An important step in farm planning is the development of a gross margin budget. A gross margin is calculated from a crop's gross income less the variable costs incurred in growing and marketing that crop. The gross margin indicates the potential financial gain or loss of the crop being produced. Gross margins are usually expressed in units related to resources such as land, labour or irrigation...

Smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa face multiple trade-offs when deciding on the allocation of their financial, labour and nutrient resources. Day-to-day decisions have implications for the sustainability of their farming system, implying multiple trade-offs between shortand long-term objectives that have biophysical and socio-economic dimensions. We show that inverse modelling techniques ...

If farmers are risk averse, greater farm income variability should increase off-farm labor supply. This effect is confirmed for a sample of Kansas farmers. Off-farm employment of farmers and their spouses is also found to be significantly influenced by farm experience, off-farm work experience, farm size, leverage, efficiency, and farm-specific education. In addition, farm operators and spouses...

We analyse intertemporal poverty in two important dimensions – income and nutrition – in less developed northwest China during 2000-2004. A generalised recursive selection model is proposed which enables simultaneous estimation of the causes of intertemporal poverty within and between dimensions. Improvement in agricultural production is crucial for reducing both dimensions of intertemporal pov...

Rural survival in Africa, as elsewhere, depends predominantly upon social rather than ecological factors once a division of labour between town and country has been established. The viability of the production process on the farm becomes a function of the effectiveness of the external structures which manage the interaction between them; more especially, that of the agencies, public and private...

This study analyzed the determinants of the productivity of smallholder arable crop farmers with a particular focus on land fragmentation using the Simpson Index as measures of land fragmentation in Imo state of Nigeria. Data collected by using structured questionnaire and interview schedules were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics; Simpson index and regression analysis. Results showe...

India is a subtropical country, wherein the climate is of variable type. A shelter is required both in summer as well as in winter to counter the various vagaries of adverse climate and to provide a comfortable environment to the animals. The principle functions of any system of housing for dairy cattle are: (1) Provision of health sustaining and comfortable environment to different categories ...