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This paper investigates an empirical puzzle in technology adoption for developing countries: the low adoption rates of technologies like hybrid maize that increase average farm profits dramatically. I offer a simple explanation for this: benefits and costs of technologies are heterogeneous, so that farmers with low net returns do not adopt the technology. I examine this hypothesis by estimating a correlated random coefficient model of yields and the corresponding distribution of returns to hybrid maize. This distribution indicates that the group of farmers with the highest estimated gross returns does not use hybrid, but their returns are correlated with high costs of acquiring the technology (due to poor infrastructure). Another group of farmers has lower returns and adopts, while the marginal farmers have zero returns and switch in and out of use over the sample period. Overall, adoption decisions appear to be rational and well explained by (observed and unobserved) variation in heterogeneous net benefits to the technology.

We implemented a randomized intervention among Malawian farmers aimed at facilitating formal savings for agricultural inputs. Treated farmers were offered the opportunity to have their cash crop harvest proceeds deposited directly into new bank accounts in their own names, while farmers in the control group were paid harvest proceeds in cash (the status quo). The treatment led to higher savings in the months immediately before the next agricultural planting season and raised agricultural input usage in that season. We also find positive treatment effects on subsequent crop sale proceeds and household expenditures. Because the treatment effect on savings was only a small fraction of the treatment effect on the value of agricultural inputs, mechanisms other than alleviation of savings constraints per se are needed to explain the treatment’s impact on input utilization. We discuss other possible mechanisms through which treatment effects may have operated.

Agriculture is a traditional industry in Vietnam in general and the Red River Delta in particular. Agriculture has created many jobs and incomes for laborers in the locality and neighboring provinces over the past time. However, the production and consumption of energy such as gasoline, gas, petroleum and fuel in the Red River Delta are concerned and focused by local authorities and people. In particular, they emphasize green agriculture. This study investigates the long-term cointegration relationship between energy production and consumption on agricultural development and local economic growth. The author used long-term data of eleven provinces for calculation. The experimental results demonstrate that the independent variables explain 53.5% of the variation of the dependent variable and the rest (46.5%) can be explained by other causes. The research results show that 4 factors are agricultural labor (La), agricultural revenue (output) (REV), agricultural investment capital (Ia) and production and consumption of petroleum and gas (PE) has a positive impact on agricultural production value. The factor of energy production and consumption (EG) has a negative impact on the value of agricultural production in the Red River Delta. From there, the study proposes ways to use more efficiently the existing energy sources in the Red River Delta.

PurposeEver since China’s implementation of the open-door policy in 1978, there has been a remarkable transformation in the nation’s economic landscape. Undesirably, amidst the rapid urban development, the importance of prioritising and nurturing rural development in China has not received unwavering attention. Nevertheless, the Chinese government has embarked on many ventures to bridge the disparities existing amidst urban and rural areas, revitalise the rural economy, and enhance overall productivity. This paper enunciates the role of the Chinese government in prospering rural areas by implementing policies that align with the Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs)- 1, 2 and 12.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a comprehensive methodology encompassing both primary and secondary research techniques to procure valuable insights and reviewed various Chinese government policies pertaining to rural revitalisation.FindingsThe study results demonstrate that throughout the policy implementation, China has contributed to the livelihoods of the rural communities and achieved SDG-1 (ending poverty) by 2030, ten years ahead of Agenda (2030). The country has also substantially improved its rural agricultural system by integrating modern science and technology and aiming to achieve SDG-2 (ensure food security) with the alignment of SDG-12 (sustainable production and consumption). The findings of this research indicate that despite some limitations in China’s rural revitalisation strategy, overall progress is seen in many aspects, particularly in achieving SDG-1, 2, and 12.Research limitations/implicationsThe Chinese government has made significant efforts to promote ecological, social, and economic development in rural areas through various national initiatives such as the “New Countryside” and “Rural Revitalisation” strategies. These initiatives have successfully alleviated poverty, increased food production, and ensured sustainable production and consumption. The discoveries presented within this article possess immense value, as they provide profound insights for policymakers, rural planners, and researchers who are fervently searching for viable solutions to tackle the intricate interplay between rural development and sustainability. Therefore, this study has the potential to greatly benefit policymakers from various nations, as they can adopt China’s rural revitalisation model as a means to successfully achieve SDGs 1, 2, and 12.Originality/valueThis study found that despite numerous initiatives to improve rural landscapes, China’s rural revitalisation approach still poses concerns as local governments are likely to focus on increasing income capacity rather than concentrating on establishing environmental governance.

How can foreign aid to agriculture support economic growth in Africa? This paper constructs a geographically indexed applied general equilibrium model that considers pathways through which aid might affect growth and structural transformation of labor markets in the context of soil nutrient variation, minimum subsistence consumption requirements, domestic transport costs, labor mobility, and constraints to self-financing of agricultural inputs. Using plausible parameters, the model is presented for Uganda as an illustrative case. We present three stylized scenarios to demonstrate the potential economy-wide impacts of both soil nutrient loss and replenishment, and how foreign aid can be targeted to support agricultural inputs that boost rural productivity and shift labor to boost real wages. One simulation shows how a temporary program of targeted official development assistance (ODA) for agriculture could generate, contrary to traditional Dutch disease concerns, an expansion in the primary tradable sector and positive permanent productivity and welfare effects, leading to a steady decline in the need for complementary ODA for budget support.

PurposeThis study aims to identify the importance of agricultural and rural modernization and propose ways to accelerate such modernization.Design/methodology/approachThe authors systematically examine the crucial role that the modernization of agriculture and rural areas plays in China, discuss the current issues in China's modernization from the perspective of agricultural and rural fields and propose practical measures to accelerate agricultural and rural modernization.FindingsThis study emphasizes the importance of China's agricultural and rural modernization in five aspects: the significance inherent in theories and experiences, the high complexity of the modernization work, the extreme difficulty of the task, the particular sluggishness of the process and its specific impact on the overall development. Numerous shortcomings in domestic agriculture and rural areas have been identified. The following actions can help achieve modernization: strengthening strategic leadership, providing policy support and constructing supportive measures.Originality/valueThis paper summarizes the significance of agricultural and rural modernization, highlights the issues regarding such modernization and suggests effective solutions.

“This collection of essays provides a wealth of information and analysis about the Philippine economy and the role of agriculture and economic policy in it. The Philippine experience has been quite different from the highly successful Asian economies, with a long period of low growth until the turn of the century and only then greater success. The authors cover not only the Philippine experience but also place it in its Asian context and that of developing countries more generally. They report on the lessons learned, both positive and negative, from the various economic policies that have been adopted, with regard to both agriculture and to economic inequality. Those interested in Philippine economic development, and Asian development more broadly, will find this an important reference work.”—Anne O. Krueger, Senior Research Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; 1st Deputy Managing Director, IMF (2001–6); Vice-President of Economics and Research, World Bank (1982-86)

This paper examines a model of agricultural development specifically centered on the role of cooperatives in augmenting social capital. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of agricultural cooperatives on social capital formation and improved livelihoods in eight villages in the Aegean Region of Turkey (Bademler, Bağarası, Börezli, Gödence, Karakuzu, Kızıklı, Kuyumcu and Tire). We collected data using face-to-face semi-structured surveys. The results from frequency tables and social network analysis (SNA) support the hypothesis that membership in an agricultural development cooperative is a significant factor, which not only affects trust and augments social capital but also improves livelihoods in terms of income perception and eating habits.

We study how stochasticity in the evolution of agricultural productivity interacts with economic and population growth at the global level. We use a two-sector Schumpeterian model of growth, in which a manufacturing sector produces the traditional consumption good and an agricultural sector produces food to sustain contemporaneous population. Agriculture demands land as an input, itself treated as a scarce form of capital. In our model both population and sectoral technological progress are endogenously determined, and key technological parameters of the model are structurally estimated using 1960-2010 data on world GDP, population, cropland and technological progress. Introducing random shocks to the evolution of total factor productivity in agriculture, we show that uncertainty optimally requires more land to be converted into agricultural use as a hedge against production shortages, and that it significantly affects both optimal consumption and population trajectories.