Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Small-Scale Farmers’ Market Participation: Case of Rice Producers in Dano

Abstract

This paper explores the key factors influencing market participation decisions among smallholder lowland rice growers. Data were collected through purposive sampling technique. A total of 127 rice growers, from 16 lowlands (developed and traditional lowlands), was selected. Descriptive statistics and the probit regression model were used to analyse the data. The statistical analysis revealed significant differences in yields between developed and traditional lowlands rice plots (“lowland development effect”). The regression results showed that farmers’ behaviours were not gender neutral; male producers were more likely to take part in the market as compared to their female counterparts, implying a “gender effect”. With respect to the effect of membership in farmers’ organization, the results indicate that farmers’ involvement in an organization, was in general negatively associated to their market participation decisions. However, farmers from lowlands with functional rice producers’ organizations were more likely to sell their products in the market. Interestingly, this study also highlighted that lowland rice producers’ ability to generate a marketable surplus (at least 20 kg/person/year) positively influence their market participation decision. As hypothesized, the results revealed that farmers who have access to potential buyers of the output (secured market outlets) were less likely to produce rice for self-consumption.

Determinants for the viability of small-scale family farms in Serbia: an example of the use of a multi-criteria assessment tool

“…), which would not only improve the farmer's position in input-output flows, but also reduce the risk of activity and improves labour and capital productivity and decision efficiency through access to information (Bachev, 2017;Galdeano-Gómez et al, 2006;Ray et al, 1997). Simultaneously, it is important to limit the number of intermediaries and create shorter distribution channels, which would make it possible to increase the margin at the level of the agricultural producer (Palmioli et al, 2020;Yaméogo et al, 2018). In turn, the positive impact of the farm's physical size on the economic results and development abilities of family farms was confirmed, among others, by Galdeano-Gómez et al (2017), Ren et al (2019) and Therond et al (2017).…”

Typology and performance of inter-organizational relationships among Ghanaian farmers

“…African agricultural production is often conceived of as a dual objective activity in which farmers maximize their household food security and their marketed surplus (Barrett, 2008;Yameogo et al, 2018). This paper departs from this assumption, arguing that farmers participating in IOR commit the part of their production associated with those relationships solely for commerce.…”

Participation of Brinjal Farmers in Large and Small Wholesale Markets: Factors Influencing Farmers’ Decisions and Impact on Producers’ Prices

“…On the other hand, farm size, experience, capital, schooling, asset ownership, human skill, and the utilization of market information are the internal factors that affect market participation. In addition, many studies [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] argued that socioeconomic factors, physical factors, institutional factors, and marketing factors are pivotal in the determination of market participation. Socioeconomic factors such as age, gender, household size, source of labor, farming experience, farm size, and volume of production can positively affect market participation decisions among smallholder farmers and subsequently increase the level of participation [11,[16][17][18][19].…”