No 3/2011, September | Agris on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics

Farmers’ strategies for adapting to climate change in Ogbomoso agricultural zone of Oyo state

A.O. Ajao L.T. Ogunniyi No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

The climate is changing and global mean temperatures have increased this is expected to have profound effects on food security. Long-term changes in climate will disproportionately affect tropical regions, meaning poor farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa will likely bear the brunt of adverse impacts. Adaptation plays an important role in reducing vulnerability to climate change and is therefore critical and of concern in developing countries, particularly in Africa where vulnerability is high because ability to adapt is low. This study examined farmers’ strategies for adapting to climate change in Ogbomoso agricultural zone of Oyo State of Nigeria. One hundred and fifty farmers were interviewed to obtain information from using a multistage sampling procedure. The results of the study showed that the types of climate change identified in the study area were delayed on-set of rainfall (38.0 percent), higher temperature (20.0 percent) and less rain (17.3 percent). The outcome of climate change were food shortage (41.3percent), decline in livestock yield (30.7 percent), decline in crop yield (28.7 percent) and death of livestock (16.0 percent). The identified actions taken to address climate change are growing a new crop (57.4 percent), adoption of drought tolerant/ resistance crop varieties (50.0 percent), diversification from crops to livestock production (40.7 percent) and using of new land management practices. The long-term improvement investments commonly adapted in the study area were tree planting/agroforestry, mulching/surface cover, improved fallowing and fallowing.The study concluded that household size, extension visits and non-farm income significantly impact on the various strategies used in adaptation to climate change.

KEYWORDS

Climate, probit, mulchin, adaptation.

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Influence of firm related factors and industrial policy regime on technology based capacity utilization in sugar industry in Nigeria

S. B. Akpan U. J. Udo1 U. A. Essien No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

The study analyzed the technology based capacity utilization rate in sugar industry in Nigeria in the period 1970 to 2010. Data used in the study were obtained from the sugar firms, publications of the Central Bank of Nigeria and National Bureau of Statistics. Augmented Dicker Fuller unit root test was conducted on the specified data to ascertain their stationarity and order of integration. The result reveals that some variables were stationary at level while some were stationary at first difference. The diagnostic statistics from the multiple log linear regression on the specified variables confirmed the reliability of the model. The empirical result reveals that sugar cane price and sugar industry’s real energy consumption have significant negative relationship with the technology based capacity utilization in the sugar industry in Nigeria. On the other hand, the wage rate of skill workers, industry’s, real research expenditure, human capital and period of import substitution have significant positive influenced on the technology based capacity utilization rate in the industry. Our findings suggest that policy measures aim at expanding the hectares of industrial sugarcane and increase production of refined petroleum fuel in the country will promote capacity utilization in the industry. Also policies targeted on the intensification of research and improved worker’s remuneration in the sub-sector is strongly advocated.

KEYWORDS

Sugar, firm, capacity, utilization, industry, technology.

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Analysis of rural credit market performance in north west region, Cameroon

M.-J. Bime J. A. Mbanasor No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to access the performance of rural credit markets in the North West Region of Cameroon. Specifically, it identifies the various participants in credit markets, estimate as and analysis the credit demand and supply functions. Data were primarily gathered through a multi-stage sampling technique involving 360 households and 60 credit institutions. Results reveal that interest, income, household size, farm size, education age and sex of respondents were determinants of credit demand while Interest paid, gross income and source of loan determined credit supply. It was recommended that interest should be kept low to encourage proper functioning of credit markets.

KEYWORDS

Performance, formal, informal, credit demand, credit supply.

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Influence of subsidies on height and structures of farmers´ incomes in EU member states

I.Boháčková M.Hrabánková No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

In a new budgetary framework for years 2014-2020, changes will be made in expenditures of financial means from the EU budget, which will significantly influence incomes of agricultural producers in all member states of the Community. Incomes of agricultural enterprises always represented a very sensitive area of economic-political approaches in the agrarian sector. At the present, the situation is the same. In a theoretical sphere and in practice of institutions, ways to monitor incomes of agricultural farms, to analyze them, and what measures on base of these analyses to realize, are searched. The submitted paper deals in this context with a question of incomes according to their origin – agricultural incomes, incomes from non-agricultural activities, subsidy means. The aim is to draw attention to the fact that the subsidiary policy towards farmers can not be base in the area of incomes only on development and height of incomes, which have their origin in agricultural activities, but that it is necessary to consider the general income situation. A special attention has to be paid than to non-agricultural incomes – which are in the attention center in connection with demanding activity diversification. Knowledge presented in this paper is the result of grant solution MSM 6046070906 “Economics of Czech agriculture resources and their efficient usage within the framework of multifunctional agri-food systems".

KEYWORDS

Agrarian sector, incomes of agricultural producers, incomes of agricultural branch, income indicators A and C, subsidy means, diversification of activities, incomes of non-agricultural activities, total incomes.

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Social structural model and voting behaviour under the conditions of Czech rural areas

R. Kopřiva P. Varvažovská No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

From a social viewpoint, Czech rural areas are defined by joint, specific interests by which they differ from the urban environment. In relation to this, this article asks the fundamental question whether class polarization is the background factor of voting results, or if political conflict is based on different factors. The aim of this article is, through a case study of Zatec region, to verify the applicability of the social structural model of voting behaviour of citizens of Czech rural areas.

KEYWORDS

Social structural model, voting behaviour, social class, rural areas, vote, right-wing, left-wing, social status.

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Weather derivative design in agriculture – a case study of barley in the Southern Moravia Region

J. Špička No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to point out some problems of index estimation for the purposes of weather derivative valuation considering the particularities of agriculture. The assessment of the sensitivity of barley to weather over 40 years has been the basis for the design and valuation of weather derivative in the Czech Republic (The Southern Moravia Region). The analysis is based on regression modeling using temperature index and barley yield. The burn analysis based on parametric bootstrap is used as the method for the valuation of weather derivative contract. With the effective bootstrap tool, the burn analysis may easily be processed and the uncertainty about the pay-off, option price and statistics of probability distribution of revenues can be effectively determined. Nevertheless, the results of the analysis reveal a significant adverse impact of basis risk on the quality of agricultural weather derivative in the Czech growing conditions. The article outlines the scope for use of weather derivative as the reinsurance tool in regions with frequent occurrence of systematic weather risk.

KEYWORDS

Weather derivative valuation, agriculture, risk management, basis risk, burn analysis.

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NASYP: Online expert tool on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances

D. Kahuda M. Vach O. Čerba Z. Křivánek J. Ježek K. Charvát P. Vohnout V. Dvořák No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

NASYP is an online Geoportal tool being developed in cooperation with state and regional authorities to improve insufficient practices based on implementation of Directive nr. 2003/105/ES on the control of majoraccident hazards involving dangerous substances. The tool is applicable for managing the permits, reporting and regular monitoring issues. Furthermore, it’s applicable for a risk assessment and a rapid management of disasters in the initial phase. There’re simple modeling tools included to simulate early stages of the contamination caused by disasters occurred to be used for decision making and effective use of emergency services. In this manner, there’re low atmospheric and surface water pollutions taken into account. For the study area, Liberec region was chosen covering the area of 3,163km2 and containing 533 potentially dangerous objects categorized accordingly to the Directive nr. 2003/105/ES. The model simulations are responding to daily hydrological and meteorological situation, a capability of automated updates from databases operated by the Czech Hydro Meteorological Institute, and communicate with databases of substances operated by the regional authorities. NASYP is suitable especially for the “N” class of the operators defined in the Directive, where because of smaller amounts of stored dangerous substances the safety measures and regular inspections are limited.

KEYWORDS

Spatial data, geoportal, risk management, modelling.

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Information and Communication Technologies for Regional Development in the Czech Republic – Broadband Connectivity in Rural Areas

J. Vaněk J. Jarolímek T. Vogeltanzová No 3/2011, September

ABSTRACT

The present paper introduces chosen results of an ICT development survey in the regions of the Czech Republic. The survey was primarily focused on broadband connectivity and its adoption by agricultural enterprises operating in rural areas. The survey was conducted in the context of both the EU strategy "Digital Agenda for Europe" and the national program document "National Policy in Electronic Communications - Digital Czech Republic". It stems from the enquiries that the situation is not – in spite of a certain improvement – satisfactory and the digital divide remains highly topical in rural areas of the Czech Republic. Broadband connectivity reaches practically 100% in urban areas and more than 85% in suburban areas whereas the rural areas show only about 75% availability. In many parts of the Czech Republic, a high quality Internet connection is quite questionable and sometimes even unavailable until present.

KEYWORDS

ICT adoption, broadband, Digital Agenda for Europe, ADSL, FTTx, Wi-Fi.

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