Farm- and market-level determinants of the effectiveness of aggregation service-based market interventions: evidence from vegetable farmers in Bangladesh
Smallholder farmers form the backbone of agri-food systems and economic development in many developing countries. Yet, most remain trapped in subsistence farming due to persistent market inefficiencies. This study evaluates the effectiveness of market interventions in enhancing farm-level profitability and market-level profit margins for smallholder vegetable farmers through aggregation and improved market access. A cross-sectional survey of 360 vegetable farmers was analyzed using a two-step analytical framework comprising Generalized Linear Latent and Mixed Models (GLLAMM) and Weighted Least Square (WLS) approaches, applied separately at the farm and market levels. The findings indicate that participation in the LOOP program significantly increases profitability and profit margins by strengthening market connectivity, reducing transaction costs, and improving access to price information. Conversely, higher vegetable production costs per decimal are negatively associated with profit margins, highlighting the importance of cost management in sustaining profitability. On the other hand, LOOP farmers who use leased land are more likely to make a profit with a greater number of vegetable production. The effects of market distance are mixed: proximity to upazila centers boosts profit margins, while greater distance from district roads reduces profitability due to elevated transportation costs and price fluctuation. Interestingly, education, road quality, and wealth indicators show no significant impact on profitability, suggesting that practical skills and market dynamics outweigh formal socio-economic characteristics. By integrating farm-level and market-level analyses within a single empirical framework, this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of aggregation service-based market intervention. The findings underscore the importance of scaling up aggregation schemes alongside investments in rural market information systems, and cost-reduction strategies to enhance profitability and market integration of smallholder farmers.
This study investigates if participation in Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) increases farm income amongst agricultural households in Assam, India. It evaluates the effectiveness of institutional participation in improving farm profitability and identifies the key determinants influencing income variation.
Using primary cross-sectional data from 404 farm households, the study employs descriptive comparisons and multivariate regression analysis to assess the role of FPC participation. Farm income per unit of landholding is measured using three complementary indicators – Gross Value Added per hectare (GVAH), Farm Business Income per hectare (FBIH), and Gross Profit from Farming per hectare (GPFH) – capturing different dimensions of farm profitability.
Whilst FPC-member farmers report higher average income, the differences become statistically insignificant after controlling for farm, household and locational factors. Cropping intensity and irrigation significantly influence income, whilst regional and social disparities persist. Disaggregated results show positive relationship for banana and fishery but weaker outcomes for potato due to inadequate postharvest infrastructure. Field evidence indicates that these effects operate through improved input access, reduced transaction costs and better price realisation through collective marketing.
The use of cross-sectional data limits causal interpretation; future research using longitudinal or quasi-experimental approaches is recommended.
Strengthening FPCs can promote collective empowerment, income equity and rural economic resilience, contributing to inclusive agricultural development.
This study integrates multiple income indicators with crop-specific analysis to provide a nuanced assessment of FPC's role in smallholder agriculture.
Binod Goswami, M. P. Bezbaruah, Utpal Baishya· Journal of Agribusiness in D...· 0 citations
This study examines how behind-the-border non-tariff measures (NTMs) affect the agricultural transaction costs and profitability of commercial cereal farmers in Ghana. Despite the growing importance of NTMs in international trade, empirical evidence on their effects remains mixed, with some studies suggesting that they facilitate trade by improving standards and market access, while others highlight their cost-increasing and trade-restrictive effects. In addition, most existing studies rely on aggregate trade data, leaving limited micro-level evidence on how behind-the-border NTMs affect producers, particularly commercial farmers in developing countries.
This study explores NTMs from both an extensive and intensive perspective using data from 455 commercial cereal farmers across five regions in Ghana. Employing ordinary least squares regression and instrumental variable (IV) techniques, the analysis assesses the association between NTMs, agricultural transaction costs and farm profitability.
The results reveal that customs formalities are the most frequently encountered NTMs. Commercial farmers who incurred NTMs conducted approximately 2.7 more cereal transactions per production season and faced an increase in compliance costs of GHS 2,533 (USD 346) per production season. In contrast, NTMs were associated with a reduction in produce perishability by 0.27 per production season and a decrease in profit of GHS 1,696 (USD 232) per production season. These outcomes persist even after controlling for potential endogeneity. The findings underscore that while NTMs may facilitate trade volume, they also raise compliance costs and reduce profitability, potentially constraining sustainable cereal production.
The use of cross-sectional data limits our ability to fully establish causality. Future research could benefit from using panel data to explore the dynamic effects of NTMs to improve the depth of findings. Additionally, combining survey-based measures of compliance costs with official NTM data from sources such as the UNCTAD database could provide a more comprehensive understanding of how NTMs affect both domestic producers and international trade flows.
While most studies on non-tariff measures in developing countries focus on the macroeconomic level, this study examines the behind-the-border (i.e. within domestic markets) non-tariff measures that commercial farmers face, offering insights from a microeconomic perspective on their effects.
Mustapha M. Suraj, A. A. Adaku, Y. Osei-Asare et al.· Journal of Agribusiness in D...· 0 citations
Smallholder dairy farmers in North Mecha District, Ethiopia, face persistent market exclusion partly attributable to limited access to institutional services and physical market infrastructure. Despite growing empirical evidence on dairy market participation in Ethiopia, the joint determinants of the participation decision and the volume of milk supplied in peri-urban high-potential zones such as North Mecha District remain underexplored. This study aims to analyze the determinants of smallholder dairy farmers' milk marketing participation decision and the volume of milk supplied to the market. Data were collected from 186 smallholder farmers through a multistage sampling approach and analyzed using the Heckman two-stage model to correct for selection bias. The first-stage probit model revealed that farmland size, education level (years of schooling), age of the household head (negatively), distance to market (negatively), cooperative membership, access to improved forage, and access to veterinary services significantly influenced milk marketing participation. The second-stage OLS model shows that farmland size, livestock ownership, market distance(negatively), cooperative membership, and access to improved forage and veterinary services influence the quantity of milk supplied to the market. The positive and significant Inverse Mills Ratio (IMR) confirmed the presence of sample selection bias, validating the Heckman two stage approach. The findings highlight the need to strengthen institutional support, improve access to extension and animal health services, and promote cooperative membership. Targeted policy interventions including improved feed availability, quality animal health services, enhanced crossbreeding programs, and market infrastructure development are recommended to boost dairy productivity and milk marketing participation in the district.
Yenesew Sewnet Yizengaw, Zewde Ali Kebede, Temesgen Degarege et al.· Scientific Reports· 0 citations
Agricultural productive services (APS) play an important role in improving agricultural efficiency and ensuring food security. Existing studies have widely recognized that labor scarcity induced by rural labor transfer stimulates farmers’ demand for APS and promotes the expansion of agricultural service markets. Yet non-farm employment in developing countries is often characterized by instability, temporariness, and informality, which may generate volatile service demand and undermine the sustainable provision of APS. Based on survey data from 684 maize-producing households in China, this study constructs a multidimensional index of non-farm employment quality and investigates how it influences APS adoption intensity and transaction stability. Our results confirm that improvements in non-farm employment quality significantly increase APS adoption intensity, and the findings remain stable under alternative measurements and estimation methods. Mechanism analysis reveals that higher employment quality promotes APS adoption intensity by reducing farmers’ risk perception, while this effect is moderated by social capital. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effect of non-farm employment quality is concentrated among growth-stage households, lower-land-fragmentation households, small-scale households, and single-type employment households. Further analysis indicates that higher employment quality contributes to more stable and long-term contractual relationships between farmers and service providers. By highlighting the importance of non-farm employment quality in stabilizing agricultural service demand and fostering stable transaction relationships, this study contributes to ongoing discussions on rural labor transformation and the sustainable development of APS markets under smallholder farming systems in developing countries.
Zhenzhen Chai, Meihui Ling, Jie Lyu et al.· Sustainability· 0 citations
The Indian livestock sector has emerged as a resilient and rapidly expanding engine of agricultural growth, with its contribution to agricultural Gross Value Added (GVA) rising from 24.3% in 2014-15 to over 30.3% in 2022-23. Despite maintaining some of the largest populations of livestock globally, production remains heavily fragmented, dominated by smallholder and marginal farmers who face structural inefficiencies, high input costs, and weak market integration. Collectivization through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) represents an innovative institutional mechanism designed to bridge these gaps. This paper reviews the current landscape, structural constraints, operational modalities, and socio-economic impacts of livestock-based FPOs in India, with a specific focus on regional dynamics within Maharashtra. Case studies demonstrate that integrating smallholders into organized FPO frameworks lowers production costs, secures market linkages, mitigates risk, and promotes inclusive rural empowerment.
Keywords: Farmer Producer Organizations, Livestock Sector, Smallholder Farmers, Value Chain Integration, Maharashtra.
Shreyash B Sutar, U. Gaikwad, D. Deokar et al.· International Journal of Cre...· 0 citations
Indigenous chicken (IC) production is an important livelihood activity for smallholder farmers in Kenya, contributing to food security, nutrition, and household income. Despite rising demand for improved indigenous chicken (IIC) products, adoption remains low, averaging 24% nationally and 14% in Moiben Sub-County. This study examined the economic factors influencing both the adoption and adoption intensity of IIC technology among smallholder farmers in Moiben Sub-County, Uasin Gishu County. Guided by the Diffusion of Innovations Theory and the Theory of the Firm, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 156 farmers. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics and a double-hurdle econometric model. The results showed that age and access to government or non-governmental organisation (NGO) programmes significantly increased the likelihood of adoption, whereas farming experience, access to market information, market outlets, and value addition reduced it. Adoption intensity was positively influenced by veterinary and extension services but negatively affected by distance to markets, market outlets, and participation in government or NGO programmes. These findings indicate that the determinants of initial adoption differ from those shaping post-adoption intensity. Strengthening market linkages, veterinary and extension services, farmer organisations, and post-adoption support programmes is recommended to enhance commercialisation, productivity, and the sustainable uptake of IIC technology in Kenya.
Dorothy J. Bomett, Elijah Ng’eno, Ben Chesoo· Asian Journal of Agricultura...· 0 citations