This study assessed the business operations of onion cold storage facilities in Nueva Ecija, focusing on organizational, marketing, technical, and financial practices to identify areas for improvement aligned with selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A quantitative-descriptive approach was used, with survey-based questionnaires administered to 75 workers across five cold storage facilities. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data and determine the level of practice in each operational domain. Findings indicate strong operational capacity, as organizational, marketing, and technical operations were highly practiced, particularly in adhering to legal regulatory requirements, managing environmental impacts, and customer-relationship practices. Consequently, financial management practices were only moderately practiced, particularly in developing investment plans, managing cash flows, and assessing profitability. While organizational, marketing, and technical practices were widely adopted, financial practices were less developed, suggesting a gap in business sustainability and strategic planning. This study provides a basis for strengthening financial operations and promoting sustainability through targeted staff training, the adoption of digital financial-management tools, investments in energy-efficient technologies, and enhancements to customer-relationship-management systems. Through these measures, improved resilience, competitiveness, and long-term viability can be achieved, aligning with SDGs 2, 7, 8, and 12.
Corporate Farming (CF) is widely proposed as a strategy to enhance smallholder performance. This study was conducted to understand the current situation and stakeholder dynamics to recommend an optimal strategy. Data from 135 respondents across two cooperatives, Tawon and KSMJ, were analyzed using SWOT and MACTOR models. CF management was assessed based on its long-term planning, economies of scale, legality, centralized management, networking, and technology. Results indicate that CF is feasible for farmer groups. KSMJ, initiated through a bottom-up approach, can yield higher performance but requires robust technical and managerial capabilities. KSMJ’s managerial expertise and financial capability emerged as strong, critical factors. In contrast, Tawon’s establishment was heavily supported by a top-down approach, helping the cooperative address limited capacity and progress toward improved performance. MACTOR results revealed that KSMJ possesses high influence and dependency, making it the central actor with the highest competitiveness. Conversely, Tawon exhibits weak influence, very high dependency, and the lowest competitiveness; thus, it is not considered a key actor. While a top-down approach may suit many farmer groups, this study recommends that all groups strive for greater independence to achieve superior CF performance.
The ability of vermicomposting for the ecosystem can be a source of recycling organic waste for ecosystem protection by recycling or by making the soil productive for arid or arid zones, but the earthworm can provide greatly different performance depending on the seasons and species. Seasonal growth, reproduction, compost production, and compost quality of earthworm vermicomposting species (Eisenia fetida or Red Wiggler (RW), Eudrilus eugeniae or African creeper (AC), and Perionyx excavatus or Malaysian blue (MB)) are tested in arid conditions in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. The trial period for seven treatments was 70 days in winter and 70 days in summer, in outdoor shaded boxes prepared with plant residue and cow dung. Vermicompost production, worm biomass, reproduction, and compost characteristics (including total N, available P, exchangeable K, organic carbon, C:N ratio, and pH) were measured. The highest amount of vermicompost was produced by AC during summer, and RW was relatively more successful in winter, producing the largest populations for the colder seasons, while MB produced the least amount at any time of year. Each treatment yield was comparable in C:N content and nutrient-rich compost, indicating maturity state. As such, these observations suggest season-matched species selection and, ultimately, the benefits of moisture care and shading as key management strategies to maintain vermicompost productivity in arid environments. This is among the few studies investigating their species-specific performance in Saudi Arabia. The main contribution of the paper is the empirical revelation that Eisenia fetida has an advantage in waste conversion performance over other species.
Abaca, one of the country’s significant sources of export earnings, remains the Philippines’ most important natural fiber crop and a key source of livelihood for rural households, particularly in major producing areas, including Aklan. Despite its economic importance, abaca production continues to operate below potential, indicating technical inefficiency among producers. Focusing on the stalk production stage, this study estimates technical efficiency and identifies the factors influencing inefficiency among producers in Aklan province. A total of 369 abaca producers were randomly selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. A single-step stochastic production frontier analysis was employed to simultaneously estimate the production function and inefficiency effects. Results reveal that abaca producers are, on average, 87.23% technically efficient, suggesting that output could still be increased by 12.77% through improved input utilization and technology adoption. Factors such as farmers’ age, household size, education, farming experience, and farm distance to market were found to significantly influence technical inefficiency. The estimated returns to scale of 0.424 demonstrate decreasing returns to scale in abaca stalk production. These findings highlight the need for targeted policy and program interventions focused on productivity enhancement and integrated support mechanisms, particularly through strengthening farmer capacity-building initiatives, improving institutional support, and strengthening public investment in market access.
This study assesses the causal effect of the intensity of participation in agricultural advisory services on the adoption of three groups of technologies by maize and soybean farmers in Benin. A multivariate Probit model with instrumental variables was applied to data collected from 2,300 farming households over three growing seasons. The results show that participation intensity in agricultural advisory services significantly increases the probability that farmers will adopt improved maize and soybean varieties, as well as integrated soil fertility management practices related to maize cultivation. A nonlinear relationship between extension intensity and technology adoption was also revealed through the dose-response function. Beyond a certain threshold of extension intensity, the marginal effect on the adoption of improved varieties begins to decline. Furthermore, a significant correlation is observed between the error terms of the adoption equations, indicating that the technologies studied are interdependent within each crop. It also emerges that agricultural extension is effective only when the main barrier to technology adoption is informational in nature. Consequently, improving the coverage and intensity of participation in agricultural advisory services constitutes the primary policy lever for increasing the dissemination of agricultural technologies and innovations among smallholder farmers.
