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In the past four decades or so, China scholars have shone a new light on the history of labour in late imperial China, particularly on the role of the household as a unit of production and on the contribution of women to commercial production and family income. Beyond members of the kin group itself, attention is seldom paid to the individuals brought into the Chinese households solely to provide additional manpower. To “break the carapace” of the late imperial Chinese household, this article focuses on the often-omitted “household workers”, that is, on its enslaved (nubi) and hired (gugong) constituents. It approaches the topic from the angle of the vulnerability of these non-kin “workers” to punishments and violence. To evaluate their vulnerability to punishment and gauge the disciplinary powers of the household heads, it examines the relationship between punishments and “household workers” in Ming law. It then explores lineage regulations, before moving closer to the ground by mobilizing a wider variety of day-to-day sources, such as contracts and narrative sources produced in the context of the late Ming and early Qing crisis.

The author of the article voices the necessity to revise the conclusions of the Ukrainian historiography with regard to the history of the Ukrainian peasantry in the early modern times. This necessity is prompted by historiographical distortions of the Soviet era when research priority was given to such subject matters as socio-economic state and anti-feudal struggle of the masses, including peasantry. However, the methodology of that time, which was based on vulgar sociological principles, led to simplified approaches, mythologizing, and sometimes outright falsifications in the history of peasantry. It should be pointed out that the tradition of similar approaches may still be found nowadays, and thus even in recent research old methodological principles and opinions continue to be dominant.The author reviews outdated historiographical stereotypes regarding the state of the Ukrainian peasantry in the 16th–17th centuries and on the basis of documents proves that the agrarian reform of 1557 did not become widespread in Volhynia. Dvoryshche system remained the dominant form of peasant economy until the mid-17th century. However, even partial implementation of the agrarian reform and the introduction of the new land unit – voloka – did not result in peasants being dispossessed of their land. Voloka was also a fairly large area of land sufficient for a large undivided peasant family to run its economy. On the basis of documents it is demonstrated that hired labour was widely used by both dvoryshche and voloka peasant economies. Given these facts, the author argues that in its typology peasant economy was the one of the farm type., Автор статті порушує питання про необхідність перегляду висновків віт­чизняної історіографії щодо історії українського селянства ранньомодерної доби. Необхідність обумовлена історіографічними перекосами радянської доби, коли пріоритетними вважалися проблеми соціально-економічного становища та антифеодальної боротьби народних мас, зокрема й селянства. Проте тогочасна методологія, що базувалася на вульгарно-соціологічних засадах, призвела до спрощених підходів, міфологізації, а подеколи й відвертої фальсифікації історії селянства. Наразі маємо констатувати, що традиція аналогічних підходів спостерігається й сьогодні, тому навіть у новітніх дослідженнях продовжують домінувати старі методологічні засади й оцінки. Автор переглядає застарілі історіографічні стереотипи щодо становища українського селянства XVI–XVII ст. і на підставі документальних матеріалів доводить, що аграрна реформа 1557 р. не мала значного поширення на Волині. Пануючою формою селянського господарства до середини XVII ст. залишалася дворищна система господарювання. Проте навіть часткове проведення аграрної реформи та запровадження нової земельної одиниці – волоки – не означало обезземелення селян. Волока була також доволі значною земельною площею, достатньою для ведення господарства великою селянською нерозділеною родиною. На документальному матеріалі показано, що і дворищні, і волочні селянські дворогосподарства широко використовували найману працю. На цій підставі автор стверджує, що за своєю типологією селянське дворогосподарство було господарством фермерського типу.

La producción lechera de Salta se centra fundamentalmente en la región templada de explotación intensiva y dentro de esta en el Valle de Lerma. La cuenca del Valle de Lerma está constituida por 32 tambos que en promedio emplean alrededor de 7,7±2,9 operarios/tambo; lo que representa alrededor de 200 familias que viven de esta actividad. Con el objetivo de evaluar la condición laboral de los asalariados tamberos e identificar aspectos limitantes en cuanto al grado de satisfacción laboral se llevó adelante una encuesta 101 operarios. La edad promedio de operarios del Valle es de 38±11,8 años. El 59% de los encuestados vive en el campo en el que trabajan. Al ser consultados respecto a las necesidades de vivienda un 27% reportó que esta no cubre las necesidades básicas para su familia a la vez que un 43% declaró no poseer baño dentro de la vivienda. El salario que perciben los operarios en el 77% de los casos es de tipo fijo. En cuanto al régimen de descanso alrededor del 50% declaró hacerlo 1 vez cada 15 días. Si bien el 62% de los encuestados disfruta de la tarea que realiza diariamente solo el 45% se lo recomendaría a sus hijos. En virtud de los resultados obtenidos se puede concluir que es necesario implementar acciones tendientes a mejorar las condiciones laborales de los asalariados tamberos del Valle de manera que alcancen un grado satisfacción laboral mayor; ya que una persona satisfecha con su trabajo realiza su labor de forma animada, busca aprender y mejorar sus habilidades; lo que sin dudas repercutirá en la productividad de la explotación tambera. The dairy production of Salta mainly focuses on the temperate region of intensive exploitation in the Lerma Valley. In the dairy basin of this valley there are 32 dairy farms which on average employ about 7.7 ± 2.9 workers / dairy farm; this represents about 200 families who live from this activity. A survey of 101 workers was carried out with the aim of evaluating the labor status of the workers and identifying limiting aspects regarding the degree of job satisfaction. The average age of workers in the Valley is 38 ± 11.8 years. 59% of the respondents live in the field in which they work. When asked about housing needs, 27% reported that they did not cover basic needs for their family, while 43% stated that they did not have a bathroom inside the house. The salary that the workers perceive in 77% of the cases is fixed rate. As for the rest regime about 50% stated to do it once every 15 days. While 62% of the respondents enjoy the task they do daily, only 45% would recommend it to their children. Based on the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that it is necessary to implement actions tending to improve the working conditions of the wage workers in Valle in order to achieve a higher degree of job satisfaction. Since a person satisfied with his work performs seeks to learn and improve his skills is undoubtedly that contribute this situation will affect positive the productivity of the farm. EEA Salta Fil: Martinez, Gabriela Marcela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina Fil: Bertoni, Emiliano Agustí­n. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; Argentina Fil: Pais, A. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina Fil: Moreno, Ramiro Daniel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina Fil: Gana, M. CREA Valles Templados; Argentina

The article analyses changes in the social structure of the Kalmyk society in the late 19th – early 20th century under the influence of the reform of 1892 that abolished personal dependence of commoners from the nobility. The authors examined the reasons of adoption and the main directions of the reform of 1892 in Kalmykia, identified priority directions of social changes and established the sources of new types of Kalmykia rural population. The work is based on the extensive literary and archival material, primarily statistical. To achieve maximum objectivity, the authors frequently used averaged numerical indicators as annual statistical data greatly differed due to an imperfect data collection system and instability of the nomadic. In a number of cases to show the role of the patriarchal-tribal relations, the authors used observations of contemporaries. The article deals with the accession sources of Kalmyk new property nobility. Special attention is paid to the fact that its predominant stratum was the representatives of the commoners' stratum. The specificity of the Kalmyk society social stratification in different uluses was determined based on the statistics. The article demonstrates the scale of hired labour use in Kalmykia. The available data fully confirm significant use of hired labour in the Kalmyk livestock farms and partly in agricultural farms of Kalmykia. Thus, the new phenomena in the Kalmykia economy had an impact on the evolution of social relations in this region.

The planning of mechanization requires the quantitative assessment of a mechanization index and the impact of this index on agricultural yield and economic factors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the adoption of agricultural mechanization and scale production on labour productivity and the generation of income for farmers. Cross-sectional data for jasmine rice production by 569 households in 1,003 plots in the north eastern part of Thailand in 2017 were employed. The study found that the average rice planting workforce and labour productivity have an inverse relationship with planted area, while large farms have the highest ratio for machine labour to workforce. The rice yield, labour usage and labour productivity of the farmers varied by mechanization level (ML) and farm size while different levels of Machinery Owned labour (MO) have no effect on rice yield. Therefore, there are three main suggestions: 1) performing land consolidations, since applying a production strategy with large rice paddies may increase labour productivity and the net profit of rice famers; 2) improving the quality of machinery for use in rice production in Thailand, especially the performance of the machinery to prevent losses during harvest; and 3) increasing the mechanization level to 50-75%, which could also increase labour productivity and net returns.

High-value agricultural supply chains have been playing an increasingly important role in developing countries and have had significant effects on the rural labour markets. This paper analyses the simultaneous effects of small producer participation in the latter on both household hired labour demand and off-farm labour supply, using an age-disaggregated approach. Failing to reject the separability hypothesis as well as the exogeneity of small producer participation in export supply chains, we apply lognormal double-hurdle models and find that participation in vegetable export supply chains in Tanzania affects positively a household's decision to hire labour from all age groups. We also find that it increases the unconditional overall level of hired labour demand, while the age-disaggregated analysis shows that these effects benefit mostly rural youth. However, no evidence of an effect on household off-farm labour supply is found.

Високий рівень тінізації ринку праці вже багато років залишається однією з головних загроз соціальній безпеці, що актуалізується в умовах перебудови економіки, вставлення європейських стандартів у галузі оплати та охорони праці, підвищення прозорості суспільно-політичних та економічних відносин. Представлена стаття присвячена вивченню проблеми тіньової зайнятості та визначенню перспектив її скорочення в Україні. Автором було класифіковано види тіньової зайнятості,визначено сфери господарської діяльності, де вони переважають, описано тотожності та відмінності між ними. В дослідженні описані основні характеристики тіньової зайнятості: стабільно велика її частка на ринку праці, присутність цього явища у формальному секторі зайнятості, наявність перспективного джерела легалізації тіньової зайнятості у вигляді неформальної зайнятості за наймом. Наданий в роботі детальний опис обсягів поширення та характерних рис неформальної зайнятості за наймом може виступати науковим обґрунтуванням заходів державної політики сприяння легалізації зайнятості. В публікації також означено напрями скорочення неформального сектору зайнятості та легалізації праці в Україні. The significant size of the shadow labour market has been one of the main threats to social security for many years. It is especially pressing problem during the restructuring of the economy, establishing European standards in labour law and wages, increasing the transparency of socio-political and economic relations. The paper is devoted to the problem of shadow employment and the aspects for its reduction in Ukraine. The author has classified the types of shadow employment, defined the economic activities where they predominate, described identities and differences between them. The study describes the main characteristics of shadow employment. They are: stable significant share of the labour market, its presence in the formal employment sector, and promising source of shadow employment legalization – shadow hired labour. The detailed description of distribution and characteristics of informal hired labour may serve as a scientific substantiation of policy measures to promote legalization of employment. This publication also defines directions of reducing the sector of informal employment and ways of the legalization of labour in Ukraine. Высокий уровень тенизации рынка труда уже много лет остается одной из главных угроз социальной безопасности, которая актуализируется в условиях перестройки экономики, внедрения европейских стандартов в области оплаты и охраны труда, увеличения прозрачности общественно-политических и экономических отношений. Представленная статья посвящена изучению проблемы теневой занятости и определению перспектив ее сокращения в Украине. Автором были классифицированы виды теневой занятости, определены сферы хозяйственной деятельности, где они преобладают, описаны сходные черты и различия между ними. В исследовании описаны основные характеристики теневой занятости: стабильно большая ее доля на рынке труда, присутствие этого явления в формальном секторе занятости, наличие перспективного источника легализации теневой занятости в виде неформальной занятости по найму. Предоставленное в работе детальное описание масштабов распространения и характерных особенностей неформальной занятости по найму может служить научным обоснованием мер государственной политики по содействию легализации занятости. В публикации также отмечены направления по сокращению неформального сектора занятости и легализации труда в Украине.

This paper investigates the technical efficiency of sorghum production and its determinants, using the stochastic frontier production function which incorporates a model of inefficiency effects. Farm level data were collected from a sample of 100 sorghum farmers in Hong local government area of Adamawa state using structured questionnaires. The empirical result shows that land, seed, and fertilizer were the major factors that influence changes in sorghum output. Farm specific variables such as education, extension contact and household size were found to have significant effects on the technical inefficiency among the sorghum producers. The technical efficiency of farmers varied from 0.1562 to 0.9214 with a mean technical efficiency of 0.7262. The implication of the study is that efficiency in sorghum production among the farmers could be increased by 28% through better use of land, seed and fertilizer in the short term given the prevailing state of technology. This could be achieved through policy interventions by the government in terms of better access to land, improved seed and fertilizer .The inefficiency effect also shows that improved farmer's educational levels through better education and literacy campaigns would help tremendously to increase efficiency.

In many developed countries, the share of permanent hired labour in the total agricultural labour force has been increasing in recent years. Using data from the 1988 and 2000 agricultural censuses in France, we analyse the factors that influence households' decisions regarding the use of hired labour. We show that the increase in permanent wage employment observed over that period results from two opposite trends: an important increase in the proportion of family farms using permanent wage labour and a slight decrease in the average volume of permanent hired labour per employer. The first trend was mainly due to an improvement in family labour productivity and to a sharp rise in farm size, whereas the second results from a rise in agricultural wages, and possibly also from an increase in the productivity of hired labour. Oxford University Press and Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics 2009; all rights reserved. For permissions, please email journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

Evidence is needed about the difference that certification makes to workers on banana plantations. The Fairtrade system is therefore investing in monitoring to understand the difference certification makes to banana workers’ employment, living and working conditions, and empowerment. This study meets this need by gathering data on a range of indicators. This study 1) gathers baseline data on indicators and themes that monitor the progress of implementation of Fairtrade’s revised hired labour standards on certified plantations in key banana origins; 2) based on this data it researches and analyses the difference that Fairtrade makes across key themes in comparison to non-certified contexts; it prioritises workers’ voices and perspectives in achieving the objectives of the study. It particularly focuses on understanding the role of Fairtrade in supporting worker empowerment and empowerment-related goals. Focus countries are Ghana, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

This paper investigates French field crop farms’ use of various types of labour during the period 1990–2007. We explore the determinants of the three types of labour used on farm (family labour, hired labour and contract labour), with a particular emphasis on the impact of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms and subsidies on the three labour types. We estimate a system of three equations, including a censored model, using the French Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) database. We find that hired labour and contract labour are substitutes as expected, but that hired labour and family labour are complements. This may reveal complementarities between management tasks (which are specifically for the farm head and family labour) and technical operations (the only operations performed by hired labour). In addition, we find that, in general, crop area payments and Single Farm Payments (SFP) have reduced farm labour, while agri-environmental payments, Less Favoured Area (LFA) payments and investment subsidies have increased it. Our results agree with most of the literature that coupled and decoupled area payments reduce labour use on farms.

This article analyses the factors driving the evolution of on-farm labour use, including own family labour, hired labour and contract work, in French fieldcrop farms during 1990-2007. Particular attention is given to the level and type of agricultural support. The increase in the farm labour force over the years is due to increases in hired labour and contract work which are complements for each other rather than substitutes, and complement for family labour. Crop area payments and Single Farm Payments discourage the demands of different labour types, while agri-environment, less favoured area and investment payments favour all types of labour.

The objective of this article is to analyse the trends in on-farm labour use, including own family labour, hired labour and contract work, and to assess the factors driving their evolution in France and in Switzerland during 1990-2007. A particular attention is given to agricultural policies, namely the level and type of support. Results indicate that crop area payments discourage the different labour demands in both countries, while environment and investment payments favour contract and hired labour in France. Contract labour and family labour are substitute and hired labour and family labour are complement in France.

WP SMART - LERECO N°10-16Localisation du document : UMR 1302 UMR INRA / Agrocampus Rennes : Structures et Marchés Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires, Centre de recherche de Rennes, 35011 RENNES CEDEX, FRA (SMART PDu 62 CB 003593); The objective of this article is to analyse the trends in on-farm labour use, including own family labour, hired labour and contract work, and to assess the factors driving their evolution in France and in Switzerland during 1990-2007. A particular attention is given to agricultural policies, namely the level and type of support. Results indicate that crop area payments discourage the different labour demands in both countries, while environment and investment payments favour contract and hired labour in France. Contract labour and family labour are substitute and hired labour and family labour are complement in France.

Loonwerkers en aspergetelers hebben ervaringen opgedaan met het Beslissings Ondersteunend Systeem (BOS) in de strijd tegen Botrytis en Stemphyllium binnen het Praktijknetwerk Telen met toekomst

National audience; Le travail salarié saisonnier a récemment pris une place croissante dans l’ensemble du travail agricole. Ce phénomène est particulièrement marqué dans le secteur des fruits et légumes dans lequel les exploitations, quoique toujours familiales, emploient une quantité importante de main-d’œuvre salariée. Le travail familial et le travail salarié saisonnier ont rarement été pris en compte simultanément dans les modèles d’économie du travail agricole. Dans cet article, nous introduisons la saisonnalité dans un modèle de ménage agricole afin de mettre en évidence les complémentarités (ou substitutions) entre les différents types de main-d’œuvre qui travaillent sur l’exploitation (famille, salariés permanents et salariés saisonniers). Nous mettons en lumière les arbitrages qui expliquent les différentes combinaisons d’emploi observables dans les exploitations, en fonction notamment des tensions sur les marchés locaux du travail et des caractéristiques des exploitations. Nous étudions ces combinaisons sur un échantillon de 16 181 exploitations françaises de fruits et légumes issu du recensement de l’agriculture français de 2000. Nous montrons que la main-d’œuvre familiale est complémentaire des deux formes d’emploi salarié (permanent et saisonnier). Nous montrons aussi et surtout qu’il existe une substituabilité entre l’emploi salarié permanent et l’emploi salarié saisonnier et que l’accroissement de la place de l’emploi salarié saisonnier correspond non seulement à l’accentuation des fluctuations d’activité intra annuelles mais aussi à la modification des modes de gestion de main-d’œuvre en réponse à l’accroissement de la concurrence et à la pression sur les coûts.

The economy in western Kenya, like most of the other regions in Kenya is agriculture based with smallholder farm households forming the bulk of the population. While all smallholder households engage in agricultural production to meet their food and cash needs, income earned outside the farm forms a significant component of household income. For these households, labour is the main input in both farm and off-farm activities. This study was motivated by three reasons: Firstly, there are contradicting perceptions regarding availability of labour in smallholder farm households of western Kenya. One view point suggests abundant labour due to the high population density and few employment opportunities. On the other hand, poor uptake of labour intensive agricultural technologies is frequently attributed to lack of labour and/or poor returns thereby suggesting scarcity of labour in the households. Secondly, previous studies mainly focus on the pros and cons of diversification in terms of employment, income effects, consumption effect or lost labour effect. Few however, have studied the efficiency or outcomes of household behaviour given the wide portfolio of economic activities they engage in. Thirdly, there are significant differences in outcomes between livelihood strategies and significant gains to be made by shifting between strategies. Labour has desirable characteristics, such as its versatility, divisibility and mobility, which make it attractive for technical and policy interventions targeting poor households. However, labour as an entry point for change may become an ineffective where its mobility is constrained. The aim of this thesis was to identify barriers that hinder farm households from benefiting from interventions targeting them. Efficiency studies provide an indication of how well households use their resources and the mobility of factors of production in the household. Where households are efficient, it means that factors of production easily move to activities with highest returns. The aim of this study was therefore achieved by establishing whether farm households are efficient in allocation of labour and by identifying the factors responsible for deviations from expected behaviour. The study contributes to the AfricaNUANCES project “Exploring tradeoffs around farming livelihoods and the environment” by illuminating the dynamics which lead to varied perceptions about the opportunity cost of labour and its availability in smallholder farm households. Most studies on allocative efficiency are mainly carried out at the household level with the assumption that allocative efficiency prevails within the household. Such an assumption although convenient ignores the effects on labour use of; seasonality, heterogeneity within farms and the uncertainty in uncontrolled environments. Where these situations prevail, within household efficiency cannot be assumed. For example, farm households normally sub-divide their land into independent units either due to the heterogeneity in biophysical conditions and/or the wide range of crops grown so as to meet food and cash needs. When agricultural production is simultaneously carried out in such semi-autonomous units, allocative efficiency may be at stake. The second situation where within household allocative efficiency may be questioned is where household resources are allocated on the basis of gender. The third situation where within household allocative efficiency cannot be assumed is where there is strong seasonality in production activities or where there is uncertainty because agricultural production occurs in uncontrolled environments. In such cases where labour demand varies over the season, efficiency in labour allocation cannot be assumed. The assumption of most behavioural studies is that households are faced with a single price in decision making which under perfect markets is the market wage rate. There are situations however where households may experience more than one wage rate for their labour. For example, where households cannot sell as much labour as they would wish because of rationing in the labour market or where financial or insurance markets have failed. In this case, labour allocation between farm and off-farm activities is influenced by the prevailing conditions on the farm as well as off the farm. A holistic approach to allocative efficiency was adopted by addressing three research questions namely: whether farm households are efficient within their farms i.e. whether marginal reallocation of labour would lead to better outcomes on the farm, whether farm households are efficient over the cropping season and lastly whether farm households are efficient in labour allocation between farm and off-farm activities i.e. whether their involvement in labour markets affects the marginal efficiency of labour use. The study combined one and two-step production functions, and labour supply and demand functions in addressing these questions. In Chapter 2, the data used and the characteristics of the study area are described. In addition the diversity of household strategies in terms of labour use and incomes sources is described and comparisons made to highlight the relative importance. The dataset used comprises of household and plot level data collected from a random sample of farm households in Kakamega, and Vihiga districts of western Kenya. Like other parts of Kenya, the economy in western Kenya is mainly driven by an agricultural sector which mainly comprises of smallholder farmers. Much of the land in the two districts (Kakamega, and Vihiga) falls in the high to medium potential areas where the rainfall ranges from 1400mm to 2000mm. Farms are on average small. The average farm size is 0.97 ha and 0.58 ha for Kakamega and Shinyalu respectively and fifty percent (50%) of the households own not more than 0.81 ha in Kakamega and 0.5 ha in Vihiga. It is a common practice for smallholder farmers to subdivide their farms into distinct plots. The plots are normal small with a mean of 0.24 hectares in Kakamega and 0.16 hectares in Vihiga. In spite of the small farm sizes, farming is the main economic activity for households in the study area and the family is the main source of labour. Nutrient mining, soil erosion and little use of fertilisers characterise the farming landscape in the two districts. Consequently, majority of the households experience food deficits and earn little from their farms. Household income is normally supplemented with cash from sale of livestock products and live animals, off-farm employment and remittances. Majority of the households have at least one member working off-farm. The poverty incidence in western Kenya is however high with 57% falling below the poverty line. In Chapter 3, a horizontal view point of labour use was adopted whereby within farm allocative efficiency was examined. The total number of distinct plots for each household range from one to six with most households having two to four plots. The outcomes of household behaviour in labour allocation to various crops was examined while controlling for variability in bio-physical characteristics of the farm. An index indicating the extent of inefficiency within the farm was created from model parameters and the factors influencing this inefficiency determined. The study reveals that there is room for improvement in efficiency of labour allocation within the farm. It shows that farm households tend to allocate more labour to food crops like maize and beans compared with other crops that are more market oriented. The labour applied to maize relative to other crops increases with the household’s labour capacity and with remoteness but reduces when the liquidity position of a household improves. These results may be explained by the different perception of output prices by the household when there are imperfections in output markets. A vertical perspective of labour use was adopted in Chapter 4. Seasonality and uncertainties in agricultural production result in a varying labour constraint over the season. A model which captures the sequential nature of farm household decisions over the cropping season was adopted in deriving optimal levels of stage-specific labour input and output. The resultant econometric model of two labour functions and a production function was applied to maize production and household’s allocative efficiency of labour use over the season evaluated. Efficiency was evaluated by comparing returns to labour applied at the beginning of the season and at weeding. For over 90% of the farm households the marginal product of labour applied at the beginning of the season was larger than the marginal product of labour applied at weeding. This suggests that households in western Kenya are most labour constrained at the beginning of the season. There are a few households that are more labour constrained at weeding or maintain constant returns to labour across the season. The results are suggestive of imperfections in the labour market. An index of inefficiency was created and related to various farm and household characteristics. Simulations using model coefficients show how the model results can be interpreted for farm households with different characteristics. The change in the relative value of labour (due to changing farm and household characterstics) was expressed in monetary terms to demonstrate the application of model results to real life situations. In Chapter 5 we examine household efficiency in labour allocation between farm and off-farm activities and the determinants of labour supply and demand. Efficiency was evaluated by comparing information generated in chapter 3 regarding returns to labour within the farm with information generated in chapter 5 regarding returns to labour off the farm. In determination of factors influencing household behaviour, we did not choose a particular wage but allowed the household to demonstrate how the payments to labour on the farm, off-farm and village wage rates influence its decisions. On average differences in returns to labour between farm and off-farm employment are large and significant implying that efficiency in use of family labour can be improved. However, households which participate in labour markets as sellers or buyers are more productive on the farm and efficient in use of family labour on the farm. There is unavailability or rationing in off-farm jobs for some categories of skilled labour. Distance to market is an important determinant in the decision to sell labour off-farm. We simulated the expected farm household response to changes of 10% in the key factors influencing supply and demand namely; farm size, family size, income and education level. Increasing household income results in increased consumption of leisure as households reduce farm labour supply by 6.8%. This reduction in farm labour supply is however compensated with an increase (6.3%) in demand for hired labour. Households with a higher labour capacity supply more labour on-farm (3.7%) and off-farm (5.8%). Such households generally demand less hired labour (2.7%) with the exception of those that sell labour off-farm where a 2.5% increase in demand for hired labour was observed. The largest increase in supply of labour to the farm may be achieved through an increase in farm size which results in 3.7% increase in supply of labour and a 2.4% increase in demand for hired labour. Moving from complete illiteracy to a level where the head has some basic skills resulted in reduced off-farm labour supply probably because there are few opportunities for persons with basic skills compared to opportunities available for illiterate persons. Off-farm employment opportunities are least available for persons with secondary and above secondary education because moving from just primary education to secondary or above results in a big drop in labour supplied off-farm. The simulations also showed that when off-farm opportunities are unavailable, more labour is employed on the farm. In Chapter 6 we conclude the study by revisiting the key issues addressed and discussing the key findings. Household inefficiency in labour allocation has been attributed to market imperfections particularly output and labour markets. These imperfections hinder labour mobility within the farm, across the season and between farm and off-farm activities. Policy measures that would steer farm households towards more efficient use of labour include reducing marketing costs for farm output, increasing participation in labour market and improving the functioning of other rural markets. This study quantified the degree of efficiency of the allocation of labour in the household. It did so for the allocation over crops, over time, and between on and off-farm employment. In this way the study contributes new measures of the effects that the varying degrees of integration in the markets have on the allocation of the household's most important production factor, their labour.

The economy in western Kenya, like most of the other regions in Kenya is agriculture based with smallholder farm households forming the bulk of the population. While all smallholder households engage in agricultural production to meet their food and cash needs, income earned outside the farm forms a significant component of household income. For these households, labour is the main input in both farm and off-farm activities. This study was motivated by three reasons: Firstly, there are contradicting perceptions regarding availability of labour in smallholder farm households of western Kenya. One view point suggests abundant labour due to the high population density and few employment opportunities. On the other hand, poor uptake of labour intensive agricultural technologies is frequently attributed to lack of labour and/or poor returns thereby suggesting scarcity of labour in the households. Secondly, previous studies mainly focus on the pros and cons of diversification in terms of employment, income effects, consumption effect or lost labour effect. Few however, have studied the efficiency or outcomes of household behaviour given the wide portfolio of economic activities they engage in. Thirdly, there are significant differences in outcomes between livelihood strategies and significant gains to be made by shifting between strategies. Labour has desirable characteristics, such as its versatility, divisibility and mobility, which make it attractive for technical and policy interventions targeting poor households. However, labour as an entry point for change may become an ineffective where its mobility is constrained. The aim of this thesis was to identify barriers that hinder farm households from benefiting from interventions targeting them. Efficiency studies provide an indication of how well households use their resources and the mobility of factors of production in the household. Where households are efficient, it means that factors of production easily move to activities with highest returns. The aim of this study was therefore achieved by establishing whether farm households are efficient in allocation of labour and by identifying the factors responsible for deviations from expected behaviour. The study contributes to the AfricaNUANCES project “Exploring tradeoffs around farming livelihoods and the environment” by illuminating the dynamics which lead to varied perceptions about the opportunity cost of labour and its availability in smallholder farm households. Most studies on allocative efficiency are mainly carried out at the household level with the assumption that allocative efficiency prevails within the household. Such an assumption although convenient ignores the effects on labour use of; seasonality, heterogeneity within farms and the uncertainty in uncontrolled environments. Where these situations prevail, within household efficiency cannot be assumed. For example, farm households normally sub-divide their land into independent units either due to the heterogeneity in biophysical conditions and/or the wide range of crops grown so as to meet food and cash needs. When agricultural production is simultaneously carried out in such semi-autonomous units, allocative efficiency may be at stake. The second situation where within household allocative efficiency may be questioned is where household resources are allocated on the basis of gender. The third situation where within household allocative efficiency cannot be assumed is where there is strong seasonality in production activities or where there is uncertainty because agricultural production occurs in uncontrolled environments. In such cases where labour demand varies over the season, efficiency in labour allocation cannot be assumed. The assumption of most behavioural studies is that households are faced with a single price in decision making which under perfect markets is the market wage rate. There are situations however where households may experience more than one wage rate for their labour. For example, where households cannot sell as much labour as they would wish because of rationing in the labour market or where financial or insurance markets have failed. In this case, labour allocation between farm and off-farm activities is influenced by the prevailing conditions on the farm as well as off the farm. A holistic approach to allocative efficiency was adopted by addressing three research questions namely: whether farm households are efficient within their farms i.e. whether marginal reallocation of labour would lead to better outcomes on the farm, whether farm households are efficient over the cropping season and lastly whether farm households are efficient in labour allocation between farm and off-farm activities i.e. whether their involvement in labour markets affects the marginal efficiency of labour use. The study combined one and two-step production functions, and labour supply and demand functions in addressing these questions. In Chapter 2, the data used and the characteristics of the study area are described. In addition the diversity of household strategies in terms of labour use and incomes sources is described and comparisons made to highlight the relative importance. The dataset used comprises of household and plot level data collected from a random sample of farm households in Kakamega, and Vihiga districts of western Kenya. Like other parts of Kenya, the economy in western Kenya is mainly driven by an agricultural sector which mainly comprises of smallholder farmers. Much of the land in the two districts (Kakamega, and Vihiga) falls in the high to medium potential areas where the rainfall ranges from 1400mm to 2000mm. Farms are on average small. The average farm size is 0.97 ha and 0.58 ha for Kakamega and Shinyalu respectively and fifty percent (50%) of the households own not more than 0.81 ha in Kakamega and 0.5 ha in Vihiga. It is a common practice for smallholder farmers to subdivide their farms into distinct plots. The plots are normal small with a mean of 0.24 hectares in Kakamega and 0.16 hectares in Vihiga. In spite of the small farm sizes, farming is the main economic activity for households in the study area and the family is the main source of labour. Nutrient mining, soil erosion and little use of fertilisers characterise the farming landscape in the two districts. Consequently, majority of the households experience food deficits and earn little from their farms. Household income is normally supplemented with cash from sale of livestock products and live animals, off-farm employment and remittances. Majority of the households have at least one member working off-farm. The poverty incidence in western Kenya is however high with 57% falling below the poverty line. In Chapter 3, a horizontal view point of labour use was adopted whereby within farm allocative efficiency was examined. The total number of distinct plots for each household range from one to six with most households having two to four plots. The outcomes of household behaviour in labour allocation to various crops was examined while controlling for variability in bio-physical characteristics of the farm. An index indicating the extent of inefficiency within the farm was created from model parameters and the factors influencing this inefficiency determined. The study reveals that there is room for improvement in efficiency of labour allocation within the farm. It shows that farm households tend to allocate more labour to food crops like maize and beans compared with other crops that are more market oriented. The labour applied to maize relative to other crops increases with the household’s labour capacity and with remoteness but reduces when the liquidity position of a household improves. These results may be explained by the different perception of output prices by the household when there are imperfections in output markets. A vertical perspective of labour use was adopted in Chapter 4. Seasonality and uncertainties in agricultural production result in a varying labour constraint over the season. A model which captures the sequential nature of farm household decisions over the cropping season was adopted in deriving optimal levels of stage-specific labour input and output. The resultant econometric model of two labour functions and a production function was applied to maize production and household’s allocative efficiency of labour use over the season evaluated. Efficiency was evaluated by comparing returns to labour applied at the beginning of the season and at weeding. For over 90% of the farm households the marginal product of labour applied at the beginning of the season was larger than the marginal product of labour applied at weeding. This suggests that households in western Kenya are most labour constrained at the beginning of the season. There are a few households that are more labour constrained at weeding or maintain constant returns to labour across the season. The results are suggestive of imperfections in the labour market. An index of inefficiency was created and related to various farm and household characteristics. Simulations using model coefficients show how the model results can be interpreted for farm households with different characteristics. The change in the relative value of labour (due to changing farm and household characterstics) was expressed in monetary terms to demonstrate the application of model results to real life situations. In Chapter 5 we examine household efficiency in labour allocation between farm and off-farm activities and the determinants of labour supply and demand. Efficiency was evaluated by comparing information generated in chapter 3 regarding returns to labour within the farm with information generated in chapter 5 regarding returns to labour off the farm. In determination of factors influencing household behaviour, we did not choose a particular wage but allowed the household to demonstrate how the payments to labour on the farm, off-farm and village wage rates influence its decisions. On average differences in returns to labour between farm and off-farm employment are large and significant implying that efficiency in use of family labour can be improved. However, households which participate in labour markets as sellers or buyers are more productive on the farm and efficient in use of family labour on the farm. There is unavailability or rationing in off-farm jobs for some categories of skilled labour. Distance to market is an important determinant in the decision to sell labour off-farm. We simulated the expected farm household response to changes of 10% in the key factors influencing supply and demand namely; farm size, family size, income and education level. Increasing household income results in increased consumption of leisure as households reduce farm labour supply by 6.8%. This reduction in farm labour supply is however compensated with an increase (6.3%) in demand for hired labour. Households with a higher labour capacity supply more labour on-farm (3.7%) and off-farm (5.8%). Such households generally demand less hired labour (2.7%) with the exception of those that sell labour off-farm where a 2.5% increase in demand for hired labour was observed. The largest increase in supply of labour to the farm may be achieved through an increase in farm size which results in 3.7% increase in supply of labour and a 2.4% increase in demand for hired labour. Moving from complete illiteracy to a level where the head has some basic skills resulted in reduced off-farm labour supply probably because there are few opportunities for persons with basic skills compared to opportunities available for illiterate persons. Off-farm employment opportunities are least available for persons with secondary and above secondary education because moving from just primary education to secondary or above results in a big drop in labour supplied off-farm. The simulations also showed that when off-farm opportunities are unavailable, more labour is employed on the farm. In Chapter 6 we conclude the study by revisiting the key issues addressed and discussing the key findings. Household inefficiency in labour allocation has been attributed to market imperfections particularly output and labour markets. These imperfections hinder labour mobility within the farm, across the season and between farm and off-farm activities. Policy measures that would steer farm households towards more efficient use of labour include reducing marketing costs for farm output, increasing participation in labour market and improving the functioning of other rural markets. This study quantified the degree of efficiency of the allocation of labour in the household. It did so for the allocation over crops, over time, and between on and off-farm employment. In this way the study contributes new measures of the effects that the varying degrees of integration in the markets have on the allocation of the household's most important production factor, their labour.

Loonwerkers en aspergetelers hebben ervaringen opgedaan met het Beslissings Ondersteunend Systeem (BOS) in de strijd tegen Botrytis en Stemphyllium binnen het Praktijknetwerk Telen met toekomst

Tekst se bavi problemskim pregledom nekih ideja suvremenog francuskog socijalnog teoretičara Andréa Gorza. Nakon osvrta na genezu i izvorišta Gorzove misli i njegova glavna djela, pažnja se usredotočuje na tematiku »kraja rada« i »radnog društva« kojom se Gorz intenzivno bavi u djelima Zbogom proletarijatu, Rajski putovi i, osobito, Metamorfoze rada. No glavna se analiza odnosi na posljednje Gorzovo djelo Sadašnja bijeda, mogu}e bogatstvo, u kojem su »kraj rada« i »radnog društva« ekstenzivno osvijetljeni iz različitih aspekata (zaposlenosti, radnog vremena, mondijalizacije itd.) i u kojem se projicira »utopijska« slika »postnajamnog društva«. Tekst pokušava pokazati da je bitna Gorzova intencija preobrazba države blagostanja u društvo blagostanja., The paper deals with a problem survey of some ideas by the contemporary French social theoretician Andre Gorz. After a review of the genesis and sources of Gorz theoretizing the attention is paid to the issues of the “end of labour” and the “labour society”, which are intensively dealt in his works “Goodbye to the Proleratiate”, “Paradise Ways” and especially in “Labour Metamorphoses”. However, the main analysis is concerned with Gorz's most recent work “Contemporary poverty, future richness”, in which the “end of labour” and “labour society” are extensively explained from various aspects (employment, working time, mondialization, etc.) and in which a “utopian” vision of a “post–hired–labour society” is designed. The paper tries to show that an important Gorz's intention refers to a transfromation of a well–fare state into a well–fare society., Der Text gibt einen problembezogenen Überblick einiger Gedanken des zeitgenössischen französischen Sozialtheoretikers Andre Gorz. Neben einem Rückblick auf die Genese und Quellen seiner Theorie und seines Hauptwerks wird die Thematik des “Endes der Arbeit” und der “Arbeitsgesellschaft” behandelt, mit der sich Gorz besonders intensiv in den Texten Adieu, Proletariat, Die Wege zum Paradies, und vor allem in Metamorphosen der Arbeit auseinandersetzt. Die Hauptanalyse bezieht sich jedoch auf sein jüngstes Werk Jetzige Armut, künftiger Reichtum, in dem das “Ende der Arbeit” und der “Arbeitsgesellschaft” unter den verschiedenen Aspekten (Beschäftigtsein, Arbeitszeit, Globalisierung u.a.) beleuchtet werden, und das “Utopiebild” einer Post–Lohnarbeitsgesellschaft" projiziert wird. In diesem Text wir der Versuch unternommen, zu zeigen, daß eine wesentliche Absicht von Gorz darin besteht, den Wohlstandsstaat in eine Wohlstandsgesellschaft zu verwandeln.