Farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship facing the upcoming expiry of land contracts

On the verge of the expiry of land contracts, it is theoretically and practically important to explore the willingness and motivations of farmers to stabilize the land contract relationship, with regards to protecting their land contract rights, addressing potential contradictions during the land contract extension, and maintaining the stability of contracted land. Using China Land Economic Survey Data in 2020, this paper explores the impact of differences in areas per capita of household contracted land on farmers' willingness to stabilize land contract relationship. The findings show that most farmers support the stability of land contract relationship;the smaller areas per capita of contracted land are occupied by households than the average in the village, the weaker of the farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship. The difference between the areas per capita of contracted land ownership of a household and the average in the village has a greater impact on the willingness to stabilize land contract relationship for middle-and low-income farmers, while the development of land transfer market does not increased the willingness. Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the land plays a more important role of employment security, which reduces farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship. Furthermore, the promotion of socialized agricultural service has also mitigated the willingness of farmers o stabilize the land contract relationship.

Resilience of U.S. cattle and beef sectors: lessons from COVID-19. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

The upheaval wrought on the U.S. beef industry by the global COVID-19 pandemic carried with it several lessons that might help improve resiliency should there be a reoccurrence. First, the futures market for fed cattle fell well before cash prices, which sent a signal to market cattle early, and those who did so benefited. Second, the decline in futures anticipated the closure of slaughter plants and provided an opportunity to purchase and store beef primals in anticipation of future scarcity. Third, the beef industry has ways of slowing or stopping the pipeline of animals destined for feed yards and can "store" these animals in background feeding facilities or on pasture or rangeland. Producers who waited to sell feeder cattle benefited from higher feeder cattle prices once the processing facilities reopened. Fourth, cow slaughter plants responded to the pandemic and subsequent scarcity of labor much better than large fed-cattle plants. Cow plants are not as sophisticated and complex as fed-cattle plants. This relative simplicity may help explain the superior performance of these plants during the crisis. Sixth, the academic work on the value of building smaller plants as a response against concentration provides mixed results-these plants require more labor per animal and can be even more susceptible to labor scarcity. Seventh, the observed increase in boxed beef prices, even as fed cattle prices fell, demonstrates the risk-mitigating impact of producer ownership of downstream activities in the value chain.

Smallholder views on Chinese agricultural investments in Mozambique and Tanzania in the context of VGGTs

Based on a case study in each country, this study documents the views of Mozambican and Tanzanian smallholders regarding Chinese agricultural investments and the extent to which investors abide by their legitimate land tenure rights as defined by the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs). The VGGTs offer guidelines to government on how to protect the land tenure of rural communities when land is being acquired for large-scale land investments. The study also assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholders. Due to COVID-19, instead of fieldwork, we conducted telephone interviews with 20 smallholders in Mozambique and 35 in Tanzania. The Mozambican case showed that even when land set aside for investors was not in dispute, smallholders still had unmet expectations, especially regarding investors' corporate social responsibility activities. In the Tanzanian case, even though the land leased by the Chinese investor had been designated as general land, it had laid fallow for a long period, and smallholders had moved back onto the land, only to be displaced in 2017. Although smallholders' views on the investment were mixed, the case underscored the need for government to assess current land use before allocating it to investors - regardless of how the land is classified and especially in areas where land shortages are creating conflict. The cases show that even if communities are consulted about proposed land investments, guidelines need to include clauses that allow for ongoing communications between investors, communities and government officials such that if communities are unsatisfied with the results of the investment, renegotiation is possible. Further, in the event of crises, such as COVID-19, investors should partner with communities and government to limit the extent of harm in communities as a result of the crisis.

The relationship of land tenure, land use and land cover changes in Lake Victoria basin

Water basins characterise both physical and social environmental aspects such as land tenure. As such, the basins extend beyond spatial units of physical resources and human relations analysis to policy research and reform units. The comprehensive view of water basins in research goes along with an observed increase in anthropogenic-driven changes, such as land use and land cover changes, and cases of ineffective remedial measures to the adverse change, such as through applying integrated watershed management approaches. The human-induced land cover changes affect the water basin's biodiversity, for instance, contributing to an increase in zoonotic disease outbreaks like coronaviruses. The Lake Victoria basin exhibits similar patterns of change and effects due to, among other factors, land tenure, whose contribution is less known empirically. Therefore, this paper integrates satellite imagery and catchment survey data to examine the relationship between land tenure and land uses and land cover changes in the Lake Victoria basin of Eastern Africa. Additionally, explore the contextual character and role of three land tenure systems of Customary, Native freehold and Mailo found in the Uganda country segment of the basin in explaining the outcomes. The aim is to provide information that, among other benefits, improves water basin management and governance. The results indicate a statistically significant relationship exists between the perceived extent of land use and land cover change;drivers of change;the extent of adopting sustainable land-use practices, and the prevailing land tenure. Though with different tenure systems, the three case study water catchments experienced adverse land use and cover changes. The changes mainly affected land tenure indicative land use and cover classes, prominently on the Customary, Mailo, and Native freehold land tenure systems. However, marginal differences occur among the land tenure systems, as the systems feature both de jure and de facto systems and an orientation towards customary tenure characters. The situation likely explains the observed closeness in perceptions regarding the role and relationship between land tenure and land use and cover changes, tenure systems character, perceived drivers of change and eventual outcomes, including the sustainable land use practices adoption. In addition to explaining the land use and cover change, land tenure is an essential tool for restoration and sustainable basin development and sustainability. We, thus, recommend land tenure responsiveness in water basin management approaches for sustainable societal development. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Farmer's perception of the performance of a field agricultural extension agent during Covid-19 pandemic in Jember Regency

The Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia has an impact to agriculture and extension activities. Agricultural extension activities during the Covid-19 pandemic were carried out used online media such as Whatsapp Groups, Youtube and radio, whereas extension activities involving many people were temporarily removed. Agricultural extension agents are agents of change related with farmers. So that, it is important for farmers to evaluate the performance of agricultural extension workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, so that the benefits of extension activities can feel by all farmers. The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions and factors that influence farmers' perceptions to the performance of Field Agricultural Extension during the Covid-19 pandemic in Jember Regency. This research is located in Jember Regency and was conducted from July 2021 to December 2021. The sampling technique was cluster random sampling with a total of 200 respondents. The data collected in this study were analyzed by statistical descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression model analysis. The results show that farmers' perceptions of the performance of agricultural extension workers during the Covid-19 pandemic are very satisfied. The factors that influence the perception of farmers are the frequency of extension, the level of farmer's participation, and farmer's knowledge. Meanwhile farmer's experience, farmer's group class, and land tenure had no effect on farmers' perceptions of the extension workers' performance.

The impact of land certification on cropland abandonment: evidence from rural China

Purpose>This study explores how the land tenure system helps in protecting land quantity during agricultural production by estimating the influence of land certification on cropland abandonment, its mechanisms and its heterogeneous effects among groups at the provincial, community and household levels.Design/methodology/approach>To deal with potential homogeneity concerns, the authors investigate the impact of land certification on the area of abandoned croplands using nationally representative panel data from the 2017 and 2019 China Rural Household Panel Survey on 15,000 households across 29 provinces and time-varying difference-in-differences and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences models.Findings>Land certification significantly contributes to the protection of land quantity during agricultural production, and it reduces the area of abandoned croplands by at least 4%. This effect is mainly achieved by improving soil fertility, promoting land transfer, increasing the availability of agricultural subsidies and raising agricultural income. However, while land certification benefits farmers in nonmajor grain-producing areas and western regions, in plain, remote and nonpolitically central villages, and farmers who have not undergone land transfer or land adjustment, it is not beneficial for others.Research limitations/implications>In the postepidemic era, food security based on the protection of the amount of cultivated land becomes increasingly important. It is realistic and inevitable to rationally use every inch of cultivated land and curb the cropland abandonment by strengthening land tenure system reform, especially in the case of the insecurity of land tenure.Practical implications>There are various factors affecting farmers' cropland abandonment, such as poor soil fertility, unavailable land transfer, too little agricultural subsidies and too low agricultural income, but the root cause is the insecurity of land tenure. Empirical evidence from rural China has shown that a clear definition and effective protection of property rights can help curb the cropland abandonment. Enhancing the land protection behavior of farmers through the reform of land certification and promoting the sustainable use of land are what the reform of land tenure system should be.Social implications>Cultivated land, as the material carrier and endowment basis of grain production, is of great importance to safeguarding national food security, especially in the postepidemic era. At the present stage, it is still necessary for most developing countries to strengthen the construction of land tenure system, to carry out land certification reform and to issue farmers with clearly defined and legally effective land certificates. Equally important, efforts also should be made to promote the diversified utilization of the achievements of the certification after the completion of land certification reform in China and other developing countries.Originality/value>Expropriation and occupation of croplands are essential in protecting land quantity during rapid urbanization, and so is reducing cropland abandonment during agricultural production;therefore, it deserves close attention. In this regard, this study estimates the impact of land certification on the area of abandoned croplands, examines its possible mechanisms and identifies its heterogeneous effects to test the applicability of the property rights theory in the Chinese context and enrich the relevant literature and provide Chinese evidence for other developing countries to strengthen the protection of land quantity, by deepening the reform of the land tenure system under different circumstances.

A return to the land after tourism? Chinchero (Peru) in times of pandemic

The Andean town of Chinchero, near Cuzco, has traditionally been an agricultural spot. However, over the last few decades agriculture has been in recess as the region experienced a surge in international tourism. Nowadays the covid-19 crisis is having a tremendous impact on the tourism business in Peru, as the country struggles to control the pandemic and the international borders have been closed since March. Considering the new scenario, this paper examines the consequences of the collapse of the tourism industry for the agricultural production in Chinchero. Specifically it asks whether or not people's perceptions and attitudes towards agriculture have substantially changed or not in the midst of the pandemic, and the extent to which these perceptions may somehow redress the town's increasing trend towards depeasantisation and touristification. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Status Quo of Households’ Backyard Food Gardens in South Africa: The “Drivers”

South Africa is one of the most food-secured countries at the national level but is food insecure at the household level. The disconnect in the food security at the national and at household level in the economy is a result of high food prices that most households cannot afford. One of the strategies of ameliorating food insecurity at the household level is the practice of backyard food gardens. This study identifies farmland size, land tenure system, agriculture-related assistance to households, location of residence of the household, agricultural training offered to households, and monetary grants for households for agriculture purpose as the determinants of households’ backyard food gardens in South Africa. The study used descriptive (horizontal bar chart) and inferential (Pearson’s chi-square) analyses to evaluate the household-level impacts of farmland size, land tenure system, agriculture-related assistance, location of residence, agricultural training, and monetary grants for agriculture purposes of the backyard food gardens in South Africa. The data for the study were sourced from the Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey for 2019. The findings revealed that farmland size, land tenure system, agriculture-related assistance to households, location of residence of the household, agricultural training offered to households, and monetary grants for households for agriculture purposes are significant to households’ backyard food gardens in South Africa. It is clear that agriculture-related assistance is welcomed by the households but the spread across all dwelling locations is limited;therefore, there is need to spread agriculture-related assistance to all dwelling areas in South Africa. This will increase the drive towards food production in South Africa.

Urban Land and Development Management in a Challenged Developing World: An Overview of New Reflections

The urban development and management challenges of the developing world are well documented in the literature. However, the global built environment landscape is undergoing rapid changes. These changes are steeped in three fundamental imperatives, which have serious implications for the developing world. These imperatives are population growth and rising urbanisation;environmental challenges, particularly climate change and the quest to embrace sustainability as a panacea;and advances in technological development. This paper discusses these three imperatives with the view to teasing out their implications for urban development and management in the developing world. Consistent with the literature, the paper establishes that most of the population growth and rising urbanisation are occurring in the developing world, particularly Africa and Asia, and although these phenomena have the tendency to increase economic density and promote both private and public investment in urban development, especially construction/housing and related infrastructure activities, there are and will be several problems with them. These include land tenure insecurity, lack of access to decent affordable housing and the threat of destruction to heritage sites. Furthermore, environmental challenges such as poor waste management, and climate change are and will remain pressing issues requiring the adoption of sustainability credentials because of legislative requirements, moral suasion, and value addition. Despite the potential disruptive nature of technology with respect to some aspects of the built environment, it is recognised that advances in technology are essential to the achievement of optimal urban development and management outcomes in the developing world. The paper, therefore, recommends better understanding of the socio-economic, cultural, and political forces underlying urban growth in the developing world, factoring in technology and sustainability in urban development and management, and collaboration among relevant actors, particularly government and the private sector, for optimal outcomes.

Land governance and gender: the tenure-gender nexus in land management and land policy

This book delivers new conceptual and empirical studies surrounding the design and evaluation of land governance, focusing on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure and land-based gender concerns. It explores alternative approaches for land management and land tenure through international experiences. Themes include Islamic tenure, reverse migration, matriarchy/matrilineal systems, structural inequality, tenure-responsive planning, land-related instabilities and COVID-19, urban-rural land concerns, women's tenure bargaining, tenure-gender nexus concerns in developing and developed countries.