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Under the pressure of competitiveness and climate change, the rice sector has adopted multiple agricultural technologies to improve productivity, reduce production costs, and be environment-friendly. The Massive technology adoption program (AMTEC) is an example of Colombian rice production. Although all components of AMTEC have been approved to improve the rice yield in demo farms, these impacts, along with other factors under actual farm conditions, are unclear. Data were obtained from the 2016 National Rice Census data of 20,174 rice production units. This study determines the effects of each AMTEC technology and other agricultural factors on paddy rice yield under actual farm conditions using the multiple regression analysis with a backward stepwise method. The average paddy rice yield was 5.508 t ha−1 with a considerable variation across the whole country (0.110–12.187 t ha−1). The results showed that 69.47% of the variation in paddy rice yield was influenced by rice cultivation regions, farm size, technical assistance, applying chisel plow, having a ban, having an irrigation system, and the number of nitrogen fertilizer applications. Landplane, certified seeds, and drill sowing were the three components of the AMTEC program that contributed to an increase in rice yield. Notably, the paddy rice yield was 0.361 t ha−1 with an additional N fertilizer application or the farm under the irrigation system. It also increased from 0.404 to 0.362 t ha−1 for the farm that used drill sowing compared to the farm that used benchmark technologies. The results also showed that the farm that received technical assistance had a 0.150 t ha−1 compared to their counterparts who did not, and there was a significant difference among its sources. Therefore, to improve the rice yield, the above-mentioned multiple technologies should be widely disseminated. Additionally, the farms should receive technical assistance, particularly from private companies such as supply distributors or milling companies.

PurposeThe demand for clean vegetables has rapidly increased, many farmers gradually turn to vegetable cultivation to increase income; therefore, agricultural cooperative mobilized farmers group to facilitate them access to technical training and enhance compliance with the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standards. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impacts of the participation on farmer’s income as well as the major factors that affect the participation in cooperatives by the vegetable farmers in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe study used primary data collected from vegetable farmers in Vietnam. This study utilized propensity score matching to avoid initial selection bias. The differences between participants and nonparticipants will be adjusted by matching each membership individual to a nonmember based on similar observable characteristics by summarizing the conditional probability of a member given pretreatment characteristics.FindingsThis study demonstrates that participation in cooperatives is significantly affected by ethnicity, age of household head, labor involving vegetable production and extension service access. The results of this study also confirm that agricultural cooperatives have positive effects on member farmers to enhance income and that participants – on average – have a higher income than nonparticipants.Research limitations/implicationsThe method cannot rule out the possibility of selection bias due to unobserved differences between participants and even an appropriate comparison group.Originality/valueThis study contributes to an improved understanding about impacts of cooperatives on farmers’ income in developing and emerging economies. Moreover, research also upgrades knowledge regarding the effectiveness of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam, as well as guides policymakers in supporting the cooperatives in expanding the market and other necessary changes.

Many studies have identified factors that influence the adoption of new technologies and management practices in livestock production to improve productivity, animal health and protect the environment. However, few studies have attempted to clarify the constraints faced by farmers in implementing these new management practices. This study identified 10 constraints on implementing good management practices designed to improve the health and productivity of pig production, ensure the health of workers, reduce environmental pollution and allow customers to trace the origins of their products, collectively known as Good Animal Husbandry Practices. Low output price and lack of capital were identified as the key constraints faced by 42.8% and 28.3% of farmers, respectively. Furthermore, specialized production was found to mitigate these two constraints in terms of income contribution, whereas access to credit was found to exacerbate them. Lack of knowledge was the only constraint perceived to be more severe by non-VietGAHP farmers than by their VietGAHP counterparts. Based on the above results for both VietGAHP and non-VietGAHP farmers, these constraints need to be addressed by improving financial situations through formal credit and focusing on specialized pig-producing households. For the non-VietGAHP group, delivery of information on new management practices through the government extension services should be implemented.

Japanese farms currently occur on a small but expanding average physical scale and annual sales, in a decreasing and aging labor force, increasingly abandoned farmland and massive access of corporations powerful in capital and management. The government has proposed to accelerate agricultural growth through adopting high-level smart technologies in large-scale farms, with a series of favorite policies and measures. This paper reviews the connotations, characteristics and technologies of smart agriculture in the views of Japanese scholars, the practice of smart agriculture in Japan, followed by a case study on the smart rice production model 'NoshoNavi1000'. The results show that Japanese scholars have conducted in-depth and massive studies in smart agriculture, with regional characteristics in the orientations on labor-saving, precise management, disaster reduction and inheriting traditional farming skills. The government's ambitious objective is supported by its all-round policy package, including project demonstration, supporting services, environmental improvement, education and training, and overseas outreaching. Closely combined with the planting structure of Japanese agriculture, rice production is an important sector for the RD and application of smart farming in the form of either individual technologies or models. The policies and technologies have achieved benefits in saving labor and production costs, and improving the profit margin. Through years of on-farm application, 'NoshoNavi1000' has been developed to involve the major technological components of smart agriculture. It has contributed to improving rice yield, production efficiency and profitability of large-scale farms, through real-time data collection, comprehensive and professional data mining, and specific and practical feedbacks. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

To increase food safety and sustainable environmental development, the Vietnamese government has released a public Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) report for pig production, called “Vietnamese Good Animal Husbandry Practices” (VietGAHP). Studies have yet to investigate not only the institutional factors affecting VietGAHP adoption in household pig farming, but also the impact of such adoption on its criteria’ implementation. The objective of this study is to investigate the factors associated with VietGAHP adoption in household pig production and its impact on implementing its criteria. A Probit model was used to directly indicate the determinants of VietGAHP adoption, and a z test revealed the VietGAHP’s impact by comparing the differences in each criterion’s compliance rates between adopter and non-adopter groups. The results demonstrate that the factors positively contributing to VietGAHP adoption include gender, training, household income, and veterinary services, with the training factor as a substantial contributor. The factors presenting a challenge to this adoption included farm size, the number of family members participating in pig-raising, off-farm income, and biogas, with the latter an especially pivotal factor. Moreover, an expected result of the government’s support was that VietGAHP adoption had a positive impact on 9 out 15 compulsory practices and 8 of 14 optional practices. These imply that to attain food safety and environmental protection goals through a public GAP program for pig production, traditional adoption factors—including a male farmer status, training, household wealth, and veterinary services—remain key pillars on which government policies should focus.

In order to contend with decreasing gross amounts and soaring costs, viable rice production in Japan requires high yield levels. This study assessed the effects of nitrogen fertilizer and soil chemical properties on rice yield. Data were recorded in 2014 and 2015 from 93 paddy fields at a farm larger than 30 ha in Hokuriku Region, Japan. Koshihikari, the most widely planted rice variety in Japan, was cultivated in the sampled fields. Soil chemical properties were quantified using 12 variables, namely pH, cation exchange capacity, phosphoric acid content, silicic acid content, content and saturation of the three exchangeable bases, and the equivalent ratios of calcium to magnesium and magnesium to potassium. Three principal components (PCs) were extracted explaining 76% of the total variation and comprised mainly the magnesium (PC1), potassium (PC2), and acidity–basicity (PC3) variables. The multivariate regression model retained significant determinants, with the standardized principal components (SPCs) and the time trend explaining 66.6% of the total variation. The results showed that higher squared values of SPC1 positively related to rice yield, while SPC2 and SPC3 increased rice yield up to a threshold, at which point increases plateaued. These findings were then confirmed through correlation analyses between each soil chemical property and both the PCs and rice yield. The effect of nitrogen fertilizer was insignificant, due to low variation among the paddy fields in which the special cultivation regime was adopted. Further investigations were conducted into countermeasures to improve soil chemical properties, especially those highly related to SPC2 and SPC3.

Animal welfare and environmental impacts have been emphasized in the sustainable production of livestock. Labels are useful tools for clearly providing such attribute information to consumers. The aim of this study was to evaluate how human values influence consumer segments for beef with information on animal welfare and environmentally friendly production. Using a choice experiment, we examined whether animal welfare and environmentally friendly labels, country of origin and price impact consumer choice. As results, five heterogeneous consumer classes were identified using a latent class model: label conscious, domestic beef preferring, price conscious, animal welfare preferring and not interested in production method. Almost 90% of consumers were interested in and willing to pay for beef with animal welfare or environmentally friendly label. The classes with significant preferences for such labeled beef were affected by "openness to change", "self-enhancement" and "security". Improving consumer attitudes and strengthening consumer perception towards labeled beef by marketers and policy makers will be required.

This chapter identified the variation and determinants of rice yield measured by the smart combine harvester, from among different rice yields within large-scale farms. Apart from to the paddy yield with 15% moisture, we studied the variations in the concerning ratios for unsorted and sorted brown rice as well. The sample included 351 fields from a farm corporation scaled over 113 hectares, located in the Kanto region of Japan. The candidate determinants were the field area and condition, nitrogen amount, time of transplanting or seeding, stage-specific growth indicators of chlorophyll content, number of panicles, plant height, and leaf plate value. In addition, soil properties, average temperature, and solar radiation were incorporated. Meanwhile, the varieties, cultivation practices, and soil types were adopted as dummy variables. The empirical analysis was conducted using multivariate linear regression, with logarithmic transformations of the continuous variables. The result indicated that panicle numbers in the full-heading stage and transplanting or sowing time were the most important continuous determinant, following by nitrogen amount, humus content, and so forth. Within the significant discrete determinants, Akidawara and Milky queen were found to be the productive and unproductive varieties, respectively, while the well-drained direct sowing was found to negatively affecting yield.

Irrigation is increasingly important for rice productivity to maintain soil temperature and fertility with the presence of global warming. Meanwhile, rice production in Japan is in urgent need to reduce the costs through improving the efficiency and market competitiveness. This chapter aimed to measure effect of water depth and water temperature on rice yield of individual paddy fields and improve the practice of irrigation management for them. In first stage, we measured the production efficiency of rice yield through the adoption of DEA. The results indicated that enlarged scale of the paddy fields increases the efficiency, and rice quality can be improved more than quantity.

This chapter reviewed the connotations and research approaches of smart agriculture and agricultural production efficiency, summarized the composition of a smart rice production model, “Noshonnavi1000.” The adoption of this smart rice farming model was in accordance with the GAP objectives, and it was used to collect data from large-scale rice farms and support empirical analyses of production efficiency determinants through models reflecting the main streams of production efficiency analysis: path analysis explored the determinants from the perspective of marginal effect, while data envelopment analysis decomposed production efficiency into technical and scale efficiency. This chapter summarized the constitution of the research consortium of the series projects and organization of the following chapters, thus provided the general scenario of this book.

This chapter identified the impact of rice variety and cultivation regime on paddy yield in the large-scale farms. The study objects were 351 fields in a farm corporation of over 113 hectares, locating in the Kanto Region, and the yield was measured by smart combine harvester The ANOVA result indicated that rice variety was a significant factor affecting yield; although the cultivation regime was not significant, it had a significant interaction with the effect of rice variety. According to the result of Duncan’s new multiple range test (DNMRT), the rice varieties were divided into three groups. Further analyses using four factors and the ANOVA results showed that the time of transplanting or sowing, growth duration from transplanting or sowing stage to earring stage, total nitrogen amount, and field area were determining factors. Finally, the key points for higher paddy yield were summarized.

Paddy production in Japan is currently undergoing a transition, moving away from the former acreage reduction policies of the 1970s to improve the sector’s efficiency and competitiveness. Meanwhile, agricultural production corporations and the adoption of ICT and GAP have been steadily increasing over last decades. This chapter aimed to identify the determinants of paddy yield measured by smart combine harvester within large-scale farms. The sample included 351 paddy fields from a farm corporation scaled over 113 hectares, located in the Kanto region of Japan. The candidate determinants included the continuous variables of field area and condition evaluation scores, transplanting or sowing time, and amount of nitrogen, as well as the stage-specific growth indicators for chlorophyll contain, number of panicles, plant height, and leaf plate value. Meanwhile, three discrete variables including variety, cultivation regime, and soil type were also adopted. Empirical analysis was conducted using a multivariate linear regression, with logarithmic transformations of the continuous variables. Within the continuous variables, transplanting or sowing time was identified as possessing the largest absolute standardized regression coefficient, and thus be the most important determinant. The negative coefficient indicated that earlier transplanting or sowing benefits vegetative growth, thus panicle number and plant height in heading stage, which were identified as positively significant together with field area, and amount of nitrogen. Within the discrete determinants, Akidawara was measured as a productive variety, while the well-drained and submerged direct sowing were identified as negatively affecting yield.

Japan is in urgent need of reducing its rice production costs through increasing yield, which is highly dependent on soil fertility. This chapter investigated the determinants of rice yield, from the perspective of nitrogen fertilizer and soil chemical properties. The data were collected in 2014 and 2015, from 116 paddy fields, on a large-scale farm located in the Kinki Region. The rice included Koshihikari and other seven varieties, cultivated using conventional, special, and organic methods. The nine soil chemical properties were: pH value, cation exchange capacity, ammonium nitrogen, effective phosphoric and silicic acid, saturation of base elements, exchangeable potassium, lime, and magnesia. Multiple regression analysis indicated that positive effects were found for silicic acid, exchangeable potassium, and ammonium nitrogen; while phosphoric acid affects yield negatively, while controlling rice variety, cultivation regime, and field area. Finally, countermeasures are put forward to improve soil fertility and rice yield.

In Japan, rice production is undergoing a transition from acreage reduction to an improvement in efficiency and competitiveness. Owing to the global warming, irrigation management is increasingly important in maintaining soil temperature and fertility for rice productivity. This chapter aimed to measure the production efficiency of rice yield, using a two-stage DEA like the former chapter. The data comprised of 122 paddy fields of Koshihikari, one of the most popular Japanese rice varieties. The data was sampled from a large-scale farm located in the Hokuriku Region of Japan in 2015.

To contend with decreasing gross amounts and soaring costs, viable rice production in Japan requires high yield levels. This chapter assessed the effects of nitrogen fertilizer and soil chemical properties on rice yield. Data were collected from 93 paddy fields at a farm larger than 30 hectares in Hokuriku Region, Japan. Koshihikari, the most widely planted rice variety in Japan, was cultivated in the sampled fields. Soil chemical properties were quantified using 12 variables, namely pH, cation exchange capacity, phosphoric acid content, silicic acid content, content, and saturation of the three exchangeable bases, and the equivalent ratios of calcium to magnesium and magnesium to potassium.

This chapter measured the interacting effects of paddy yield determinants using path analysis. The data was sampled in 2014, from 301 paddy fields planted with Koshihikari, from two large-scale farms in Japan. The result indicated that there are significant interactions among the determinants, which affect the total yield in the form of indirect effects. Solar radiation and temperature had the most effect; and the former affected the latter significantly.

Water management is increasingly important for rice productivity to maintain soil temperature and fertility with the presence of global warming. Meanwhile, rice production in Japan is in urgent need to reduce the costs through improving the efficiency and market competitiveness. This paper aims to measure effect of water depth and water temperature on rice yield of individual paddy fields and improve the practice of water management for them. In the first stage, we measure the production efficiency of rice yield through the adoption of data envelopment analysis. The results indicate that enlarged scale of the paddy fields increases the efficiency, and rice quality can be improved more than quantity. Moreover, the most inefficiently used inputs include the amount of fertilizer nitrogen and the soil capacity, which is a compound measurement of 21 soil chemical properties. In the second stage, after comparing the 20 paddy fields with highest and lowest technical efficiency, an observation shows that the rice yield is much more affected by water temperature than by water depth. The data of all the variables used in this study were sampled in 2015 and comprised of 110 paddy fields of Koshihikari, one of the most popular Japanese rice varieties, from a large-scale farm located in Kanto Region of Japan. In the analysis, the outputs include yields of raw paddy, paddy with 15% moisture, unsorted brown rice, sorted brown rice, milled grain rice, and perfect grain rice. The inputs include the field area, air temperature, solar radiation, fertilizer nitrogen, soil capacity, and farming conditions.

Safe tea production conducted under the standards of Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices has been strongly encouraged by the Vietnam government. However, there is no study on profit efficiency of safe tea producers, which are therefore barriers for farmers and policymakers in terms of extending the safe tea production practice in Vietnam. Thus, this study investigated the profit efficiency of tea production practices using a stochastic profit frontier function. We applied propensity score matching to control for self-selection in assessing the profit efficiency of safe and conventional tea farming. Our results indicated that the average profit efficiency of tea farmers was around 74%, suggesting 26% of profit was lost due to inefficiency. Furthermore, significant different profit efficiency was observed between the two farmer groups. We further found that tea farmers with larger production scale, better irrigation system, accessing extension service are more likely to adopt safe tea practices than others are. Thus, public policies should focus on improving profit efficiency and facilitating adoption of eco-friendly production practice, and also supporting innovations to improve farmers’ production conditions, including the access to extension service, irrigation system, enlarged farm size, and labor-saving machinery.

This chapter discusses business and manager development in agricultural corporations. First, the current situation of business development and innovation in large-scale vegetable farming is clarified. Then, the methods for human resource development are analyzed. As a result of this analysis, with regard to market adaptation and business development, it is pointed out that agricultural corporations have followed a business development process associated with market adaptation, consisting of a reaction to apparent demand, discovery of latent demand, and new demand creation. In addition, for business development, it is important for agricultural corporations to make continuous efforts to create customer satisfaction through the use of an “innovation triangle,” which is composed of production, process, and mind innovation. Then, the relations between manager development methods and management of risk and information are considered. Specifically, we describe a promotion framework according to job titles: from farm worker to process manager, production manager, farm manager, and eventually business manager. Moreover, we outline a risk management process that shows each individual’s role while experiencing a variety of information management tools. However, as employees are promoted, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to realize their full potential by simply learning the rules and procedures of their work. In becoming a candidate for positions like production manager, farm or department manager, or even general business manager, it is highlighted that, based on the employee’s determination and self-awareness, agricultural corporations can only provide different opportunities to accumulate various experiences and a good learning environment for the employee. In the future, we expect to conduct more case study analyses to obtain a basic knowledge to formulate a theory on business and manager development methods in agricultural corporations.