Red chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) plays a vital role in cuisine and rural livelihoods, yet its cultivation remains vulnerable to fluctuating prices, climate risks, and limited market access. Contract farming (CF) has emerged as a potential mechanism to connect smallholder farmers with formal value chains while reducing production and marketing uncertainties. This study investigates the impact of CF on farmer welfare and the factors influencing participation among smallholder red chilli producers in East Java. Primary data from 108 farmers were analyzed using logistic regression to identify determinants of CF participation and propensity score matching (PSM) to assess income effects. The results show that participation in CF arrangements is associated with higher annual income among sampled farmers, primarily through better access to inputs, stable prices, and technical assistance. Younger farmers and those with plots located near their homes are more likely to participate, whereas those with full land ownership tend to avoid contracts to maintain autonomy. The findings suggest that CF may help mitigate market risks and improve livelihoods under comparable production settings in high-value horticulture. However, inclusive program design is essential, particularly to address regional disparities, generational gaps, and land tenure issues. Policy recommendations emphasize standardized contracts, logistical support for remote areas, and targeted outreach to marginalized farmer groups.
Social protection programs are important policy instruments for addressing food insecurity. This study examines the statistical relationships between food access, area of residence, and social protection participation in Central Java using quantitative and qualitative data. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach is applied to explore structural associations among these variables. The results indicate that food access is positively associated with social protection participation, suggesting that households experiencing food access constraints are more likely to be linked with such programs. Spatial differences are also observed: urban households appear to face greater food access challenges, while rural households are statistically more likely to be associated with social protection participation. Area of residence further shows a significant indirect association in the relationship between food access and social protection. These findings highlight the importance of improving the alignment between social protection targeting and evolving food access vulnerabilities, particularly in urban areas.
This study analyzes the achievements and challenges related to geographical indications (GIs) in Côte d’Ivoire based on an analytical and structured literature review. It shows that the country has high GI potential, based on the diversity of its territorial resources and specific know-how. More than a dozen products show strong potential, including three GIs registered in 2023: Lagoons’ Attiéké, Baoulé loincloth of Tiébissou, and mountains coffee. Institutionally, Côte d’Ivoire benefits from a relatively robust legal framework, backed by the Bangui Agreement and AIPO mechanisms, with the existence of national support structures. However, structural limitations remain: weak organizational capacities among producers, inadequate control and traceability infrastructure, fragmented institutional coordination, and heavy dependence on external support programs. Furthermore, research on typicality remains poorly integrated into governance mechanisms. All this shows that the sustainability of GIs in Côte d’Ivoire depends less on legal recognition than on strengthening collective governance and endogenous ownership by local actors.
This study examined sex-based differences in respondent-reported participation in smallholder vegetable production and marketing in Cebu, Philippines. Data were collected from 745 farmers in three upland vegetable-growing communities through structured household interviews. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square tests, Cramér’s V, Phi coefficients, adjusted residuals, and Welch’s t-test were used to assess breadwinner identification, educational attainment, farming experience, and participation in ten production and marketing activities. Breadwinner identification and educational attainment differed significantly by respondent sex, while farming experience did not. Male respondents reported higher participation in all activities, with the largest differences in pesticide spraying, harvesting, transport to market, and product selling. All chi-square findings remained significant after Bonferroni correction. Because one respondent was interviewed per household, the results represent between-group differences rather than paired spousal labor allocation. The findings provide task-specific evidence for extension interventions on pesticide safety, market access, and women’s access to technical and market-related knowledge.
This study examines the labour adjustment dynamics of large Italian food and beverage processing (FBP) firms over 2019-2023, a window encompassing the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent supply-chain disruptions, and the inflationary shock of 2022-2023. Drawing on firm-level data from the AIDA (Bureau van Dijk) database, the analysis is based on a balanced panel of 98 firms that have continuously remained above the 250-employee threshold for 490 firm-year observations. Three connected research questions are addressed: sectoral heterogeneity in employment growth (RQ1); the within-firm link between lagged profitability (EBITDA) and subsequent employment growth (RQ2); and the within-firm elasticity of unit labour cost (ULC) to firm size (RQ3). The empirical strategy combines fixed-effects panel regression with sector and time controls and is supported by a battery of robustness checks. Aggregate employment grew moderately (+ 6.1%), with firmlevel adjustment concentrated in a narrow band; the predicted emergence of sectoral differentiation during the recovery phase is not statistically supported. The relationship between lagged profitability and subsequent employment growth is statistically and economically null, a result consistent with a labour adjustment framework in which adjustment costs, institutional rigidities, and labour hoarding decouple short-run hiring from short-run profit fluctuations. The within-firm elasticity of ULC to firm size is negative and statistically significant, with a composition probe indicating that the result is consistent with the presence of genuine scale economies as a contributing channel. The findings document firm-level adjustment dynamics within a specific and policy-relevant segment of Italian manufacturing during a period of compounded shocks.
