Journal of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics (JASAE)

Abstract : Ethiopia has been struggling in the international Sesame market due to low productivity. Therefore, contract farming (CF) has been introduced as a new institutional arrangement to improve productivity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of CF on smallholder’s technical efficiency (TE) using cross-sectional data from 122 CF and 261 non-CF sesame farmers in Ethiopia. A data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to estimate sesame production efficiency. The impact of CF on technical, allocative, and economic efficiency was assessed using propensity score matching (PSM). A Rosenbaum bound approach was used to see to what extent the PSM results is sensitive to hidden bias problem. Based on the DEA result, CF participants have an average TE score of 0.68 and non-CF has 0.56 under constant return to scale. This indicates that to increase TE, CF participants and non-participants can reduce the amount of input use by 32% and 44%, respectively. Farmers can increase TE under variable return to scale by reducing input level on average by 23% and 32% for CF and non-CF, respectively. The AE for CF participants is 0.26, while the non-CF participant has an AE of 0.20. The PSM results revealed that contract farming increases technical efficiency by 11% and economic efficiency by 8.7%. AE is increased by 8% due to CF. Therefore, contract farming can be used as an institutional arrangement to improve production efficiency.
Full article

Abstract : Intestinal parasites infections are the major disease that infecting human through food contamination. Consumption of raw vegetables become an important pathway for the parasitic infection towards the human host. Hence, the aim of this mini review is to reveal the past and present on the parasitic infections in vegetables which has been underestimated. In general, the implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) by practicing good documentation and practices in agriculture, providing good facilities and amenities such as clean storage house and clean water supply will reduce the contamination of parasitic infections. Besides, we suggested that the importance to create new regulation to control the uses of fertilizer originated from untreated human and animal waste should be eliminated in order to reduce the contamination of parasitic infections in vegetables..
Full article

Abstract : The peatland becomes a source of living by the people around it which causes an exploitation that triggers the fire so that it damages peatland ecosystem. The aims of this study are to identify the social economic condition of the people living in peatland area and to determine the socioeconomic factors that influence welfare. The research location is Bunut sub-district and Kerumutan sub-district, Pelalawan district which are two of fire point areas in 2015. Three-Stage Least Square is applied to analyse the data. The main result of this study shows that socioeconomic conditions of the peatland community in Pelalawan District, Riau has a productive age and low education level. The majority of the community's livelihood as oil palm farmers, so that the largest income derived from oil palm cultivation. This income is used more to meet non-food needs. The community welfare of peatland is influenced by asset possession and income. The biggest asset owned by the community is peatland, which is mostly used for rubber and oil palm cultivation. Exploitation of peatland has caused damage and the income of peatland communities is not optimal. The welfare of peatland community can be improved without exploitation the peat and with rubber and palm oil cultivation. In addition, welfare can be increased if the peatland community can create non-farm livelihoods, so that the peatland ecosystem can remain sustainable..
Full article

Abstract : Sweet pepper consumption in the Philippines is low due to nutrient-deficient soils. Since chicken manure and coco coir were widely used in the country as soil enhancers, the study determined the appropriate combination rate of chicken manure char (CMC) and coco coir char (CCC) application in enhancing the growth and yield of sweet pepper and evaluated the chemical properties of acidic grassland soil. A pot experiment was conducted with bell pepper as a test crop. The soil used was collected randomly from a depth of 0-20 cm at the grassland area of NwSSU, San Jorge Campus, San Jorge Samar. Replicated thrice, the treatments used were T1 = Control, T2 = 100% CMC 10 kg-1 soil, T3 = 100% CCC 10 kg-1 soil, T4 – 75% CMC + 25% g CCC10 kg-1 soil, T5 – 50% CMC + 50% CCC10 kg-1 soil, T6 - 25% PLC + 300 g CCC10 kg-1 soil. Charred chicken manure and coco coir were produced using a modified top lift updraft double barrel method. CMC and CCC mixture was incubated with soil for 14 days before transplanting. Sweet pepper was harvested after 90-95 days from transplanting. Plant tissue and soil samples were chemically analyzed. Results revealed that CMC and CCC addition particularly enhanced the plant height of sweet pepper; lessen their number of days from transplanting to flowering, fruiting and harvesting; and marketable yield. Moreover, CMC and CCC mixture addition significantly increased the pH, % OM, total N, extractable P, and exchangeable K of acidic grassland soil..
Full article

Abstract : This study evaluated 10 sugarcane cultivars for their response to some biotic and abiotic factors limiting sugarcane cultivation in Nigeria. Cane setts of the cultivars were supplied by the National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi, Niger state, Nigeria. Planting was done on ploughed and harrowed soil, at the rate of 40 setts/plots and 1 m spacing. The total land area was 61 m x 19 m (1,159 m2). It was divided into 30 plots of 5 m x 5 m (25 m2). Cultivars were allocated to the plots randomly in a randomized complete block experimental design having three replicates. Data were collected for six months on sett germination, termite infestation, sett rot infection, disease incidence/severity and drought tolerance. All data were subjected to statistical analysis and mean separation using Minitab software. The results obtained showed a high percentage of sett germination for most cultivars, only N27 had below 50%. All cultivars were susceptible to termite infestation and sett rot infection, but the percentage termite infestation was low across cultivars, the highest being 10.83% (B991114 and B881104), while percentage sett rot infection was high in a few cultivars, as much as 55.00% in N27. Seven cultivars showed susceptibility to at least one of red rot, sugarcane white leaf and sugarcane mosaic diseases. Three cultivars were extremely susceptible to drought, while only two (BBZ951034 and B881104) exhibited tolerance. Two cultivars, B991114 and SP81-3250, had no incidence of any disease and were moderately tolerant to drought. There is a need for further work on them..
Full article