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Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis
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Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2022) | Viewed by 56914

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Wojciech J. Florkowski

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223-1797, USA
Interests: agricultural and food economics; consumer choice and behavior; environmental economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food security is a multifaceted issue that continues to receive much attention from researchers across the world. Food security affects rural and urban households, whether engaged in raising food or not. Among those affected are family farmers whose efforts are challenged by issues such as weather events, climate change, poor storage, input markets, lack of accurate price signals, and sales contract enforcement failure, to name a few. Furthermore, among farming households facing food insecurity are not only the ultra-poor subsistence farmers but those who participate in market exchanges, at least seasonally. Education, experience, access to extension services and current knowledge, and division of responsibilities within a family farm household also may influence household food security. The recent global COVID-19 pandemic has become a potential source of food insecurity to farm households that did not experience food shortage in the past. Those and related topics are of interest to this issue of Agriculture.

This Special Issue invites submissions addressing these and other issues shaping food security across the world’s farms and farming communities. Food security includes food loss and food waste interpreted as unintended outcomes (FAO, 2019). The ability to raise food but a failure to protect it may be exacerbated by poor storage that has been understudied in the context of food security and transportation, causing quality changes leading to loss and food insecurity. The choice of crops, farming technique, and household labor resources are increasingly important because of unpredictable weather patterns from one growing season to another. The persistence of shifting weather patterns over time requires an ability to adapt, including raising new crops and acceptance of their use in farm household members’ diet. Empirical studies applying rigorous methods to examine such circumstances are encouraged, focusing on economic aspects and farmer decision-making using micro-level data.

Prof. Dr. Wojciech J. Florkowski
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Food insecurity
  • Food loss
  • Climate change
  • Family farm
  • Sustainability
  • Diet quality
  • Agricultural productivity
  • Safety
  • Policy
  • Distribution

Published Papers (15 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1991 KiB  
Article
Eco-Efficiency Analysis to Improve Environmental Performance of Wheat Production
by Ali Mohammadi, G. Venkatesh, Samieh Eskandari and Shahin Rafiee
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 1031; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12071031 - 14 Jul 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2534
Abstract
Though increasing food supply in order to meet the rising demand for nutrition is a global social imperative, reducing the dependence on imports of essential food commodities is both an economic and a geo-political imperative for national governments. However, in light of the [...] Read more.
Though increasing food supply in order to meet the rising demand for nutrition is a global social imperative, reducing the dependence on imports of essential food commodities is both an economic and a geo-political imperative for national governments. However, in light of the Sustainable Development Goals, although Zero Hunger (SDG2) and Good Health and Well-Being (SDG3) can be ensured within a country when the inhabitants are well-nourished and staple food items remain affordable to one and all, oftentimes, there are trade-offs in the process, with the environmental dimensions—SDGs 13 (Climate action), 14 (Life below water) and 15 (Life on Land). In this paper, using a combination of Environmental-Life Cycle Assessment (E-LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), the authors have evaluated the eco-efficiency of 169 wheat cultivation systems in the Golestan province in the north of Iran. Benchmarking performance based on the best-performing wheat farms and optimizing (decreasing essentially) the consumption of resources, will enable an average reduction of between 10% and 16% in global warming, acidification, eutrophication, and non-renewable energy usage of the wheat cultivation systems in the case study region. The authors recommend the use of this combination not only for wheat cultivation in other regions of the world, but also for other agricultural systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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14 pages, 614 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of Youth-in-Agribusiness Program on Poverty and Vulnerability to Poverty in Nigeria
by Lateef Olalekan Bello, Lloyd J. S. Baiyegunhi, Gideon Danso-Abbeam, Adebayo Isaiah Ogunniyi, Kehinde Olagunju, Tahirou Abdoulaye, Victor Manyong, Zoumana Bamba and Bola Amoke Awotide
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 735; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12050735 - 23 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2841
Abstract
Poverty persists in many developing countries, including Nigeria, owing to inadequate infrastructure, unemployment, or poor working conditions, among other factors. Youth poverty and vulnerability to poverty have been identified to prevalent among the young population. Using an endogenous switching probit regression approach, in [...] Read more.
Poverty persists in many developing countries, including Nigeria, owing to inadequate infrastructure, unemployment, or poor working conditions, among other factors. Youth poverty and vulnerability to poverty have been identified to prevalent among the young population. Using an endogenous switching probit regression approach, in this study, we evaluated the impacts of youth participation in agribusiness programs (YIAPs) on poverty and vulnerability to poverty in Nigeria. Our findings revealed that some demographic and institutional factors significantly influence poverty and vulnerability to poverty among youth. The impact estimates indicate that participation in an agribusiness program has a significant positive effect on poverty reduction among youth. Moreover, there would have been about a 28% reduction in exposure to future poverty for non-participants had they participated in a YIAP. Our results suggest that intervention programs, such as YIAPs, that focus on skill acquisition and youth empowerment should be strengthened and scaled-up in order to improve youth welfare and subsequently reduce/eradicate poverty and vulnerability to poverty among youth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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19 pages, 684 KiB  
Article
Assuring Food Security: Consumers’ Ethical Risk Perception of Meat Substitutes
by Weijun Liu, Zhipeng Hao, Wojciech J. Florkowski, Linhai Wu and Zhengyong Yang
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 671; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12050671 - 08 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4295
Abstract
The world’s growing population requires an adequate supply of protein to maintain food security, but animal protein production is limited by the finite resources of land, fresh water, and ocean capacity. Several meat substitutes offer protein alternatives that may improve food security in [...] Read more.
The world’s growing population requires an adequate supply of protein to maintain food security, but animal protein production is limited by the finite resources of land, fresh water, and ocean capacity. Several meat substitutes offer protein alternatives that may improve food security in less-developed economies. However, perceptions of difference in the ethical risk associated with consumption of plant-based substitutes (PM) vs. cultured meat (CM) may affect purchases of these products. This study examined differences in ethical risk perception using online survey data gathered in 2020. An ordered logit technique yielded the probabilities of changes in ethical risk perception influenced by demographic attributes, views about the technology, and adequacy of industry regulations. The results show that consumers associated PM with low ethical risk. Educated consumers were more likely to agree that the ethical risks of CM are higher than PM and to regard PM products as safer than CM. Price sensitivity made consumers more likely to agree that the ethical risks related to CM are higher than those related to PM. Ingredient safety concerns increased the ethical risk perception of CM. Consumers perceiving the meat substitute classification to be unclear were more likely to assign a higher ethical risk to CM than PM. The perception of ethical risk associated with CM was greater than that associated with PM if meat substitute industry regulations were inadequate. The results suggest a need to provide verifiable information about each type of meat substitute as well as transparent and understandable standards and rules before these products can improve protein availability and food security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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17 pages, 1292 KiB  
Article
Food Losses in Consumer Cereal Production in Poland in the Context of Food Security and Environmental Impact
by Sylwia Łaba, Grażyna Cacak-Pietrzak, Robert Łaba, Alicja Sułek and Krystian Szczepański
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 665; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12050665 - 05 May 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2917
Abstract
Food loss is a serious global problem, particularly in developed countries; in the European Union, approximately 20% of the food produced each year is wasted. Food losses occur in the entire agri-food chain, starting from primary production, through post-harvest operations and storage, processing, [...] Read more.
Food loss is a serious global problem, particularly in developed countries; in the European Union, approximately 20% of the food produced each year is wasted. Food losses occur in the entire agri-food chain, starting from primary production, through post-harvest operations and storage, processing, distribution and consumption. The paper presents the results of studies on the evaluation of food losses at the stage of primary production (agricultural production) of consumer cereals in Poland in the context of their impact on the environment and ensuring food security. It was shown that the amount of food losses in the first link of the agri-food chain in the cereal sector in 2017–2018 was on average 219.6 thousand tonnes per year. The level of losses per farm averaged 0.91 tonnes, which accounted for 1.7% of total production. The weight of consumer grain waste at the primary production stage, calculated on the basis of the results of food losses and taking into account the grain management methods, amounted to an average of 117.24 thousand tonnes/year, which accounted for 23.08% of all food waste generated at the primary production stage. By relating the amount of food losses in the primary production of consumer cereals in Poland to the assumed emission factor, it was calculated that food losses at the stage of production of consumer cereals during a year are responsible for the emission of 0.608 million tonnes of CO2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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17 pages, 771 KiB  
Article
Impact of Intensive Youth Participation in Agriculture on Rural Households’ Revenue: Evidence from Rice Farming Households in Nigeria
by Idowu James Fasakin, Adebayo Isaiah Ogunniyi, Lateef Olalekan Bello, Djana Mignouna, Razack Adeoti, Zoumana Bamba, Tahirou Abdoulaye and Bola Amoke Awotide
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 584; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12050584 - 22 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3494
Abstract
The youth unemployment situation is an essential component of the current agricultural policy agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Deep-rooted debates on finding a lasting solution to this problem using agriculture have been targeted as one of the panaceas. Using data from [...] Read more.
The youth unemployment situation is an essential component of the current agricultural policy agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Deep-rooted debates on finding a lasting solution to this problem using agriculture have been targeted as one of the panaceas. Using data from 207 systematically selected rice-producing households, this study employed the Propensity Score Matching method (PSM) and the Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment method (IPWRA) to examine the effect of intensive youth participation in agriculture on productivity and household revenue in Nigeria. We found that the key factors influencing the decisions of youth to participate in agriculture intensively include the number of years of farming experience, access to credit, membership in social groups, income, and land access. The PSM results indicate that rice productivity could increase by 1088.78 kg/ha if youth decide to intensively participate in agriculture. The IPWRA results show a positive and significant impact of intensive youth participation in agriculture on productivity and revenue. Therefore, our results suggest that efforts by the government and stakeholders towards encouraging flexible accessibility to credit (low-interest and easy repayment) and land without collateral to young people could enhance their participation in intensive agriculture and could subsequently boost productivity and household revenue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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12 pages, 274 KiB  
Article
The Altruistic Behaviour of Consumers Who Prefer a Local Origin of Organic Food
by Adam Czudec
Agriculture 2022, 12(4), 567; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12040567 - 16 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2678
Abstract
Despite the fact that consumer behaviour in the organic foods market has been the subject of numerous studies in various countries around the world, little research has been devoted to the assessment of the importance of the altruistic behaviour of consumers who prefer [...] Read more.
Despite the fact that consumer behaviour in the organic foods market has been the subject of numerous studies in various countries around the world, little research has been devoted to the assessment of the importance of the altruistic behaviour of consumers who prefer a local origin of such food. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine the motives of organic food consumers for their interest in the local origin of food in the context of behaviour defined as either altruistic or egoistic. The study was carried out among 850 consumers of organic foods in Poland. The Kruskal–Wallis test and Dunn’s post hoc test were used for the analysis of empirical data. This study shows that the emphasis on the importance of the local origin of this kind of food by organic food consumers is related to their awareness of the needs of other people; specifically, this is demonstrated by these consumers taking into account the importance of caring for the natural environment in their purchasing decisions. Therefore, this is an example of altruistic behaviour which also fits into the concept of reflexive localism. It was further determined that this consumer group has a stronger and more robust relationship with the organic food market than the market’s other members. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
24 pages, 1444 KiB  
Article
Volatility in Live Calf, Live Sheep, and Feed Wheat Return Markets: A Threat to Food Price Stability in Turkey
by Faruk Urak, Abdulbaki Bilgic, Gürkan Bozma, Wojciech J. Florkowski and Erkan Efekan
Agriculture 2022, 12(4), 566; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12040566 - 16 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3260
Abstract
The volatility of meat prices affects the accessibility and even food security of some consumers in Turkey. This study analyses the prices of selected livestock and a major feed component, wheat, as well as the exchange rate of the domestic currency in Turkey [...] Read more.
The volatility of meat prices affects the accessibility and even food security of some consumers in Turkey. This study analyses the prices of selected livestock and a major feed component, wheat, as well as the exchange rate of the domestic currency in Turkey because imports augmented the domestic live calf and sheep supply. The analysis applies 470 price observations from January 2005 to October 2019 for each of the following price series: live calf, live sheep, feed wheat, and exchange rate of Turkish lira to US dollar. The series are analyzed by using the VAR-Asymmetric BEKK-GARCH technique. The results show that the elicited conditional variances of the return series were significantly affected by both short-term shocks and shocks across the return series. The uncertainties in the live calf, live sheep, and feed wheat markets were affected by both long-term volatilities and long-term swings in their own and the other markets, but their own market-induced effects were stronger. Similarly, the conditional variances of the returns of live calves, live sheep, and feed wheat were significantly affected by the rapid price ascent in the exchange rate and the periods of livestock imports as compared to the periods when imports were absent. The unfavorable news exerted particularly negative effects on persistent volatility in markets. Additionally, the live sheep market faced greater risks than the live calf or wheat markets and was greatly affected by the limited domestic sheep supply. Results provide knowledge useful in augmenting policy, assuring sustained accessibility to animal protein in Turkey and eliminating food insecurity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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15 pages, 1470 KiB  
Article
Technical Efficiency and Economic Analysis of Rice Crop in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: A Stochastic Frontier Approach
by Salman Khan, Syed Attaullah Shah, Shahid Ali, Amjad Ali, Lal K. Almas and Sania Shaheen
Agriculture 2022, 12(4), 503; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12040503 - 02 Apr 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4745
Abstract
Pakistan is one of the world’s leading producers, exporters, and consumers of rice. This study analyzes the technical efficiency of rice growing farmers in the Swat district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. A three-stage sampling procedure was used to interview 204 [...] Read more.
Pakistan is one of the world’s leading producers, exporters, and consumers of rice. This study analyzes the technical efficiency of rice growing farmers in the Swat district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. A three-stage sampling procedure was used to interview 204 rice growers through a well-structured and pretested interview schedule. The maximum likelihood function results showed that chemicals, urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), labor, and farmyard manure (FYM-dummy) were positive and had a statistically significant effect on rice yield; this implies that a 1% increase in chemicals, urea, DAP, labor, and FYM leads to an increase in rice production by 0.22%, 0.25%, 0.02%, 0.03%, and 0.01%, respectively. The estimated results of model 2 reported that respondents’ age had a positive significant effect on inefficiency, showing that with a rise in farmers’ age, the farmers’ inefficiency significantly increased. The education and experience of farmers were negative and significant, implying that these variables significantly decreased the farmers’ inefficiency. Furthermore, the results showed the mean technical efficiency as 87%, with a minimum of 66% and a maximum of 99%. The study recommends that the extension department needs to arrange training programs for the rice growers in this specific area to boost rice yield, enhance agronomic skills, and facilitate these farmers with the technical knowledge for efficient production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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26 pages, 1276 KiB  
Article
The Efficiency of Public Financial Support Investments into Dairy Farms in Poland by the European Union
by Krzysztof Zalewski, Piotr Bórawski, Ireneusz Żuchowski, Andrzej Parzonko, Lisa Holden and Tomasz Rokicki
Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 186; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12020186 - 28 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2949
Abstract
The main aim of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of the use of public financial support investment activities into selected dairy farms in Poland. The research targeted 207 farms that earned their living through milk production and benefited from the 2011–2014 [...] Read more.
The main aim of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of the use of public financial support investment activities into selected dairy farms in Poland. The research targeted 207 farms that earned their living through milk production and benefited from the 2011–2014 European Union (EU) financial support for investments carried out under the “modernization of agricultural holdings” included in the Rural Development Programme (RDP 2007–2013). Two research hypotheses were developed for this work. The first research hypothesis, “the possibility of obtaining funding for an investment is a factor that determines its implementation”, was positively verified. This was mainly due to the size of the investments carried out in the research farms, where an average increase in fixed assets was recorded at the level of 90%. The econometric calculations were carried out indirectly from the declarations of the farmers themselves, who, during the research, excluded the possibility of carrying out investments without receiving external support. The second research hypothesis, “investments carried out in farms improved their economic situation”, was positively verified. This was shown with the calculated results of agricultural income in the research farms, which increased in the analyzed period from 66.5%, to 125%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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20 pages, 9085 KiB  
Article
Cereal-Legume Value Chain Analysis: A Case of Smallholder Production in Selected Areas of Malawi
by Giacomo Branca, Luca Cacchiarelli, Valentina D’Amico, Laifolo Dakishoni, Esther Lupafya, Mufunanji Magalasi, Chiara Perelli and Alessandro Sorrentino
Agriculture 2021, 11(12), 1217; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11121217 - 02 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3593
Abstract
This article analyses the cereal-legume value chain in Malawi through a comprehensive VC Map, a SWOT exercise and a policy analysis. VC participation entails a number of challenges for smallholders. Limited access to land, technology and inputs, inadequate knowledge of market functioning, insufficient [...] Read more.
This article analyses the cereal-legume value chain in Malawi through a comprehensive VC Map, a SWOT exercise and a policy analysis. VC participation entails a number of challenges for smallholders. Limited access to land, technology and inputs, inadequate knowledge of market functioning, insufficient access to credit and extension services, combined with more general problems of poor infrastructures, often prevent smallholder farmers from accessing profitable market opportunities. The effectiveness of national policies (e.g., public extension service support, inputs subsidy system) oriented to increase smallholders’ market access is often constrained by inadequate financial capacity, an inefficient public extension services system and limited involvement of privates in the extension services scheme. VC interventions should distinguish between VC-ready farmers, namely those provided with the minimum conditions of external and internal factors, and non-value-chain-ready farmers. Market-based interventions (e.g., enhancing VC coordination) are needed for enhancing market access of value-chain-ready farmers. Conversely, while non-market-based interventions (e.g., investments in basic infrastructure, increasing extension services, credit and inputs access) prove necessary to build the minimum asset thresholds for non-value-chain-ready farmers’ participation in the market. A smallholder-friendly VC development relies on the role played by VC actors and the need to harmonise and improve existing policies to remove inadequacies, conflicts and overlaps in the various institutions charged with implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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18 pages, 591 KiB  
Article
R&D Innovation Adoption, Climatic Sensitivity, and Absorptive Ability Contribution for Agriculture TFP Growth in Pakistan
by Muhammad Usman, Gulnaz Hameed, Abdul Saboor, Lal K. Almas and Muhammad Hanif
Agriculture 2021, 11(12), 1206; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11121206 - 30 Nov 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2427
Abstract
Innovation adoptions in agriculture sustain high total factor productivity (TFP) growth and overcome a potential production gap, which is beneficial for food security. Research and development (R&D) innovation adoption in agriculture sector is dependent on producers’ willingness to adopt, knowledge capital spillovers, and [...] Read more.
Innovation adoptions in agriculture sustain high total factor productivity (TFP) growth and overcome a potential production gap, which is beneficial for food security. Research and development (R&D) innovation adoption in agriculture sector is dependent on producers’ willingness to adopt, knowledge capital spillovers, and financial capacity. This research aims to investigate the impact of R&D innovation adoption and climate factors on agriculture TFP growth in Pakistan. The annual time series data were collected from different sources for the period of 1972–2020. For measuring the agriculture TFP, this study adopted the Cobb Douglas and Translog production functions. To analyze the impact of R&D innovation adoption and climate change on agricultural productivity, the dynamic autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and two-stage least square (TSLS) approaches were applied for regression analysis. The study outcomes highlight that the agricultural innovation adoption has a significantly positive impact on agriculture TFP growth in Pakistan with weak farmers’ absorptive ability. According to the results, agriculture tractors, innovative seed distribution, and fertilizer consumptions make a significantly positive contribution to agriculture TFP growth. Further, rainfall shows a positive and significant impact on agricultural productivity, where a moderate climate is beneficial for agricultural productivity. The estimation results contain policy suggestions for sustainable R&D adoption and agrarians’ absorptive ability. Based on the obtained results, it has been suggested that producers should focus on R&D innovation adoption to attain higher productivity. The government needs to emphasize innovative technology adoption, specifically to implement the extension services to increase farmers’ education, skills based training, and networking among the farmers to enhance their knowledge capital and absorptive ability. The farmers should also focus on the adoption of climate smart agriculture that can be achieved through the proper utilization of rainwater. For this purpose, the government needs to develop small community dams and large-scale dams for better use of rainwater harvesting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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20 pages, 1412 KiB  
Article
Assessing Food Insecurity and Its Drivers among Smallholder Farming Households in Rural Oyo State, Nigeria: The HFIAS Approach
by Olutosin A. Otekunrin, Oluwaseun A. Otekunrin, Barbara Sawicka and Piotr Pszczółkowski
Agriculture 2021, 11(12), 1189; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11121189 - 25 Nov 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6249
Abstract
Hunger and food insecurity take center stage in most debates in Africa, and in recent times with serious concerns about Nigeria. This study assessed food insecurity among farming households in rural Oyo State, Nigeria, using cross-sectional datasets from 211 farming households through a [...] Read more.
Hunger and food insecurity take center stage in most debates in Africa, and in recent times with serious concerns about Nigeria. This study assessed food insecurity among farming households in rural Oyo State, Nigeria, using cross-sectional datasets from 211 farming households through a multi-stage sampling procedure. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) module was employed in assessing food insecurity status of farming households, and the ordered logit model (OLM) was used to analyze factors influencing food insecurity among farming households. The results revealed that 12.8% of the farming households were food secure while 87.2% had varying levels of food insecurity. The OLM results indicated that age, household head’s years of schooling, gender, farm size, farm experience, non-farm income, food expenditure, and access to extension service significantly influenced food insecurity among farming households. Based on the findings, efforts should be geared towards promoting households’ education-related intervention programs in order to improve their nutrition-related knowledge that can enhance their food security status. Additionally, there should be provision of rural infrastructural facilities such as piped water, rural electrification, and healthcare service that promote healthy living and enhance households’ agricultural productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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13 pages, 2091 KiB  
Article
Underutilised Indigenous Vegetables for Household Dietary Diversity in Southwest Nigeria
by Victoria Adeyemi Tanimonure, Diego Naziri, Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe and Adeolu Babatunde Ayanwale
Agriculture 2021, 11(11), 1064; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11111064 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2613
Abstract
The diets of many households in developing countries are monotonous and starch-based. Integrating underutilised indigenous vegetables (UIVs) to cropping systems can contribute to both crop and dietary diversities, thereby improving rural households’ nutrition and boosting food security. Therefore, this study established a link [...] Read more.
The diets of many households in developing countries are monotonous and starch-based. Integrating underutilised indigenous vegetables (UIVs) to cropping systems can contribute to both crop and dietary diversities, thereby improving rural households’ nutrition and boosting food security. Therefore, this study established a link between the UIVs’ diversity and the household dietary diversity (HDD) of the UIVs producers in the rural area of Southwest Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 191 UIV-producing households in the region. Their HDD was measured based on the 12 unique food groups consumed by households over a 7-day reference period preceding the survey, and negative binomial Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between UIV diversities, other sociodemographic characteristics, and the HDD score of the UIV-producing households in the area. The results showed that only about four groups of food contributed greatly to the HDD score. The result of the negative binomial Poisson regression analysis showed UIVs diversity as a significant variable that increased the HDD score in the study area. Other factors that determined the HDD score of UIV-producing households were the marital status of the household head, farm distance from the home, UIVs land area, off-farm income, UIVs gross margin, per capita food expenditure, and Oyo location. The study concluded that the inclusion of diverse underutilised indigenous vegetables into cropping systems in rural areas and vegetable home gardening practices in the rural and urban areas of developing countries could alleviate the challenge of nutrition insecurity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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19 pages, 2636 KiB  
Article
Recent Patterns of Exposure, Sensitivity, and Adaptive Capacity of Selected Crops in Cameroon
by Terence Epule Epule
Agriculture 2021, 11(6), 550; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11060550 - 16 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3048
Abstract
In most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, precipitation is impacted by climate change. In some countries like Cameroon, it is still not clear how maize, millet and rice will respond to changes in growing season precipitation. This work examines the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive [...] Read more.
In most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, precipitation is impacted by climate change. In some countries like Cameroon, it is still not clear how maize, millet and rice will respond to changes in growing season precipitation. This work examines the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the above crops to droughts at both the national and sub-national scale. Crop yield data were culled from FAOSTAT while growing season precipitation data were culled from the database of UNDP/Oxford University and the climate portal of the World Bank. Adaptive capacity proxies (literacy, and poverty rate) were collected from KNOEMA and the African Development Bank. The analysis was performed using the vulnerability index equation. Nationally, millet has the lowest vulnerability and rice has the highest. At the sub-national scale, northern maize has the highest vulnerability followed by western highland rice. It is observed that when scales change, the crops that are vulnerable also change. However, at both levels vulnerability has an inverse relationship with adaptive capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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Review

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21 pages, 8568 KiB  
Review
Hazard Analysis of Traditional Post-Harvest Operation Methods and the Loss Reduction Effect Based on Five Time (5T) Management: The Case of Rice in Jilin Province, China
by Na Zhang, Wenfu Wu, Yujia Wang and Shuyao Li
Agriculture 2021, 11(9), 877; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture11090877 - 13 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6005
Abstract
Traditional post-harvest operation methods applied in rice fields lack advanced management knowledge and technology, which has led to post-harvest losses. We proposed the concept of Five Time (5T) management for the first time. 5T management divides the whole life cycle of rice into [...] Read more.
Traditional post-harvest operation methods applied in rice fields lack advanced management knowledge and technology, which has led to post-harvest losses. We proposed the concept of Five Time (5T) management for the first time. 5T management divides the whole life cycle of rice into different growth time interval to complete process management. This paper mainly introduces the management of rice grain period, that is, the post-harvest management period, including the operation process management of harvesting, field stacking, drying, warehousing, and storing. In 2019, our research team formulated the 5T management method, which considers the entire post-harvest process, and carried out a pilot application of this method at the Jilin Rice Industry Alliance of Jilin Province. Moreover, to promote the 5T management method, our research team carried out follow-up experiments in rice production enterprises and found severe post-harvest rice losses. This paper combined a large number of literature and the basic theory research of rice post-harvest to analyze the traditional methods for post-harvest processing and the associated rice losses. By implementing the 5T management method, 4.33% of losses incurred during the T1 harvesting period could be recovered. In the T2 field period, drying rice within 48 h after harvesting could reduce losses by 2.5%. In the T3 drying period, the loss rate could be reduced by 1.6% if traditional drying methods were replaced by mechanical drying and by 0.6% if cyclic drying was implemented to prevent over-drying. In the T5 storage period, the loss rate of 7% could be reduced by adopting advanced grain storage technologies such as low-temperature storage. Overall, the rice loss rate could be reduced by 15.43%, which is equivalent to a yield of 32.68 million tonnes of rice. The important factors in each period are strictly controlled in the 5T management method to prevent the post-harvest losses caused by flawed concepts and improper management and to increase the amount of usable fertile land. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Food Security and Economic Analysis)
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