Agricultural credit constraints and borrowing behavior of farmers in rural Punjab

The government of Pakistan introduced several agricultural credit programmes through institutional sources. The impact of these programmes was less than optimal due to rambling credit policies. The farmers were facing many constraints to avail agricultural credit in a timely fashion. The collateral inter alia was one of the major constraints. The objective of the paper is to identify constraints and suggest remedial measures to make efficient use of agricultural credit schemes. Majority of the farmers revealed that they could not avail credit because of needed collateral. The hard hits were tenants and share croppers who do not own land, and thus were unavailable to avail credit. The high mark up both from formal and informal sources was another constraint. The borrowing behavior of the respondents was estimated through the logit model and identified the determinants of credit constraints. The results showed that the coefficients of transitory income, education level, and predicted interest rate have important bearing on borrowing behavior. The household consumption expenditure was positively and significantly determined by operational holding and value of implementsAgricultural credit, Borrowing Behavior, Interest Rate, Collateral. Introduction

Persistent Food Insecurity from Policy Failures in Pakistan

The observable fact was known to be hunger in the 1980s but now terminology has been shifted to insecurity. Improving the household food security is an issue of supreme importance in millions of people in the world who are suffering from persistent hunger and malnutrition and those who are at risk of doing such in the future. Many developing countries are making efforts to improve this situation but they are facing budgetary and resource constraints. Achieving a sufficient food supply and making it sustainable remains a global challenge. Indus agriculture system in Pakistan has experienced a Green Revolution and is striving for yellow and blue revolutions. However, it could have not done far better due to inconsistent and incompatible agriculture policies. Wheat, rice and maize are the dominant food crops in Pakistan. Several programmes and policies have attempted to increase the productivity of these crops and help consumers against better access to food. Wheat is the staple food for Pakistan and due to its erratic production food security becomes insecure; however, if wheat production is coupled with rice and maize Pakistan is a food secure country. The policy paper has reviewed issues confronting the food security equation of the country. The paper highlights the determinants of the food security and policy issues. The lopsided government food and agriculture policies are the main cause of persistent food insecurity in the country.Food Insecurity, Economics Access, Poverty and Terms of Trade

THE EFFECTS OF ICT-BASED LEARNING ON STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY : a quasi experimental research in a junior high school in bandung

This study aimed to examine the effects of ICT-based learning using Wiki on EFL students’ vocabulary mastery at a junior high school. The design of the present study was quasi-experimental study. The population of the study was 125 seventh graders in a junior high school in Bandung. The samples were two groups, Experimental group and control group. Each group comprised of 25 students. The instruments of the study were a pre-test and a post-test of vocabulary mastery. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16.0 for the windows. The findings revealed that there were significant differences at .05 level between experimental group and control group (df =49, t=2.02) which means students in the experimental group have scored higher than the control group. As a recommendation, teachers who are interested in teaching through ICT-based learning should provide an interesting topic on the wiki, let students chat while working online, assign them working at home and well prepare the facilities used in the class before starting the lesson. ;---Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh pembelajaran berbasis ITC dengan menggunakan Wiki pada penguasaan kosa kata para siswa di sekolah menengah pertama. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain eksperimental. Populasi dari penelitian ini adalah 125 siswa dari kelas tujuh di sekolah menengah pertama di Bandung. Terdapat dua sampel dalam penelitian ini yaitu, kelompok eksperimen dan kelompok kontrol. Masing-masing kelompok terdiri dari 25 siswa. Adapun instrumen yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah pre-test dan post-test mengenai penguasaan kosa kata. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan SPSS 16.0 for Windows. Temuan penelitian ini menunjukkan adanya perbedaan yang signifikan pada tingkat 0,05 antara kelompok eksperimen dan kelompok kontrol (df = 49, t=2,02) yang berarti bahwa siswa di kelompok eksperimen memiliki skor yang lebih tinggi dari pada kelompok kontrol. Penelitian ini memberikan rekomendasi kepada guru yang tertarik dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran berbasis ICT untuk memberikan topik yang menarik pada Wiki, memberikan kesempatan kepada siswa untuk berbicara saat berkerja secara online, serta memberikan tugas rumah dan juga menyediakan fasilitas yang akan digunakan di kelas sebelum memulai pembelajaran

Trade Liberalisation Policies, Intra-regional Trade and Opportunities for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Many of the Near East (NE) countries are currently opening their agricultural markets at three distinct but interacting levels: unilateral liberalisation, regional integration schemes and multilateral trade liberalisation. These changes hold important implications for intra- and extra-regional trade, use of agricultural resources and sustainability of agricultural development in the NE countries. Unilaterally, and since the late 1980s, most countries of the region have liberalised their agriculture sectors by eliminating or reducing input subsidies, removing or reducing guaranteed producer prices, reducing the number of subsidised commodities and liberalising the exchange rate and the trade regime. Most of the implicit and explicit subsidies for agricultural inputs and outputs were withdrawn. However, some of the NE countries were able to continue supporting agriculture mainly for food security reasons. Experiences showed that domestic reform is necessary but not sufficient condition for economic growth.

Participatory Irrigation Management and its Financial Viability: A Case Study

Water is a key input of agriculture. In the past, the area under cultivation was small and there was less stress on farmers to grow more and more of each crop. Water was considered a free good. The situation has changed since. The increase in cropping intensity has led to a rise in the demand for irrigation water. Water is not a free good any more. The provision of irrigation water to the farmer’s fields is going to be costlier. The Government of Pakistan is spending heavily on the operation and maintenance of the irrigation system yet shortage of funds is a major reason for deferred maintenance, which threatens the operational integrity of the irrigation system [World Bank (1988) and Haq (1995)]. The shortfall in O&M funding was estimated to be more than 24 percent in 1993 [World Bank (1994)]. As poor O&M has direct effect on the productivity of agriculture, indirectly it affects the whole economy [Carruthers (1981)]. The allocation of funds for the increasing O&M costs is becoming a problem for the Government of Pakistan with every successive year. One logical answer to this problem is to increase abiana1 fees from the users of irrigation water supplies. The revenue collected through abiana may be used for O&M purposes, but it has been reported that the revenue collection is far less than the expenditures incurred. Resultantly the gap has been increasing every year [Chaudhry (1989)]. This situation demands investigation of abiana recovery and increasing O&M costs to know the real situation which in turn will help in deciding whether it is feasible to divert the financing of O&M activities towards farmer organisations (completely or partially). This paper aims at estimating the present level of operation and maintenance expenditures of the H-4-R Distributary and the present situation of the abiana collection and the extent of its leakage through different means.

Persistent Food Insecurity from Policy Failures in Pakistan

Food security means, “All the people, all the time, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preference for an active and healthy life” [FAO (1996)]. Three types of food insecurity generally exist in any country, which are: transitory food insecurity that is short time food insecurity occurs due to sporadic crises; chronic food insecurity that arises as a result of long term but not easily changed conditions; cyclic food insecurity that arises due to seasonal fluctuations. If cyclic food insecurity existed in any country for at least six months than it was called as chronic cyclic food insecurity and if it persisted less than six months than called as transitory cyclic food insecurity. Pakistan has made a lot of progress since independence in the field of agriculture in terms of production, yields, and growth in area under cultivation. Indus agriculture has experienced a Green Revolution and is striving for yellow and blue revolutions. However, it could have done far better. Though the overall growth of the Pakistan’s economy has largely been dependent upon the performance of agriculture, over the years, not much investment has been made for the development of this sector. Agriculture performance still depends upon, quite a lot, upon the weather conditions every year. The yields of most of crops are far below the levels achieved at the progressive farms (extension gap). From the Figure 1 it is evident that in the last decade (90s) food availability was increasing and then went down and formed the inverted u-shape. After that again fluctuating means there is no surety about food security. It is also comparable with agriculture growth rate. According to latest statistics in Pakistan as many as 50 million people are engaged in agriculture operations and produce only 25 million tons of food grains. As against this in India, 546 million people are engaged in agricultural operations and produce 176 million tons of food grains, in USA only 6 million people engaged in agriculture, produce 347 million of food grains

Measure of Awareness on Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability in Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institutions

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is the future of tomorrow's workforce in the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The ability of TVET institutions to prepare their graduates for future employment is paramount. Graduates who are adequately prepared to adapt to the workplace scenario is very much sought after. Job descriptions may differ slightly from their education and training, but strong fundamentals greatly improve a TVET graduate's employability. Part of this employability is the ability to commit to safety and health processes and procedures in the workplace. A survey using an instrument with a meritorious confirmatory factorial analysis was conducted. The items of the survey try to obtain feedback on awareness among the TVET population. The survey was disseminated using an online survey form. Feedbacks were analyzed using statistical packages to determine the respondents' replies. Utilizing the Pareto analysis, significant items based on respondents' feedback were identified. From the analysis, two hypotheses were formulated, which were then tested using independent samples test to obtain the significant value of the test. From the Pareto analysis, only 40% of the respondents were knowledgeable to assist if there were any safety and health concerns. Further analysis proved that gender did not influence having the knowledge to assist in any safety and health concerns. Additionally, having an industrial experience did not influence having the knowledge to assist in any safety and health concerns. The study on the awareness of occupational health and safety in TVET institutions is still a scarce research topic. By taking into consideration this research study, practical implications focusing on various stakeholders of educational systems; accreditation agencies and government bodies, TVET institutions, and civil society can be further explored and developed. TVET institutions play a pivotal role in providing a competent workforce to industries. The ability to provide experience in handling safety and health concerns within the curriculum can improve TVET graduates’ competency and marketability. However, being a developing country, further research needs to be conducted on safety and health for TVET institutions

Year of India: Tabla Master Zakir Hussain with Rakesh Chaurasia, Bansuri

This special performance features Zakir Hussain, tabla virtuoso and internationally acclaimed percussionist and world musician, with bansuri player Rakesh Chaurasia. Presented as part of KSU\u27s Year of India, this event is a collaboration between the KSU School of Music and KSU\u27s Division of Global Affairs.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/2040/thumbnail.jp

Effect of nano α-MnO2 addition on thermal decomposition and compressive properties of epoxy

The ability of a nanocomposite material to withstand high temperatures and maintain strength is crucial for the design of products and processes. This research examined the thermal decomposition and compressive properties of α-MnO2/epoxy polymer nanocomposites. The samples were created using a simple, inexpensive solution technique. The scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis indicated the formation of α-MnO2 nanosheets. The thermal analysis revealed that the addition of α-MnO2 increased the glass transition temperature of the epoxy. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the residue was left at 550°C for a sample of pure epoxy with a loading of 0.1 wt.%. 0.2 wt.%, 0.3 wt.%, and 0.5 wt.% of α-MnO2 were 9.55%, 11.05%, 16.78%, 17.37%, and 21.20%, respectively. As a result, the nanocomposites were more thermally stable than pure epoxy. The compressive characteristics were tested using a universal testing machine. Compression test results showed that the addition of α-MnO2 decreased the compressive properties of the epoxy matrix. However, the brittleness of nanocomposites increased. Images captured at the microscopic level showed that the sample cracked and fractured during testing. The reduced compressive property values were associated with reduced α-MnO2 dispersion in the epoxy, the shape of α-MnO2 nanosheets, and the generation of air voids during the synthesis process. As a result, the α-MnO2 nanosheets reduce the compressive properties of the nanocomposites by acting as stress enhancers. The nanocomposite can be used as a thermal heat-resistant material.  

Trade Liberalisation Policies, Intra-regional Trade and Opportunities for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Many of the Near East (NE) countries are currently opening their agricultural markets at three distinct but interacting levels: unilateral liberalisation, regional integration schemes and multilateral trade liberalisation. These changes hold important implications for intra- and extra-regional trade, use of agricultural resources and sustainability of agricultural development in the NE countries. Unilaterally, and since the late 1980s, most countries of the region have liberalised their agriculture sectors by eliminating or reducing input subsidies, removing or reducing guaranteed producer prices, reducing the number of subsidised commodities and liberalising the exchange rate and the trade regime. Most of the implicit and explicit subsidies for agricultural inputs and outputs were withdrawn. However, some of the NE countries were able to continue supporting agriculture mainly for food security reasons. Experiences showed that domestic reform is necessary but not sufficient condition for economic growth