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The aim of this article is to examine female participation in farming and more specifically, the reasons for the low rate of female farm ownership in Ireland where only 13% of Irish farm owners are female. Females are excluded from the occupation of a farmer because land ownership is the key needed in most instances to being a farmer in one's own right. Females are farming, but too often, they are not owners of the farms they work on. We investigate the structural and cultural factors that alleviate or contribute to the inequality in Irish farm ownership. To address the research question, a qualitative study involving 35 semi‐structured interviews was carried out with both women and men in the Irish farming sector. This research recognises the positive role the state can play, as supported by cultural and institutional theory, by making legal and financial policy changes that can help effect change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Open defecation (OD) is the disposal of human excreta in the fields, bushes, water bodies and other open spaces. It poses a public health risk as it can lead to the spread of diarrhoea, cholera, soil-transmitted helminths and trachoma. Kenya aims to achieve 100% open defecation free status by 2030 in line with Sustainable development goal number 6. This study sought to determine factors influencing OD at the household level as well as quantify the number of households practicing OD in each of the 47 Kenyan counties. Methods: Data from the household questionnaire of the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 2022 was analysed. Bivariate logistic regression was done with open defecation status as the dependent variable. Independent variables were poverty status, place of residence, ownership of farm animals, gender and educational level of household head. The number of households practicing OD per county were determined using the Kenya Census report of 2019. Results: Poverty was the strongest predictor of a household practicing OD (OR 43.8 95% CI 26.1–73.8) followed by educational status of the household head (OR 3.3 95% CI 2.3–4.6) and the household not owning livestock (OR 0.7 95% CI 0.6–0.9). An estimated 7.4% of households practice OD. These are estimated to be 814,223 households. Out of these, 686,051 households (84.3%) are found in the 15 counties ranked as having a high population practicing OD. Five counties have managed to eliminate OD and another nine have OD rates of less than 0.5%. Conclusion: Kenya has made commendable progress in eliminating OD. Poverty is a significant predictor of OD at the household level. To eliminate OD, it is advised that more efforts be targeted towards poor households as well as the 15 counties having a high number of OD-practicing households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on field research conducted by an international team of researchers investigating the opportunities for social upgrading of smallholder farm owners and tenants and their workers in the Global South. The main objective has been to assess the influence of crop characteristics, end markets, and value chain governance (including product and process standards), as well as national political, economic, and cultural contexts, on the conditions of farmers and farmworkers. Accordingly, the selected crops differ along the axes of domestic versus international end markets and short versus long shelf-life: coffee (cash crop), rice (staple crop), and mangoes (perishable crop). The selected countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Our main findings relate to the importance of collective action by key stakeholders, including smallholders and a supportive state, for economic and social upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North-central Nigeria is facing a challenging dilemma as displaced farmers struggle to recover agricultural productivity due to land tenure insecurity. This study examines the effect of land rights violation on agricultural output among displaced returnees in the region using descriptive statistics and ordinary least square regression analysis from a sample of 854 respondents. Drawing from the data collected across the selected states affected by farmers-herders conflict in North-central Nigeria, the study reveals that unclear ownership and lack of formal land titles affect returnees' decision to invest in farm land. The results of this study show that when land rights are violated due to conflict or land intrusion, the income and overall productivity of returnees drop. The study also reveals that assistance given as interventions during the period of displacement is found not to significantly affect production and return to economic activities among displaced returnees. Based on these findings, this study suggests strengthening property rights policy on land and resources, especially in rural communities so as to promote agricultural recovery and food security conflict-affected areas like North-central Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the knowledge and behavior of nonindustrial private forest landowners towards Port-Orford cedar (POC) root disease (Phytophthora lateralis), sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum), and disease-resistant seedlings can help target effective education and outreach programs. We surveyed two counties in Southern Oregon to gain knowledge about these pathogens, disease-resistant seedlings, landowner behavior, and landowner preferences regarding planting disease-resistant seedlings. Amenity-based management objectives were more associated with planting disease-resistant POC. Respondents were more likely to plant disease-resistant conifers than hardwoods. Disease-resistant planting preferences were associated with years owned and acres of ownership. Designing targeted education and outreach programs will be necessary to achieve broad scale adoption of disease management and restoration practices. Study implications: We present results from a survey of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners in two counties in Southern Oregon to determine general landowner characteristics and knowledge of two nonnative diseases, Port-Orford cedar root disease, caused by Phytophthora lateralis , and sudden oak death, caused by Phytophthora ramorum. NIPF landowners play meaningful roles in invasive disease management: recognizing and reporting symptoms of nonnative plant diseases with the objective of early detection and control, implementing management actions to help mitigate disease spread, and planting disease-resistant seedlings during restoration efforts. Understanding landowner knowledge about diseases is important for engaging them in insect and disease mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Country ownership is one of the four guiding principles for the Immunization Agenda 2030. • There is little practical guidance on what country ownership is and how to operationalize it. • Measles and rubella programs are used to illustrate country ownership in operation. • Five elements of country ownership - commitment, coordination, capacity, community participation, and accountability - are described. • Our work is a useful guide for immunization program strategy development. Country-owned, as opposed to donor-driven, is a principle within the development sector that recognizes the centrality of countries' leadership, systems, and resources in executing programs and achieving sustainable development. In alignment with this notion, the Immunization Agenda 2030 was developed with country ownership as one of four core principles of the ambitious ten-year plan. This means that the success of immunization programs, including those with eradication and elimination goals such as polio, measles, and rubella, and those with broader equity goals to "leave no one behind" on immunization, would be largely driven by country systems. In this paper we deconstruct country ownership into five operational principles: commitment, coordination, capacity, community participation, and accountability. Through this lens, we illustrate how two countries, Nepal and Nigeria, have exemplified country ownership in their measles and rubella elimination programs and we infer the ways in which country ownership drives system performance and sustains program efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the "violence–politics of patronage" nexus of land redistribution and ownership after land reform in Zimbabwe. Foregrounding an analysis of the violence on farms, which has been explored by many scholars in other dimensions, the article presents hard evidence of what happened on these farms post the Fast Track Land Reform Programme. Deploying Gramsci's theory of hegemony, this article interrogates the sociocultural and political linkages of violence, patronage and farm ownership to illuminate the dark realities of land distribution after " jambanja " (farm invasions). The violent behaviour around resettled lands is a manifestation of a well-entrenched patronage system in which those whose political views diverge from the "hegemonic power" lose their land through unscrupulous acts. The violence of the jambanja era, initially targeted at white farmers within the context of a "nativist land revolution", continues to manifest itself in communities, albeit differently. It is, as the French thinker, Jacques Mallet du Pan, said of the French Revolution, "the revolution devouring its own children". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South African land question have not been addressed by a current democratic government well known as a progressive government which come into power in 1994. This has resulted of having many challenges regarding land occupation and land use in South Africa. Especial on farm owner and farm-dweller's occupation rights. These tensions have caused an eviction of farm-dwellers by white farm-owners in South Africa. It has been well documented that eviction of farm-dwellers in many rural countryside is still taking place either illegally or legalized by rural magistrates using a common law. This paper will illustrate aftermath of eviction by tracing those who were being evicted between 1985 and1995 on what happened to them, where did they relocate after eviction and new livelihoods after eviction. Those were third to fourth generation after the promulgation of the 1913 Land Act. Again, it will also outlined challenges that have faced by farm-dwellers after eviction, new livelihoods after were being evicted, role of a land refrom program in assisting those farm-dwellers that were being evicted and why most of farm-dwellers after eviction still prefer to live in a farming area rather than communal areas or former homeland areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a broad and comparative examination of property formation in the French and English plantation colonies of the Caribbean and the southern North American mainland. It considers the connections between claims to exclusive control over human beings and claims to portions of the earth's surface. In the two early modern empires, planters pushed consistently and successfully to remove social, legal, and ecological constraints that limited their full control over their human and terrestrial property. Moreover, they insisted on legally fusing fields and workers, assimilating slaves to the category of real estate for purposes of inheritance and legal liability for debt. By the mid-eighteenth century, the French and British colonies had developed precociously modern capitalist property forms. In the Age of Revolutions, ideologues from plantation colonies, such as Thomas Jefferson and Michel-René Hilliard d'Auberteuil, emerged as radical advocates of absolute private property rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black farmers have historically been discriminated against in services from the federal government, including access to credit. Discrimination can take the form of delayed loan processing requests, which can affect timely planting, harvesting, feeding of livestock, and farm performance. This study uses nationwide, farm‐level data from 2009 to 2021 from the Farm Service Agency's direct farm loan program to investigate racial discrimination in the farm loan program. Findings reveal loan processing times average longer for Black borrowers on operating loans, though with a substantial state‐level variation. Specifically, it takes an average of more than two additional days for Black farmers' operating loan applications to be completed and another two additional days to be processed. However, there was no significant difference in time for farm ownership loans suggesting a more nuanced cause than outright racial discrimination. Other factors that increased loan processing time for borrowers included larger loan amounts, more complex loan types, a mix of collateral, and being a new borrower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the study is determined by the necessity of scientifically substantiating the rational ratio of maize hybrids of different ripening groups to ensure the realisation of the genetic potential in forming pre-harvest grain moisture at the level of 18-22%. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to identify the most adapted and plastic ripening groups considering biological features and to identify stable hybrids based on economic efficiency through the calculation of the hybrid's productivity efficiency index. The method of plot division was used to conduct field research in accordance with the requirements of the research methodology. The results revealed that maize hybrids of different ripening groups react differently to temperature conditions, especially during the interphase period - 3-5 leaves. Maize hybrids with FAO (ripening group of the hybrid) 180-250, having a flint grain subtype, are characterised by faster linear plant growth due to higher cold resistance, making them suitable for early sowing when the soil temperature is 6-80C. Hybrids with FAO 300 and above, with a dent grain subtype, exhibit slower initial plant growth and are more thermophilic. Therefore, it is advisable to plant them after the soil has been thoroughly warmed to 8-100C. Studies have established that the highest grain yield was obtained from mid-late maturity maize hybrids (FAO 401-500) - 10.04-10.17 t/ha, with a maximum level of 14.89 t/ha in 2017. However, considering the dynamics of productivity levels over the years, the most plastic hybrids, i.e., those with the smallest difference in yield between years, are phenotypes with FAO 201-300. It was determined that early and mid-early ripening group hybrids had lower pre-harvest grain moisture - 0.6-23.9% compared to 28.7-2.7% in mid-ripening and mid-late ripening groups. This resulted in a higher productivity efficiency index for these hybrids. The materials of the study contain results for further research on optimising the use of maize hybrids with different FAO numbers and are of practical significance for farms of various ownership forms [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The skilled use of a speech BCI device will draw upon practical experience gained through the use of that very device. The reasons a user may have for using a device in a particular way, reflecting that skill gained via familiarity with the device, may differ significantly fromthe reasons that a speakermight have for their utterances. The potential divergence between reasons constituting skilled use and BCI-mediated speech outputmay serve tomake clear an instrumental relationship between speaker and BCI speech device. This will affect the way in which the device and the speech it produces for the user can be thought of as being "reasons responsive", hence the way in which the user can be said to be in control of their device. Ultimately, this divergence will come down to how ownership of produced speech can be considered. The upshot will be that skillful use of a synthetic speech devicemight include practices that diverge fromstandard speech in significant ways. Thismight further indicate that synthetic speech devices ought to be considered as different from, not continuous with, standard speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmland ownership is a critical issue for sustainable agriculture since it affects short-term productivity and the long-term stability of the sector. However, existing literature largely focused on immediately simplifying individual opinions through statistical methods, neglecting how implicit values could drive preferential ownership decisions. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the driving factors underlying decisions on farmland ownership, especially when there are cognitive factors that induce hidden constructs in individual preferences. This research, to observe the cognition and implicit values leading to ownership decisions, applied the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) with subsequent Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Taking the multiple case studies of three villages in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia, this study involved 40 farmland owners. The RGT revealed a staggering 85 constructs leading to six ownership decisions: keep farming, buying, joint farming, leasing, selling, and converting. In general, the driving forces were distinguished into landowners' household profile, sustainability-related (community and social conditions), spatial (farmland conversion and accessibility), and economic aspects. Based on PCA, "buying" and "keep farming" shared several driving forces and led to sustainable farming. In contrast, "joint farming", "leasing", "selling", and "converting" were found to threaten farming sustainability. In addition, this study offers in-depth insights into the driving factors of different preferential ownership decisions according to the cognition and implicit values of individual landowners, allowing policymakers and other stakeholders to tailor policies and strategies to context-specific farmland ownership issues in pursuing sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to establish best ways of improving household soybean processing and utilization in selected districts in the Eastern Province of Zambia. This was a concurrent triangulation study design, nested with a cross sectional survey and barrier analysis. Up to 1,237 households and 42 key informants participated in the quantitative and qualitative studies respectively. Quantitative data was analysed using Stata MP 15 software (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA). NVIVO QSR10 software (QSRInt, Melbourne Australia) was used to organize qualitative data which was later analysed thematically. In this study whole soybean processing and utilization in eastern province was at 48%. However, accessibility to soybean for household consumption throughout the year was negligible (0.29%). Based on the food systems an interplay of factors influenced soybean processing and utilization. In the food environment, a ready-made Textured Soya Protein mainly imported [1,030/1237(83%)] and a milled whole soybean-maize blend AOR 816.37; 95%CI 110.83 to 6013.31 were preferred. Reports of labour intensity, hard to cook properties, coarse milling and beany flavour with associated anti-nutrients negatively influenced whole soybean utilization. In the enabling environment, soybean production AOR 4.47; 95%CI 2.82 to 7.08 increased the chances of utilization. Lack of inputs, poor access to affordable credit and lack of ingredients were deleterious to utilization. Low coverage of existing projects and poor access to technologies were other adverse factors. Among the Socioeconomic factors, a higher social hierarchy shown by owning a bed AOR 1.75; 95%CI 1.22 to 2.49, belonging to the Chewa community AOR 1.16; 95%CI 1.08 to 0 1.25, gender of household head particularly male AOR 1.94; 95%CI 1.21 to 3.13, off farm income and livestock ownership were supportive to soybean utilization. Unfavourable factors were; belonging to any of the districts under study AOR 0.76; 95%CI 0.58 to 0.98, lack of knowledge (55.65%), low involvement of the male folks AOR 0.47; 95%CI 0.30 to 0.73 and belonging to a female headed household AOR 1.94; 95%CI 1.21 to 3.13. Age, time and household size constraints as well as unreliable soybean output markets, lack of land, poor soils in some wards and poor soybean value chain governance were other negative factors. Immediately in the food environment there is need to boost milling of whole soybean while strengthening cooking demonstrations, correct processing, incorporation of soybean in the local dishes and conducting acceptability tests. In the enabling environment, there should be access to inputs, affordable credit facilities and subsidized mineral fertilisers. Post-harvest storage, collective action with full scale community involvement and ownership should be heightened. Socioeconomic approaches should target promotion of soybean processing and utilization among all ethnic groups, participation of male folks and female headed households as well as advocating for increased nutrition sensitive social protection. In the medium or long term, capacity building, market development, import substitution agreements, creation of new products, development of cottage industries, information exchange and inter district trade as well as more public-private partnerships and more local private sector players should be bolstered. Lastly farm diversification should be supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this study is to ascertain the financial literacy (FL) of the farmers in three South Asian economies (India, Bangladesh and Pakistan). Further, an effort was made to explore various demographic and socioeconomic antecedents of FL of the farmers. Design/methodology/approach: The study used secondary data of 11,025, 782 and 657 farmers from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively from Financial Inclusion Insights (2017) database. "Big five" FL questions were used to measure the FL of the farmers. Appropriate statistical techniques and censored Tobit regression were used to identify the determinants of such FL. Findings: Bangladeshi farmers (48.75%: Moderate) were found to exhibit greater FL as compared to Pakistani (38.96%: Poor) and Indian (32.61%: Poor) farmers. The outcome of the study revealed that the farm ownership and educational attainment of the farmers significantly determined FL of the farmers in all three Asian countries. Financial confidence and gender were observed to exacerbate a positive influence on the level of FL of farmers belonging to India and Pakistan. Age, marital status, financial inclusion and economic status were found to be the major determinants of FL of Indian farmers. Originality/value: There is a dearth of studies in the scholarship examining the FL of farmers in both developed and developing economies. The present study makes an original contribution to the literature by unearthing FL amongst farmers and its determinants in three South Asian economies using a large sample of 12,464 farmers for the first time. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2022-0776 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairy systems, which are the main pillars of rural livelihoods in north-eastern Europe encounter ecological, economic, and political changes in their operating environments which threaten their capacity to provide dairy supply. As uncertainty increases, there is a need to increase understanding and identify concrete tools to help food system actors manage resilience. We defined 'dairy systems' as a social-ecological system in which milk supply is the primary function, and humans and ecosystems endogenous factors. We conducted a qualitative empirical study to develop, enrich, and validate a theoretical framework, acknowledging social, economic, and ecological perspectives affecting the resilience. This paper identifies critical changes affecting the systems and key determinants of dairy system resilience, especially means actors can manage, in two socially and ecologically contrasting regions, Finland and Russia. The data consist of 26 qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in Finland and the surroundings of St Petersburg in the Leningrad Oblast. The critical changes confronting dairy system actors in both regions were especially related to prices and economics, policies, and epidemics. In Finland, possible cuts to agricultural subsidies, as well as an increasing workload, were perceived as a significant threat, whereas risks related to investors and resource adequacy were highlighted in Leningrad Oblast. Despite the socioeconomic distinctions between the countries, the determinants were similar and included ecological, economic, and social issues. However, the form of farm ownership proved decisive: for family farms in Finland, social well-being determinants were more important than economic ones; for investor-owned businesses in Leningrad Oblast, the opposite was the case. The results can be used by dairy systems actors, as well as administrators and policymakers, as a tool for understanding, assessing, and managing resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this empirical analysis is to assess the economic efficiency of Italian farms across provinces, to determine whether production efficiency is correlated with gender differences in farm ownership and the level of European agricultural subsidies received. This study uses a bootstrap-Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to analyse data collected from the Farm Accountancy Data Network. The data show that male-led farms are dominant throughout Italy and are generally more efficient than female-led farms. However, northern region farms are relatively more productive than southern region farms, despite male-led farms being less dominant in the north than in the south. Further, while male-led farms were more predominant in the south, and receive the greatest share of European agricultural assistance per province, they are relatively less efficient. These results imply that refocusing entrepreneurial and financial assistance to northern region farms, with a relatively higher ratio of female-led farming operations, can promote overall Italian agricultural efficiency while also decreasing the gender gap in agricultural efficiency that exists between male-led and female-led Italian farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at assessing how farmers' access to agricultural extension is linked to farmers' choice of extension service providers, and the crops and livestock activities engaged in at the farm level. Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 342 farming households. Data analyses were conducted using the descriptive statistics and Probit binary regression model. Results show that farmer access to agricultural extension depends on farmer district location, experience, group membership, use of pesticides, crop and livestock production diversity, and information source diversity. Furthermore, results show that gender, marital status, experience credit access, group membership, and livestock production diversity are the main drivers of farmers' choice of service providers for an agricultural extension at the farm level. Lastly, leading determinants of access to agriculture for individual farm enterprises include farmer location (district), gender, marital status, education, experience, land owned, access to credit, group membership, ownership of mobile phones, and market information source diversity. Differentiated targeting of agricultural extension across farmer demographic structures and production objectives is not only influenced by varying factors but also important for ensuring that extension services are responsive for food and cash generation needs of local communities. This study deepens the literature on farmer access to agricultural extension with results demonstrating differences in factors that determine farmers' choice of service providers for agricultural extension and the kind of crop and livestock activities engaged at the farm level. This research is of high value as it presents empirical results on factors associated with the provision of agricultural extension services where there are many providers and where extension services is targeting different agricultural enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to global and regional climatic dynamics for a couple of decades, agricultural productivity, rural livelihood, and food security have been badly affected in Pakistan. This study was conducted in Punjab, Pakistan, to explore the farmers' understanding of the impacts of climate change, adaptation strategies, determinants, and benefits on agriculture using data from 1080 respondents. Perceived risks by the farmers in the rice-wheat cropping system and the cotton-wheat cropping system were weed infestation, seed rate augmented, low-quality seeds, infestation of crop diseases and pests, change of cropping pattern, increase of input use, decrease of cropping intensity and productivity, decreasing soil fertility, increasing irrigation frequency, and increase of harvesting time. To alleviate the adverse influences of climate change, the adaptation strategies used by farmers were management of crop and variety, soil and irrigation water, diversification of agriculture production systems and livelihood sources, management of fertilizer and farm operations time, spatial adaptation, access to risk reduction measures and financial assets, adoption of new technologies, institutional support, and indigenous knowledge. Moreover, the results of Binary Logistic Regression indicate that adaptation strategies are affected by different factors like age, education, household family size, off-farm income, remittances, credit access, information on climatic and natural hazards, information on weather forecasting, land acreage, the experience of growing crops and rearing of livestock, tenancy status, tube well ownership, livestock inventory, access to market information, agricultural extension services, and distance from agricultural input/output market. There is a significant difference between adapters and nonadapters. The risk management system may be created to protect crops against failures caused by extreme weather events. There is a need to develop crop varieties that are both high yielding and resistant to climate change. Moreover, cropping patterns should be revised to combat the effects of climate change. To enhance farmers' standard of living, it is necessary to provide adequate extension services and a more significant number of investment facilities. These measures will assist farmers in maintaining their standard of living and food security over the long term to adapt to the effects of climate change based on various cropping zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracking farmland purchases is central to interpreting transnational finance's growing power in agrarian restructuring. Australia's public Register of foreign land ownership reveals little about agrarian change, however. In presenting the first comprehensive mapping of farmland purchases made between 2008 and 2020, this paper examines the ways that financial investments are altering farm ownership patterns in Australia. First, we show that most foreign owned land has been purchased by only 10 pastoral companies, which are implicated in speculative development activities. Second, foreign investment in cropping and horticulture is more significant than it appears in the Register, with investments in agricultural infrastructure increasingly driving land use change. Third, we illustrate the deepening entrenchment of institutional finance. By engaging with the findings from our dataset as well as with the politics of data that have shaped the availability of information, the paper progresses understandings of the financialization of farmland in both its material and ideational aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to explore the savings behaviour of Indian farmers. An attempt is also made to inspect the effect of financial literacy (FL) and financial confidence (FC) on the savings behaviour of the farmers in India. Design/methodology/approach: This study used secondary data on 10,263 Indian farmers from Financial Inclusion Insights, 2017 database. Relevant statistical techniques and ordered probit regression were used to unfold the effect of FL and FC on the savings behaviour of farmers. Findings: The outcome of the study revealed that the majority of the Indian farmers exhibited poor levels of FL and FC. Of the total, 42.99% were found to save regularly. FL and FC were observed to play instrumental roles in steering the savings behaviour of the Indian farmers. Household size, financial shocks, gender, farm ownership, income, household financial decision-making process, religion and educational attainment have emerged to be significant predictors of the savings behaviour of Indian farmers. Originality/value: The present study makes an original contribution to the extant literature by unfolding the savings behaviour of Indian farmers and the effect of FL and FC on such behaviour using a rich sample of 10,263 farmers for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The British East African Protectorate began enticing white settlement to the country in early twentieth century. This article focuses on the white settler identity and experience of a Nordic couple, Bror and Karen Blixen, in colonial East Africa in the 1910s, when they shared ownership of a coffee farm near the Ngong Hills. Baron Bror Blixen-Finecke was related to the Swedish royal family, his wife and future author Karen Blixen a member of a wealthy Danish family, whose money was used to purchase the coffee farm in 1913. This article examines how the Blixens as a Nordic couple fitted in the white settler colonial community and how they related to their African servants, farm workers and neighbours. Furthermore, it discusses the problems Bror Blixen's Swedish nationality caused to the couple during World War I, when the protectorate's Swedes were suspected of harbouring German sympathies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing scientific and policy interests in sub-Saharan Africa suggest the need to strengthen the resilience of livelihood systems, especially in one of the key sectors–agriculture. However, there is still a growing debate on the extent to which livelihood systems shape climate resilience – accounting for policy and practice fragmentation, and for less optimal agricultural outcomes. Using the Household Livelihood Resilience Approach (HLRA), we shed light on this issue, taking the case of the Western Highlands of Cameroon. Specifically, we collected 350 household surveys in order to: (i) assess the levels of resilience of farmers to climate change; and (ii) examine the extent to which farmers' endogenous livelihood assets (natural, physical, human, social, financial) affect livelihood resilience. Findings showed that, farmers' levels of resilience varied with respect to different livelihood assets, with farmers currently relying on natural, financial, and social assets. Based on the parameter estimates of the multiple linear regression model, it was found that, the most important endogenous assets affecting farmers' livelihood resilience to climate change were ownership of farm equipment and use of local irrigation systems (physical capital), as well as indigenous knowledge (human capital). Policy focus should be directed towards these endogenous human and physical assets as well as strengthening financial, natural, and social assets in order to improve the resilience of farmers in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land ownership has long been argued to enhance farm productivity by improving tenure security. But would this hold for female and male owners alike? The relationship between land ownership and productivity has been investigated relatively little from a gender perspective in most regions, with work on Asia being especially sparse. Even less explored are gender differences in the likelihood of landowners self-cultivating as vs. leasing out their land. This paper uses a unique household-level dataset for nine states of India to first assess gender differences in the likelihood of landowners self-cultivating or renting out their land. It then analyses differences in farm productivity between female and male owners who self-cultivate. The effect of caste disadvantage is also explored. We find that women owners are significantly less likely than male owners to self-cultivate their land. This is linked especially to family labour constraints and regional opportunities. However, among those who do self-cultivate, the annual farm productivity per hectare does not differ significantly by the gender of the owner-cultivator. This holds true with or without controlling for other factors. Caste matters, however: Scheduled Caste owner-cultivators of both genders have significantly lower productivity than upper-caste ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a class‐analytic approach, which combines a "labour exploitation criterion" with class typologies developed for the South African context and the author's additions. The labour exploitation criterion distinguishes between rural classes based on the degree to which one employs others, works for others, or works for oneself. I combine the principal indicator of "labour exploitation" with the income contributions of social grants, ownership of farming assets and livestock, and the contribution of agricultural production to simple or expanded reproduction. Debates around class formation are explored in the context of a comparative analysis of two joint venture (JV) dairy farms, located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, which involve residents as both landowners and workers. A class‐analytic approach illuminates the emerging agrarian class structure that a JV‐type intervention both reflects and in turn conditions, in dialectical fashion, with important implications for debates around agrarian change in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governmental restrictions in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic led to social isolation, with many people spending more time at home with their pets. The relationships between pet ownership, pet attachment, and wellbeing were examined using two online surveys: one in the early stages of the pandemic (May, 2020) and the other over one year later (September, 2021). Resilience, optimism, and basic psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) were examined as potential moderators. Study 1 had an international sample of 495 participants (70% pet owners), while study 2 had a UK sample of 243 participants (57% pet owners). Most participants reported that their pets provided emotional comfort and had a positive impact on their lives during the early stages of the pandemic. Pet ownership and pet attachment were positively associated with wellbeing in people with low levels of resilience. Conversely, people with high resilience who were pet owners or had higher pet attachment had lower wellbeing than non-pet owners and those less attached. Optimism and basic psychological need satisfaction were not significant moderators. Although some of the associations found in study 1 might have been specific to the beginning of the pandemic, other results were replicated a year later in the UK sample when social restrictions were eased (study 2). The findings from the two studies suggest that higher scores on a subscale of pet attachment, which involves the pet playing a more central role than humans in the owner's life, might be directly linked to lower resilience and wellbeing and increased loneliness. The combination of high resilience and higher levels of pet attachment or pet ownership might be unfavorable. Nonetheless, pet ownership and healthy human–animal bonds can be protective factors for people with low levels of resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship (entrepreneurial behaviour of employees) foster business innovation and growth and support wealth creation and employment in both privately owned and corporate businesses such as those that deliver contemporary veterinary services. Yet we know little about the propensity for entrepreneurship or intrapreneurship of entrants to the veterinary sector. In our study population of veterinary science, entrepreneurship, and human nursing final-year students, veterinary respondents stood out overall for their high entrepreneurial intention and outcome expectations of business ownership but low financial self-efficacy and corporate work intentions. These findings raise questions about (i) the effectiveness of veterinary business curricula which focus on expense management and (ii) the goals and expectations of new entrants to the veterinary sector. However, cluster analysis of responses to these measures revealed that 28.8% of veterinary respondents were entrepreneurial, 17.8% entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial (particularly men), and 13.1% intrapreneurial only (i.e., ~31% intrapreneurial), signalling the opportunities and risks for large veterinary businesses to harness these individuals and their intrapreneurial tendencies. Post hoc analysis revealed cluster differences per veterinary school. To inform curricular change, we recommend further research to evaluate the relative impact of individual factors, admissions factors, and the formal or hidden curricula on entrepreneurial intention in veterinary final-year students. Little is known about veterinary entrepreneurial predisposition. Yet entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship (entrepreneurial behaviour of employees) foster business innovation and growth and support wealth creation and employment in both privately and corporately owned businesses which deliver contemporary veterinary services. We used responses from 515 final-year students in Australian entrepreneurship, nursing, and veterinary programs to capture entrepreneurial intention (EI), outcome expectations (OE-sb), entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), and corporate/large organisation work intentions (CWIs). Veterinary respondents stood out for their high EI and high OE-sb, but low financial ESE and low CWI. Proportions of veterinary, entrepreneurship, and nursing respondents differed markedly across distinct cluster profiles representing entrepreneurial, intrapreneurial, both entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial, indifferent, and corporate employment intentions and attributes. Post hoc analysis revealed proportional cluster membership differences for respondents from different veterinary schools. Our findings raise questions regarding (1) the effectiveness of veterinary business curricula competencies which focus on expense management and (2) the implications of the mismatch of motivations and goals of new veterinary sector entrants whose low intent to work in a corporate environment is at odds with increasing corporate ownership of veterinary practices. To inform curricular change, we recommend further research to evaluate the relative impact of individual factors, admissions factors, and the formal or hidden curricula on entrepreneurial intention in veterinary final-year students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S. pseudintermedius is a known resident of the skin and mucous membranes and a constituent of the normal microbiota of dogs. It has also been recognized as an opportunistic and zoonotic pathogen that is able to colonize humans and cause severe diseases, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Most importantly, methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP), which is intrinsically multidrug-resistant, has emerged with serious public health consequences. The epidemiological situation is further exacerbated with reports of its zoonotic transmission and human infections which have been mostly attributed to the increasing frequency of dog ownership and close contact between dogs and humans. Evidence on the zoonotic transmission of MRSP from pet dogs to humans (such as dog owners, small-animal veterinarians, and other people in close proximity to dogs) is limited, especially due to the misidentification of S. pseudintermedius as S. aureus. Despite this fact, reports on the increasing emergence and spread of MRSP in humans have been increasing steadily over the years since its first documented report in 2006 in Belgium. The emergence of MRSP strains has further compromised treatment outcomes in both veterinary and human medicine as these strains are resistant to beta-lactam antimicrobials usually prescribed as first line treatment. Frustratingly, the limited awareness and surveillance of the zoonotic transmission of S. pseudintermedius have underestimated their extent of transmission, prevalence, epidemiology, and public health significance. In order to fill this gap of information, this review focused on detailed reports on zoonotic transmission, human colonization, and infections by S. pseudintermedius, their pathogenic features, antimicrobial resistance profiles, epidemiology, risk factors, and treatment. In writing this review, we searched Web of Science, PubMed, and SCOPUS databases using the keyword "Staphylococcus pseudintermedius AND humans". A phylogenetic tree to determine the genetic relatedness/diversity of publicly available genomes of S. pseudintermedius was also constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: There has been an increase in domestic rabbit ownership in the recent years. The type of dentition of this exotic (non-traditional) animal pet, predisposes it to the development of Acquired Dental Disease (ADD), a disease that affects tooth quality, generates malocclusion, among other dental and non-dental consequences. The aim of this study was to assess the factors that modify the risk for ADD in domestic pet rabbits. For this, 1420 owned rabbits' clinical records from a private practice from 2018 to 2021 were used, recording several variables, including the clinical signs at diagnosis. ADD was detected in 25.4% of the individuals, mostly on their cheek teeth. In addition, age and sex (male) were found to be significant risk factors for ADD. In contrast, a free lifestyle and consuming hay in the diet were protective factors. Understanding the factors that modify the risk of ADD increases the chances of prevention and helps to improve the education of owners and/or guardians of domestic rabbits. Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) have elodont dentition, a characteristic that predisposes them to the development of Acquired Dental Disease (ADD), which is a multifactorial disease. The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors for ADD in domestic pet rabbits. To do this, a retrospective analysis of 1420 rabbits treated at a private practice during 2018–2021 was performed. For this, several variables were retrieved from clinical records, in addition to signology at the time of diagnosis. ADD was found on 25.4% of rabbits, mostly on their cheek teeth. In addition, age (OR = 1.029; 95% CI = 1.023–1.035; p < 0.001) and sex (male) (OR = 1.591; 95% CI = 1.226–2.064; p < 0.001) were found to be significant risk factors for ADD. In contrast, a free lifestyle (OR = 0.565; 95% CI = 0.362–0.882; p = 0.012) and consuming hay in the diet (OR = 0.323; 95% CI = 0.220–0.473; p < 0.001) were protective factors. In conclusion, ADD has a high prevalence and is usually underdiagnosed, highlighting the need for an exhaustive evaluation of patients during the clinical examination. This study improves our knowledge of ADD and its prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droughts are significant catalysts of financial and emotional hardship for farming communities. However, does the extent of time an area has been in drought impact upon the rate at which agricultural land changes hands? Does it encourage more land to change ownership, as stressed farmers depart at faster rates, or does its negative impacts on farm production dampen demand for rural land? This study addresses this question through a unique, longitudinal (2004–2020) dataset of property transactions in 96 rural Local Government Areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, Australia. We measure the proportion of time each LGA has been in drought during the previous 1, 2, 5 and 10 years, and correlate this against the rate of agricultural land ownership change. Results indicate that in the short-term (<5 years), the proportion of time in drought is not a major influence on the extent of agricultural land ownership change. However, over a 10-year timespan, there is a statistically significant negative correlation between the two for non-irrigated agricultural land, grazing land and land owned by individuals (as opposed to companies). These findings suggest these agricultural land markets are sensitive to the long-term effects of drought. The take-home message seems to be that the persistence of drought saps the vitality of these agricultural land markets, leaving farmers with reduced prospects to capitalise on their land assets. This finding has resonance given that climate change models suggest an intensification of the frequency and severity of drought in much of rural NSW. • First study to correlate large-scale land registry data with historical Combined Drought Indicator data in Australia. • The correlation between time in drought and the rate at which agricultural land changes hands is not significant in the short-term (<5 years). • However, over a 10-year period, there is a statistically significant negative relationship between the proportion of time that a LGA has been in drought and the annual extent of agricultural land ownership change. • The paper concludes that drought has a modest, long-term inhibiting effect on the vitality of agricultural land markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The domestic rice industry of Ethiopia is constrained by low productivity, poor quality, and old processing machines. The rice production system is done by hand or with rudimentary tools, and only 2% of households have access to tractors. It takes 175 labor days to weed and 66% of the total farm operations. Rice harvesting and threshing are done manually using a serrated sickle and animal trembling respectively. Farmers are responsible for most of the pre-milling operations and store paddy for household consumption in local stores. Challenges include fragmented farm holdings, poor marketing channels, and a lack of awareness of post-harvest utilization. The prospects for rice mechanization development include improving the rice mechanization research system, training local entrepreneurs, providing repair and maintenance services, promoting custom hiring centers, local manufacturing of farm implements, organizing agricultural cooperatives, landholding, and land ownership structures, assessing foreign experience, linking importers and service providers, and encouraging investments in the rural infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geopolitical U.S. Northern Great Plains encompass the state areas of Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. While other parts of the United States have seen considerable outmigration from rural areas, this region has widely maintained its rural population due to favorable employment, education, food security, and relatively low poverty levels. Currently, the expansion of large-scale agriculture, often poor food environments, and demographic trends, as well as external factors such as climate change, may affect population densities, livelihoods, and the vitality of the rural U.S. Northern Great Plains. We suggest a strong role of the food system in shaping these developments. For our study, we processed socioeconomic and food-system-related data from demographic databases in descriptive statistics to explore the impact of the food system on demographic and socioeconomic parameters. Specifically, we present data on how selected parameters of demography, employment, education, poverty, agriculture, food security, food accessibility, and health have changed during the past four decades in the U.S. Northern Great Plains, specifically its rural parts. We later discuss how these changes may contribute to future demographic and livelihood developments. We aim to offer our readers an understanding of the complex and interacting developments affecting rural residents of the U.S. Northern Great Plains and the important role the food system plays in the present and future of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe basic husbandry (veterinary care, substrate and bedding, toys, frequency of cleaning) provided to guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) by a sample of owners in New Zealand. Respondents were invited to complete a survey disseminated through the social media channels of animal interest and advocacy groups (3 September 2020 to 3 November 2020). Respondents who agreed to participate were asked a range of questions regarding the provision of husbandry to their oldest pet guinea pig. Descriptive statistics are reported here relating to husbandry, length of ownership, provision of substrate, bedding and toys, frequency of cleaning and veterinary care. A total of 503 responses were received, of which 329 complete responses were analysed. Of these respondents, 208/329 (63.2%) had owned guinea pigs for more than 2 years. Most owners provided a cage with a wooden base as substrate (144/321, 44.9%), bedding (308/329; 93.6%) and toys (169/329; 51.1%). Half (176/329; 53.5%) of respondents reported taking their guinea pig to a veterinarian. Just over half of the owners surveyed cleaned water (165/329; 50.1%) and food (181/329; 55.0%) bowls daily, and a third picked up droppings (109/329; 33.1%) daily. While owners provided an array of toys, and a range of bedding and substrate types to their guinea pigs, cages were cleaned out less frequently than recommended, and it was common for guinea pig cages to be cleaned out less frequently than recommended. Future research is required to provide robust and evidence-based links between husbandry and the welfare of pet guinea pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper's main objective is to analyse the distribution of large farm plots and opportunities for their optimization. In the context of intensive changes in the management and use of agricultural land, it is particularly important to optimise the land holdings of large farms. Most large farms are characterised by a fragmented, uncompacted spatial distribution. 15 large farms were selected for analysis in Jonava municipality. There are 22 separate fields on average per holding, 2/3 of the farm centres (farmsteads) are located in large settlements, and 1/3 of the farm centres are located in one-farm settlements and in small villages. It was found that the average area of individually cultivated fields is 14.9 ha, and the average distance from the farmstead to the fields is 4.35 km. Land holdings are very fragmented - fragmentation coefficient K2 value range from 2.64 to 8.81 (average 3.62) for selected farms. It is proposed to draw up municipality land use planning schemes, which would project the prospective boundaries of land holdings, and to legalize by law the right of pre-emption for the farm owner to acquire the ownership of the plots of land to be sold within these boundaries in order to increase the compactness of farm land holdings. A state can facilitate sporadic land consolidation by farmers through the preparation of the proposed municipality land use planning schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The care home staff influenza vaccination rate in England is significantly lower than the 75% World Health Organisation recommendation. This represents a substantial potential for resident harm. Barriers to staff vaccination stem from individual and organisational levels. Existing interventions address some but not all barriers and are not underpinned by behavioural science theory. This study aims to estimate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a theory-informed intervention to improve care home staff vaccination rates compared to routine practice. Set in care homes with both nursing and residential focus, and a range of ownership status, only homes providing long stay care to older people with a staff vaccination rate below 40% are eligible to participate. Participation expressions of interest will be sought using a variety of approaches prior to seeking consent. The primary outcome measure is the proportion of staff vaccinated at 6 months, with secondary outcome measures being proportion vaccinated at 3 months, numbers of staff sick days, general practitioner and nurse visits to care home, care home resident hospitalisations and mortality. Based on the assumptions that the mean cluster (care home) size is 54 staff, a coefficient of variation of 0.48, control vaccination rate is 55%, intervention 75%, intra-cluster correlation coefficient of 0.2 and with 90% power, and 20% attrition, we require 39 care homes per arm. Blocked randomisation will be at the level of care home, stratified by the proportion of non-white care home staff, and implemented by Norwich Clinical Trials Unit. The intervention comprises co-designed information videos and posters, provision of in-house staff vaccination clinics, and incentive scheme and monthly data collection on trial outcomes. Beyond usual practice, the control arm will additionally contribute monthly data. Data will be collected at the start, monthly and at 6 months, and analysis will be blind to allocation. Statistical analysis will use the intention-to-treat principle with the difference in vaccination rates between groups compared using a random effect logistic regression model at the staff-level. This will be the first study to use a theory-informed intervention designed to comprehensively address identified barriers to care home staff influenza vaccination. Trial registration: ISRCTN ISRCTN22729870. Registered on 24 August 22. Secondary identifiers: R209939, IRAS 316820, CPMS 53812. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has significantly reduced, thanks to more effective drugs and screening tools and regular mass screening. However, this potentially jeopardizes HAT control activities, especially community engagement. Methods: We used an ecological model framework to understand how various factors shape communities' knowledge, perceptions, and behavior in this low endemicity context. Community members, frontline health providers, and policymakers were consulted using an ethnographic approach. Results: Communities in endemic areas are knowledgeable about causes, symptoms, and treatment of HAT, but this was more limited among young people. Few are aware of new HAT treatment or screening techniques. Participation in mass screening has declined due to many factors including fear and a lack of urgency, given the low numbers of cases. Delays in seeking medical care are due to confusion of HAT symptoms with those of other diseases and belief that HAT is caused by witchcraft. Conclusions: Community members see their role more in terms of vector control than participation in screening, referral, or accepting treatment. We propose recommendations for achieving sustainable community engagement, including development of an information and communication strategy and empowerment of communities to take greater ownership of HAT control activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmland ownership is a critical issue for sustainable agriculture since it affects short-term productivity and the long-term stability of the sector. However, existing literature largely focused on immediately simplifying individual opinions through statistical methods, neglecting how implicit values could drive preferential ownership decisions. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the driving factors underlying decisions on farmland ownership, especially when there are cognitive factors that induce hidden constructs in individual preferences. This research, to observe the cognition and implicit values leading to ownership decisions, applied the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) with subsequent Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Taking the multiple case studies of three villages in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia, this study involved 40 farmland owners. The RGT revealed a staggering 85 constructs leading to six ownership decisions: keep farming, buying, joint farming, leasing, selling, and converting. In general, the driving forces were distinguished into landowners’ household profile, sustainability-related (community and social conditions), spatial (farmland conversion and accessibility), and economic aspects. Based on PCA, “buying” and “keep farming” shared several driving forces and led to sustainable farming. In contrast, “joint farming”, “leasing”, “selling”, and “converting” were found to threaten farming sustainability. In addition, this study offers in-depth insights into the driving factors of different preferential ownership decisions according to the cognition and implicit values of individual landowners, allowing policymakers and other stakeholders to tailor policies and strategies to context-specific farmland ownership issues in pursuing sustainable agriculture.

In course of developing an anticoagulant and antibacterial catheter lock solution, we demonstrated that the components and alcohol formed an effective skin antiseptic. Ash Access formed a sister company to focus on development and clinical trials of this skin preparation and exchanged intellectual property for part ownership. Zurex Pharma now has Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on the new pre‐operative skin preparation, ZuraGard™, and has made successful steps toward production and marketing of the product. The steps toward FDA approval, the size of the market, and user needs are clearer for a second product in the field than for the first. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Ghanaian agriculture has witnessed a surge in the use of agrochemicals, with the likely consequence that nonoptimal levels of application could cause environmental damage and economic losses. We identify the factors that affect the adoption of agrochemicals and the intensity of use in Ghanaian rice farming. We estimate the average treatment effects of chemical fertilizer and herbicide adoption using a Dose–Response Model (DRM). Our results show that a wide range of socioeconomic factors, including education, asset ownership, extension service, off-farm income, and land ownership affect adoption and use intensity of agrochemicals. On average, chemical fertilizer usage is associated with a 10% increase in the average treatment effect; low levels of chemical fertilizer have a negative impact on rice yield, and the result turns positive with more intensive use. Similarly, herbicide treatment generates a 7% increase in the average treatment effect, but higher herbicide levels will have negative causal effects on rice yield, and the result worsens with more herbicide treatment. Both agricultural technologies were designed to be used together, hence the appropriate mix of levels and intensity is crucial to achieve greater benefits. The DRM accounts for heterogeneity in the sample and is a useful tool to develop guidance on optimal levels of agrochemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high potentials of the agricultural sector in terms of income and jobs in Benin contrasts with unemployment among youth. Thus, this study investigated the socioeconomic factors determining the creation of farm business by youth in the northwest of Benin. Based on a random sample of 198 young farmers and with the criteria of labor and market dependence, a typology of the farms was made. Then, an analysis of the determinants of farm business creation was carried out by using a logistic regression model. The results showed that there are four types of farms in the study area, namely: modern farm business, family farm business, modern family farm and peasant family farm. Whereas "family farm business" is characterized by both a dominance of market dependence and a family labor, the most developed form, the "modern family farm," is characterized by both a dominance of self-consumption and a hired labor, adopted by few. Based on the market dependence criterion only, those four farming types were re-grouped into two main types: family farm and farm business. Whereas family farm is characterized by a dominance of self-consumption, farm business is market-oriented. From this typology, it emerged that there are more farmers with basic education and basic training in agriculture, belonging to an agricultural association and having land ownership in farm businesses than in family farms. The results also showed that professional training in agriculture and land ownership positively influenced the creation of farm business, whereas, savings, number of family agricultural workers and contact with agricultural extension services negatively influenced it. This suggests that making credit more attractive and developing a new type of coaching to support young entrepreneurs would be more favorable to the emergence of farm businesses. Integrating these results could help to improve the orientation of policies and projects devoted to promoting agricultural entrepreneurship among youth in Benin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change-related catastrophic events have a considerable influence on south-western coastal agriculture in Bangladesh. The objectives of this study are to measure the agricultural vulnerability of south-western coastal households in Bangladesh due to climate-induced disasters and to find the sub-indicators of adaptive capacity (AC) that influence the agricultural vulnerability. An agricultural vulnerability index (AVI) was developed by using the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) dimensions to measure the vulnerability. The sub-indicators of AC that affect agricultural vulnerability to climate-induced disasters were identified using an ordered logit model. This study employed a survey of 346 households from two villages (181 households from Sutarkhali and 165 households from Nalian) of the Sutarkhali Union of Dacope Upazila within a south-west coastal district (Khulna) of the country. The main respondents were the household heads. The findings demonstrated that Sutarkhali had a mean score of 0.703 (high) for exposure, 0.762 (high) for sensitivity, 0.397 (low) for AC, and 0.689 for AVI (high). Similarly, Nalian scored 0.658 (high) for exposure, 0.681 (high) for sensitivity, 0.410 (low) for AC, and 0.643 (high) for AVI. Non-farm employment, livestock ownership, irrigation pump access, improved crop diversification/saline tolerant high-yielding variety (HYV) crops access, and farm credit access were found to be statistically significant sub-indicators of AC that affect the agricultural vulnerability of both study sites. Finally, it is recommended that the relevant authorities and policy makers should implement the necessary agricultural adaptation initiatives in south-west coastal Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the clarification of property rights for agricultural land has the potential to enhance agricultural production efficiency and support its sustainable growth, this goal may not always be met in reality. As a result, the emphasis of this study is on the elements that affect agricultural output. It also examines how the stability of land rights affects agricultural production efficiency and, most importantly, how the heterogeneity of farmers' perspectives affects this process. Through the empirical test using the data of farmers in Henan Province, the largest wheat area in China, the results show that: (1) The farmland confirmation policy significantly promotes the improvement of the pure technical efficiency of agricultural production, a series of robustness tests, and the treatment of endogenous problems, which also confirmed the robustness of the results. (2) In the allocation of factors, agricultural investment and credit acquisition have been proved to be important influencing mechanisms, while labor and land transfer have not played a mechanistic role. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the self-service of farmers choosing to purchase agricultural machinery is more efficient than purchasing outsourcing services; The agricultural production of farmer households without hired workers has a significant technical efficiency, but the impact on farmer households with hired workers is not significant; for farmer households with agricultural insurance purchase behavior, purchase willingness, and planting and breeding advantages, the farmland ownership confirmation policy can play a more important role in promoting the pure technical efficiency of agricultural production; The promotion effect of the farmland right confirmation policy on the pure technical efficiency of agricultural output is strongest when there is a smaller level of farmers operating on a part-time basis and when more farmers prioritize profit maximization as the production goal. Corresponding policy recommendations are made at the conclusion of the study in light of the conclusions mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]