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Abstract This study is designed to assess the factors that affect smallholder rice farmer's participation in market. In addition it also examines the effect of commercialization on the welfare of smallholder farmers. The method of Heckman two-stage model is used to obtain the desired objectives. Random sampling technique is used to collect data from 249 smallholder farmers. Result of the study indicates that gender of the household head, age, number of family member who assist in farming, household size, vocational training, and the farmer being landlord and farm size were the major determinants of market participation. The welfare of the farmer depends whether the farmer participate in the rice output market. The result also indicated that rice output, off-farm income, access to credit, and income from the sale of rice were important factors influencing the welfare of the household. The participation in market can be increased by providing subsidized prices for their production, cold storage houses, vocational training, introducing new technology, increasing contact with extension agent and providing genetically modified seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The data for this empirical study were collected from three major cropping systems of Sindh province, and a total of 240 farmers were selected by simple random sampling technique. Cobb-Douglas production function was applied to analyze the data. Results show that in mixed cropping zone wheat yield increased with increasing ploughing, seed and plant protection. The dominant factors behind yield increase in the cotton-wheat cropping zone were ploughing, seed, fertilizer, and irrigation. Wheat yield in the Rice-wheat zone increased linearly with increasing ploughing, seed and fertilizer as well as plant protection measures. Further the results show that salinity and water logging are the driving threats leading to high water table in most regions of upper Sindh. Due to poor land management and improper irrigation strategies, the coefficient of irrigation shows negative value. Contrarily, lower Sindh needs canal irrigation water (i.e. Mixed and cotton-wheat zone), because most of the areas have unfit ground water for irrigation, thus increasing the soil erosion and salinity in lower Sindh. Furthermore, the cost of production estimated in cotton-wheat zone's grower spends more USD$841/ha as compared to rice-wheat zone's grower and Mixed cropping zone's grower spend USD$827/ha and USD$780/ha. The growers of the whole Sindh spend USD$816/ha. In case of gross income cotton-wheat zone's grower received higher than 1287, followed by the growers of mixed cropping zone and rice-wheat zone received USD$1248/ha and USD$1132/ha due to high cost of production. The overall Sindh growers received USD$1222/ha. In the case of net return grower of mixed cropping zones received higher USD$481/ha, compared to cotton-wheat zone's and rice-wheat zone's grower received USD$451/ha and USD$308/ha, respectively. The growers of the whole Sindh province received USD$413/ha net return from wheat crop. The production of wheat is lower as compared to cost. Therefore, net income of per acre and the production cost of per acre reduce with farm size, so increasing the use of inputs should assure the quantity and quality by the approach of growers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]