Journal of Innovative Agriculture and Social Development

Determination of Linkages among Citrus Growers and Agricultural Extension Workers: Evidence in Punjab, Pakistan

Abdullah Hammad, Asghar Ali, Ali Tahir — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This current study aimed to determine and improve the adaptation level of citrus farmers by finding the extent of linkage between farmers and extension workers. The main objectives were the identification of specific knowledge deficiency areas of farmers regarding citrus crop; constraints faced by citrus growers and differentiate the adaptation level of adopters and non-adopters. Primary data were collected from 400 citrus growers through well-structured and pre-tested questionnaire from four districts of Punjab province of Pakistan i.e. Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh, Bhakkar and Layyah. Out of the total 400 targeted citrus growers, 60 were adopters while 360 were non-adopters (randomly selected farmers). The stratified random sampling technique was used for data collection. Twenty-five extension agents were interviewed from each district thus making a total of 100 extension workers from four districts in the study area. The knowledge deficient areas of farmers and lack of adaptation of recommendations as inquired from citrus growers and extension agents were divided into nine categories ranging from land preparation to post-harvest operations. The factor analysis was used to identify the constraints faced by the citrus growers. The extension agents were of the view that the farmer’s adaptation found to be high. The detailed analysis revealed that adopters were aware of pest, nursery and plant/cultural management while they had poor knowledge of processing/ packaging, land preparation and soil and irrigation management. The non-adopters were lacking in processing/packaging, land preparation and soil management, irrigation and harvesting management. However, they had good knowledge of pest, nursery and plant/cultural management. It is recommended that government should fill the vacant posts to increase the extension workers to farmers’ ratio. The In-Service training of the extension workers must be conducted regularly to refresh their knowledge and capacity building so that the latest techniques may be disseminated to the farmers to increase the profitability of citrus. Study recommended that farmers must be provided latest information regarding post-harvest operations other than only production practices.

Economic Analysis of Groundnut Cultivation on the Basis of Gross Margin: A Case Study of Pothwar Region in Punjab Pakistan

Samreen, Rafiq Ahmad, Ghulam Rabbani, Ghulam Abbas — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a major cash crop of the Pothwar region. Different research had been carried out for the promotion and commercialization of groundnut. However, this study is formulated to compare per acre gross margin, per acre yield, and area under cultivation of three different districts of Punjab i.e. Chakwal, Talagang, and Attock. Data is collected from 43 farmers of three districts of the Pothwar region i.e. Talagang, Chakwal, and Attock through a well-structured questionnaire Performa. In this study, we also economically analyzed the BARI-2016 variety of groundnut crop on the basis of financial metrics like return on investment, Net farm income, and benefit-cost ratio. Similarly, the main focus of this study was to compare the gross margin of the BARI-2016 variety to the Desi variety of the groundnut crop. For varietal gross margin comparison, this study employed the paired sample t-test technique. Descriptive statistics results showed that Chakwal's district per acre yield and gross margin are higher in comparison toother two districts. Financial matrices results directed that BARI-2016 variety has increase potential for farmers regarding highest benefit-cost ratio. However, paired sample t-test results indicated that there is a significant difference between per acre gross margin of the BARI-2016 and Desi variety and the BARI-2016 variety's gross margin is higher as compared to the conventional Desi variety. Based on the findings, thereby farmers should adopt to cultivate new approved varieties of groundnut along with new production techniques to increase their per acre yield and gross margin which in turn will boost their level of profit.

Unlocking Happiness: Socioeconomic Determinants Across Selected Asian Countries

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The current study was conducted to examine the factors that contribute to happiness of the individuals in selected Asian countries. The panel data from year 2006 to 2023 of thirty Asian countries were collected from world Happiness Report (WHR), World Development Indicator (WDI) and KOF Index. Two models were constructed, and in each model, happiness was used as a dependent variable with thirteen independent variables (viz., social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, perception of corruption, private consumption, inflation, unemployment, government expenditure and globalization, economic globalization, social globalization and political globalization) in both models. The results of both the models were attained via Fixed Effect technique. In both the models, one social factor: social support and one economic factor: government expenditures appeared to be statistically significant positive determinants of happiness, whereas, three economic factors (viz., inflation, unemployment and private consumption) appeared as statistically significant negative determinants of happiness. The results indicated that overall globalization (model-1) and, economic globalization and social globalization (model -2) had statistically significant positive impact on happiness. It was concluded that in the overall globalization index, the share of economic and social globalizations is more effective to make individuals happy than that of political globalization. The governments of the selected Asian countries are recommended that they should focus on creating an environment to increase social support and should extend efforts to accelerate social and economic globalization. Governments should spend on welfare projects to feel people happy via bringing down inflation and unemployment rates and discouraging conspicuous private consumption.

Determinants of Choice of Postharvest Practices in Mango and Passion Fruit Loss Management in Selected Counties of Kenya

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Mango and passion fruits are highly perishable and despite the gains in their production, postharvest loss management remain a major challenge. This study therefore sought to identify the determinants of choice of postharvest practices in postharvest loss management of mango and passion fruit in Makueni, Machakos, Embu, Uasin Gishu and Trans-Nzoia Counties. Descriptive cross-sectional design was used on a target population of 18750 smallholder mango and passion fruit households to get a sample size of 402 households through cluster random sampling. The study considered storage location, packaging materials, vehicle transport, store type and cleanliness of the harvest equipment as the postharvest practices. Multivariate probit model was utilised in the analysis of the determinants of the postharvest practices’ choices. Age, years of schooling, group membership, access to electricity, access to bank account and internet had a positive and significant effect on the choice of postharvest practices. Gender, access to agricultural training, credit access and off-farm income had a negative significant effect on postharvest practices choices. Increased involvement of men in the postharvest stage lowered the adoption of proper choice of transport and handling of fruit produce by 62%. Agricultural training had a negative and significant effect on the choice of store (p=0.059<0.1) and the choice of vehicle transport (p=0.000<0.01) for the harvested produce. The multivariate analysis showed that agricultural training accessed is associated with 78.6% decrease of the farmers with proper vehicle transport and 34.1% decrease on store type utilized for harvested produce. The model showed that 88.7% of the farmers accessed credit for other farming needs other than postharvest loss management. The findings show that agricultural training offered focuses more on increasing production and farmers channel more of their income and credit to production and very little to postharvest management. It is recommended that National and County Departments offering agricultural training to mango and passion fruit farmers should emphasize not only on fruit production practices but also on postharvest loss management. Farmers need also to invest not only on increasing fruit production but also on postharvest management.

Exploring Consumer Decision-Making and Preferences for Haor-Captured Fish in North-Eastern Bangladesh

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Haor fish are one of the significant food items in Bangladeshi consumers' diets. This study aimed to explore consumers’ purchasing preferences for haor fish and interviewed 200 respondents from eleven northeastern fish markets through convenience sampling. The ordered logit model was applied to determine the factors behind consumers’ preferences. Results revealed that 58% of consumers highly preferred to buy haor fish, while 35% and 7% showed moderate and low preferences, respectively. The statement “haor fish are a great source of protein” received the highest consumer variation (1.96), while the lowest variation (0.10) was for the statement “premium quality haor fish are not sold locally.” Monthly income, expenditure on haor fish, average price of haor fish, freshness, and taste were found to affect consumer preferences significantly. On average, 77% of consumers lessened their consumption when the price increased, while 23% continued their consumption irrespective of the price rise. Despite having strong preferences for haor fish, nearly 45% of consumers’ consumption has significantly reduced above 10% from their usual level, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, 74% of consumers responded about the extreme use of chemical inputs, premature harvesting of fish using prohibited nets, illegal occupying of haor lands and excavation, and destroying natural sources of fish food as responsible factors for the reduced market supply of haor fish. Extension services can be provided to fisherman regarding sustainable haor fish production and restore wetland ecosystem. Also, authorized marketing agencies may arrange regular market monitoring to ensure affordable purchasing power for consumers.