Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Terry Griffin / Rosburg Farms is a crop farm in Northwest Iowa that specializes in corn and soybean production. The oldest farm operator, Richard was looking ahead to retirement while the next generation, Brian has been working to identify an entry strategy into the operation as a beginning farmer. The purpose of this research was to identify and evaluate candidate alternatives that Brian could bring to Rosburg Farms and to understand if the operation was at a point where Brian was needed as full time labor. Three candidate scenarios including renting additional crop acreage, building a hog facility, and building a poultry layer house were evaluated via SWOT analyses. The SWOT analysis results indicated that renting additional crop acres was the best candidate alternative for the farming operation. To understand how adding the additional acreage to crop production affects the timeliness of the operation and to identify binding resources a whole-farm linear programming planning model was parameterized. Parameters included available labor, machinery, days suitable for field work, crop rotations and available acreage. Production enterprise budgets for corn and soybean production and a projected cash flow were developed to understand if this acreage expansion would be profitable for the multi-family farming operation. The results of the planning model indicated that the field work operations would be completed with the available labor, machinery, and days suitable for fieldwork. The production budgets and cash flow results indicated that Rosburg Farms would remain profitable once farm size was expanded with additional rented acreage. Considering Brian employed off the farm, it was not necessary for him to quit his job to farm full time at this point. Future analysis should be used to understand at what farm size are needed to justify Brian leaving his off-farm employment to farm full time. These results are applicable beyond the Rosburg farm and are of interest to beginning farmers, farms anticipating transition to next generation, and professional specializing in succession planning.

Traditional leafy vegetables (TLVs) have formed a part of rural household food security strategies for generations. In an effort understand their role in household food security, the role and production of TLVs (morogo/ miroho/imifino) were determined in three culturally and agro-ecologically diverse rural communities in South Africa. A questionnaire survey was combined with qualitative methodologies to access the indigenous knowledge associated with the utilisation and production of these crops. TLV production is a female-oriented agricultural activity, as households mainly utilise TLVs for household consumption. Marketing of mainly dried TLVs was limited and income generated from these sales was used to complement household income. The importance of the different TLVs for household consumption varies according to the specific socio-economic situation of the household at a specific time, although they are very important in the period just before other crops are harvested. Cultural beliefs and taboo’s associated with agricultural activities were reported widely. Expenditure on agricultural inputs is low in all three villages. TLVs are commonly intercropped with maize, therefore their production and management practices are linked with maize. Uncultivated TLVs are generally harvested from maize fields and fallow lands. Variations between the villages were found for seedbed preparation, pest control management, fertilisation and irrigation practices. Interactions between crops in the production system and varieties produced had an influence on production decisions made. The socio-economic conditions of households determined the growth stages at which TLVs were harvested. Villages differed with regard to the TLVs mixed into a dish, the proportions of the different TLVs and the plant parts harvested (seed, stalks, flowers, growth points and fruit). Differences in preparation methods of crops existed and were reflected in the preparation method (frying, boiling), type of dish prepared (relish, incorporated into the porridge) and additions to dishes (adding of ash, peanut flour, bicarbonate of soda, mashed pumpkin seed, exotic vegetables, flowers and immature or mature fruit). The types of TLVs dried, preservation methods utilised, storage management and length of storage varied considerably between the three villages. Most of the dried TLVs were stored for up to one year, but the bulk was used within six months. Cowpea was perceived as an ideal dried crop for drought survival strategies as the dried leaves have a long shelf life. Villagers perceived TLVs to be nutritious, but it was not promoted amoungst vulnerable groups. The loss of indigenous knowledge (IK) was identified as a possible cause for this. The decline in utilisation of TLVs found in all three villages is mainly due to poor production systems (drought, low soil fertility, loss of IK and lack of seed). Seed systems for uncultivated plants were unstructured, although the older women had very sophisticated knowledge about seed quality. Differences in the utilisation and production of TLVs were found between the three villages. The main contributing factors towards the utilisation differences are caused by the climate and degree of indigenous knowledge in a specific area. Production differences are influenced by the bio-physical and socio-economic elements in the area. / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Nature reserves affect the local environment and communities. I use household data from the Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP) to estimate the impacts of nature reserves on several aspects of rural households: migration, local off-farm work, and off-farm income. This thesis also examines the heterogeneous impacts of nature reserves across administrative levels, lengths of existence time, and types. To reduce selection bias, propensity scores matching (PSM) is carried out to match counties with nature reserves to counties that have a similar possibility of establishing nature reserves, but that do not yet have any. Considering that counties with nature reserves might affect their neighboring counties without nature reserves, I construct two additional samples: one that excludes adjacent counties, and the other that generates new indicators for adjacent counties to check spillover effects directly. I use models with year fixed effects and county fixed effects to estimate the impacts across samples. The estimation results show that national nature reserves (NNRs) generally decrease the possibility of migration, while the impact depends on how long the NNRs have been in place. In the short run, NNRs increase migration. Forest NNRs significantly decrease migration but increase participation in local off-farm work and off-farm income. Nonforest NNRs have positive influences on migration and off-farm income. Although both forest and nonforest NNRs increase off-farm income, the sources might be different. The off-farm income increase in counties with forest NNRs might come from local off-farm work because forest NNRs encourage local off-farm work. The off-farm income increase in counties with nonforest NNRs might come from migration work because nonforest NNRs increase migration. Provincial nature reserves (PNRs) increase the likelihood of migration and the estimates also imply that PNRs only have short-run impacts on the local communities. Forest PNRs increase migration while nonforest ones decrease migration. PNRs generally decrease participation in local off-farm work and off-farm income, except for nonforest PNRs increase both of them. The results indicate that nature reserves of different administrative levels and lengths of existence time negatively affect local off-farm participation and off-farm income. These results imply that nature reserves in China during 2002-2013 had overall negative impacts on the local livelihood. / M.S. / Nature reserves are a crucial ecological policy in China for protecting endangered species and the environment. There is no doubt that nature reserves are beneficial to the environment. However, the multi-faceted social impacts of the establishment of nature reserves on the local households are unclear. This thesis studies the impacts of nature reserves on migration, participating in local off-farm work, and household off-farm income. I obtained household data from the Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP). The selection of nature reserves' locations is nonrandom: counties with nature reserves and those without are different in geographic characteristics, such as the distances to the nearest provincial capital and prefecture, average slope, and average elevation, which could be correlated with local economic development. Without eliminating those differences, the results will be misleading when comparing counties with nature reserves with those without nature reserves. This thesis considers the heterogeneous impacts of nature reserves across administrative levels, lengths of existence time, and types. Considering that counties with nature reserves might also affect their adjacent counties without nature reserves, I construct two additional samples: one that excludes adjacent counties and the other that generates new indicators for adjacent counties to measure the spillover effects directly. The results show that different designations of nature reserves have various impacts on migration. National nature reserves (NNRs) decrease migration, while provincial nature reserves (PNRs) generally increase migration. In the short run, NNRs increase migration and PNRs also increase migration. In general, nature reserves across different administrative levels and lengths of existence time all decrease local off-farm participation and off-farm income. This result implies that nature reserves in China during 2002-2013 had overall negative impacts on the local livelihood in the aspects of participation in local off-farm work and off-farm income.

Depuis plus de deux décennies, après une difficile rupture et transition du régime communiste, l’espace rural de l’Albanie et les ménages ruraux connaissent de multiples et rapides transformations. Alors que l’agriculture est confrontée à de nombreuses limites (exploitations minuscules et fortement fragmentées, question irrésolue de la propriété foncière, insuffisance et précarité des infrastructures, faible accessibilité aux circuits commerciaux, etc.), les attentes des ménages en termes d’accès aux produits et de services, de bien-être et de qualité de vie, ont donné lieu à l’émergence de différentes formes d’adaptation économique, notamment à travers la mise en place des stratégies de diversification d’activités et de sources de revenus. Sous forme de valorisation directe des ressources agricoles ou de mise en œuvre d’alternatives à l’extérieur du cadre agricole, à travers des activités entrepreneuriales, des emplois ou encore des mobilités, ayant comme fondement d’organisation et de opération la structure familiale, les trajectoires des ménages ruraux sont analysées dans leur diversité et contexte local. Tout se traduit par l’émergence et la consolidation d’un modèle agri-rural basé sur une vaste gamme de ressources agricoles et extra-agricoles. / After more than two decades and following a difficult rupture and transition from communist regime, Albanian rural area and rural households have undergone multiple rapid transformations. While agriculture is facing several limits (the extremely small and fragmented farms, the unresolved issue of land property, the insufficiency of infrastructure, the low access to commercial circuits, etc.), the expectations of rural households in terms of product and service accessibility, well-being and life quality have lead to the emergence of different forms of economic adaptation, mostly through the implementation of activity and income diversification strategies. The trajectories of rural households based on the valorization of agricultural resources or non agricultural alternatives, are analyzed according to their diversity and local context. Family structure represents the organizing and operational foundation of these trajectories. An agri-rural model based on a large specter of agricultural and non-agricultural resources materializes and constantly consolidates.

Madagascar est un pays riche en ressources naturelles mais sa population reste pauvre et vit dans un écart de revenus important. Cette étude aborde le thème des "Inégalités de revenus des ménages en milieu rural malgache" afin de pouvoir apporter des éclaircissements à ce phénomène qui, d’une part, ruine la population rurale et, d’autre part, fragilise la stabilité et la performance économique du pays. Focalisée sur une période quinquennale d’observations répétées, la thèse porte sur les données de panel issues de 667 ménages. La thèse retrace le processus de calculs des revenus des paysans et du "seuil d’inégalité". Adoptant les modèles linéaire et non-linéaire, il s’attache aux spécifications et aux estimations des déterminants qui creusent ou réduisent les écarts de revenus des ménages intra-observatoires et entre observatoires de la côte Centre-Est. Les inégalités de revenus des ménages ruraux existent dans la société rurale Betsimisaraka. Elles sont multiformes. Plus de huit ménages sur dix vivent dans la "zone des pauvres inégalitaires". Les paysans de Mahanoro sont les plus pauvres et subissent aussi plus d’inégalités que ceux de Fénérive-Est. En revanche, à l’intérieur de l’observatoire, la situation a légèrement tendance à décroître au fil du temps. Pour une population assez homogène vivant dans une pauvreté alarmante, les inégalités entre ménages pauvres ne sont pas trop élevées. Les résultats des modèles économétriques soutiennent que la bonne production annuelle de riz réduit les écarts de revenus tandis que le sexe féminin et le niveau d’éducation du chef de ménage, la faible superficie rizicole ainsi que l’investissement, le dépôt financier, la thésaurisation, le sans épargne, l’emprunt, les revenus secondaires, le PIB et la crise politique accentuent les inégalités de revenus / Madagascar is a country rich in natural resources, but its population is poor and lives in a significant income gap. This thesis deals with the issue of "household income inequalities in rural areas in Madagascar", in order to clarify this phenomenon which, on the one hand, ruin the rural population and on the other hand, weakens the country's stability and the economic performance. Covering a five-year period of repeated observations, this thesis focuses on data from 667 households, from a balanced panel. The thesis traces the calculation process of farmers’ income and “inequality threshold”. Adopting linear and non-linear models, it endeavors to specify and estimate determinants that increase or reduce the wealth gap within and between observatories of the Central East Coast of Madagascar. Income inequalities of rural households are found in Betsimisaraka rural society. They are multifaceted. More than eight out of ten households live in the “area of unequal poors”. The farmers in Mahanoro are poorer and suffer more inequalities than in Fenerive Est. However, inside the observatory, the situation slightly tends to increase over time. For a rather homogeneous population living in alarming poverty, the inequalities between poor households are not too high. The results of econometric models argue that the good annual production of rice reduces income disparities, whereas the feminine gender and the education level of the household head, the small size of rice area along with the investment, the financial deposit, the hoarding, the "No savings", the debt, the secondary income, the GDP and the political crisis contribute to greater income inequalities.