Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development?
Malawi’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, of which a majority are smallholder farmers. With smallholder farmers constituting more than 80% of the population, the government’s policies have mainly focused on achieving redistribution goals of the society, minding less about the inefficienc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Research in Globalization |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590051X24000212 |
| _version_ | 1797260381168599040 |
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| author | Wisdom Richard Mgomezulu Moses M.N. Chitete Beston B. Maonga Joseph Dzanja Patrick Mulekano Abubaker Qutieshat |
| author_facet | Wisdom Richard Mgomezulu Moses M.N. Chitete Beston B. Maonga Joseph Dzanja Patrick Mulekano Abubaker Qutieshat |
| author_sort | Wisdom Richard Mgomezulu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Malawi’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, of which a majority are smallholder farmers. With smallholder farmers constituting more than 80% of the population, the government’s policies have mainly focused on achieving redistribution goals of the society, minding less about the inefficiencies in smallholder farming. The current study assessed and compared the efficiency levels of large scale and small-scale farmers amidst huge government expenditures in agricultural subsidies on smallholder farmers. Through a SWOT analysis and literature review approach that dwelt much on the qualitative case study approach, the study found that it is only through attaining economies of scale that small farms can attain the efficiency levels of large-scale farms. Following this finding that large farmers are more efficient; the study proposes models that would mimic the behaviour of large farmers. In this study, we evaluated the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of various models proposed to improve efficiency of small farms. Three models were evaluated namely, contract farming, cooperative development and land consolidation models. These models were selected for review because the theory of collective action ensures that they mimic the farm behaviour of a large farmer. The paper recommends a hybrid of land consolidation model with selected elements of contract and cooperative development models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:24:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-efe54430e20540bbac69605c090b9f75 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-051X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:24:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research in Globalization |
| spelling | doaj.art-efe54430e20540bbac69605c090b9f752024-03-16T05:09:10ZengElsevierResearch in Globalization2590-051X2024-06-018100212Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development?Wisdom Richard Mgomezulu0Moses M.N. Chitete1Beston B. Maonga2Joseph Dzanja3Patrick Mulekano4Abubaker Qutieshat5Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Department of Economics and Law, P/Bag 303, Blantyre, Malawi; Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, African Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Policy Analysis (ACE II AF-APA), P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi; Corresponding author.University of Livingstonia, P.O. Box 112, Mzuzu, MalawiLilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, African Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Policy Analysis (ACE II AF-APA), P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, MalawiLilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, African Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Policy Analysis (ACE II AF-APA), P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, MalawiUniversity of Livingstonia, P.O. Box 112, Mzuzu, MalawiODC, Oman, University of Dundee, UKMalawi’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, of which a majority are smallholder farmers. With smallholder farmers constituting more than 80% of the population, the government’s policies have mainly focused on achieving redistribution goals of the society, minding less about the inefficiencies in smallholder farming. The current study assessed and compared the efficiency levels of large scale and small-scale farmers amidst huge government expenditures in agricultural subsidies on smallholder farmers. Through a SWOT analysis and literature review approach that dwelt much on the qualitative case study approach, the study found that it is only through attaining economies of scale that small farms can attain the efficiency levels of large-scale farms. Following this finding that large farmers are more efficient; the study proposes models that would mimic the behaviour of large farmers. In this study, we evaluated the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of various models proposed to improve efficiency of small farms. Three models were evaluated namely, contract farming, cooperative development and land consolidation models. These models were selected for review because the theory of collective action ensures that they mimic the farm behaviour of a large farmer. The paper recommends a hybrid of land consolidation model with selected elements of contract and cooperative development models.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590051X24000212EfficiencySWOT analysisLiterature reviewLand consolidationPolitical economy |
| spellingShingle | Wisdom Richard Mgomezulu Moses M.N. Chitete Beston B. Maonga Joseph Dzanja Patrick Mulekano Abubaker Qutieshat Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development? Research in Globalization Efficiency SWOT analysis Literature review Land consolidation Political economy |
| title | Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development? |
| title_full | Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development? |
| title_fullStr | Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development? |
| title_short | Agricultural subsidies in a political economy: Can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development? |
| title_sort | agricultural subsidies in a political economy can collective action make smallholder agriculture contribute to development |
| topic | Efficiency SWOT analysis Literature review Land consolidation Political economy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590051X24000212 |
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