepreneurs’ age, marital status, homeownership, rural versus urban location, household size, and business income significantly affect their family’s financial position. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs have a substantial impact on the financial position and welfare of their families consistent with the multiplier effect ascribed to women in entrepreneurship. Implications and directions for future research are discussed

Women’s Home-Based Entrepreneurship and Family Financial Position in Pakistan

Women’s entrepreneurship is critical for fostering economic growth and inclusive development globally. Women’s home-based businesses are crucial for women with restricted mobility and employment options to earn an income in developing countries. This study considers the impact of women’s home-based entrepreneurship on their family’s financial position. We collected data from 504 women entrepreneurs in Mardan City, Pakistan using a questionnaire/interview procedure. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to analyze the predictors of family financial position. The results showed that women entrepreneurs’ age, marital status, homeownership, rural versus urban location, household size, and business income significantly affect their family’s financial position. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs have a substantial impact on the financial position and welfare of their families consistent with the multiplier effect ascribed to women in entrepreneurship. Implications and directions for future research are discussed

Factors Determining the Farmers’ Decision for Adoption and Non-Adoption of Oil Palm Cultivation in Northeast Thailand

Many tropical regions are promoting the cultivation of oil palm. In this regard, different national and international organizations promote oil palm cultivation in Thailand. However, socio-economic and institutional factors are very important to be considered in the adoption of its cultivation. This study aims first to determine the various socio-economic and institutional factors in adopting oil palm cultivation, and second, to explore the role of these stated factors in the extent of the adoption of oil palm. The data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire in Seka of Bueng Kan province of Thailand. The double-hurdle model was used for the estimation of the farmers’ decision to adopt the new technology and the extent of adoption. Results show that the adoption and extent of adoption of oil palm cultivation were positively influenced by gender (male), oil palm training, and access to extension services, while the size of landholding per family member and age negatively influenced its adoption/extent. To increase the adoption rate of oil palm cultivation, young, educated farmers should be encouraged by providing training and credit and extension services should be made accessible