Maize is an important staple food in Nigeria. Declining yields of maize as a result of several environmental and biological factors have necessitated technological innovations focusing on maturity time, disease resistance and palatability of the crop. This study therefore assesses the adoption of improved seeds and efficiency levels of farmers in River state, Nigeria. The data were obtained fro...

Set in six rural communities in southern Hebei Province of China, the present study focuses on rural farmers’ access to, interests about and management of internet information. With the perspective of farmers, this empirical study attempts to understand the potential effects of information technology on agricultural information system and to capture its development prospect as well. The researc...

Shrimp and prawn farming in Bangladesh have experienced spectacular growth in response to expanding global demand and higher economic return. In 2011, 180 shrimp and prawn farms were surveyed in Bangladesh to estimate their production efficiency and determine factors affecting the efficiency level. The results show that there are substantial inefficiencies among shrimp and prawn farms. The tech...

The export of vegetables from African countries to European markets presents consumers with an ethical dilemma: should they support local, but relatively well-off farmers, or poorer farmers from distant countries? This paper considers the issue of farm worker health in the U.K. and Uganda, and considers the dilemma facing U.K. consumers if Uganda achieves their aim of exporting more vegetables ...

The study was designed to ascertain priorities of smallholder oil palm producers in Ika local government area. One hundred and twenty randomly selected farmers were used. Data were collected by the use of structured interview schedule and analysed using meanscore, percentage and factor analysis. The study showed that smallholder oil palm producers constituted of farmers with mean age of 56year,...

The purposes of this research were to measure the profit efficiency of sample Irish potato farms and subsequently to explore determinants of profit inefficiency in the Dedza district of Malawi. Flexible Stochastic Profit Frontier Analysis was used to measure profit efficiency. Farmers from 200 randomly selected farmers were interviewed for plot level data. Research results revealed that the ave...

The present study was based on primary data collected from 100 farmers in Gulbarga district of Karnataka, India, during the agricultural year 2013-2014. Study shows that average land holding size of pigeonpea seed farmers was higher in comparison to grain farmers and district average. The study illustrates a ratio of 32 : 68 towards fixed and variable costs in pigeonpea certified seed productio...

This case-control study assessed the effects of pesticide use on semen characteristics among rice farmers of Kienxuong District, Thaibinh Province, Vietnam. Semen samples of 1,036 rice farmers were obtained by manual masturbation and screened at Commune Health Stations. Of these, 156 abnormal semen samples were identified; 314 rice farmers with normal semen were recruited as controls. The semen...

BACKGROUND Indian tractor drivers operate their tractors and other implements/equipment in an environment which can have extreme temperatures and high level of suspended particulate matter. In addition, Indian tractors do not have adequate vibration and noise attenuating designs features. This cross-sectional study compares the hearing status of tractor driving farmers (TDFs) (study group) and ...