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Many farmers worldwide resort to choosing various income-earning options for diversifying their income sources as a means of risk-avoidance, social protection, and, above all, to finance agricultural operations. Non-farm income generation among farm families has become an imperative part of livelihood earning strategies in recent years amid fast-evolving climatic and sociodemographic changes. In this regard, this study seeks to identify the patterns and socioeconomic factors responsible for the uptake of various non-farm income diversification sources among agricultural households in southern Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose, a total of 290 farm households were sampled using a random sampling technique to collect relevant data through structured questionnaires. Results show that approximately 79% of the surveyed farmers were involved in non-farm income generation activities, whereas, the income from these sources accounts for about 15% of total household income. The majority of the respondents offered labour for off-farm work followed by self-employment ventures. The major reason to pursue non-farm work includes low income from agriculture, mitigating risks associated with farming, and acquiring funds to finance farming operations, along with the desire to increase family income. A range of socioeconomic and infrastructure-related variables are associated with the decision to participate in specific off-farm activity, such as age, education, family size, farm income, dependency burden, farming experience, and distance to the main city. Results imply the provision of technical support to increase livelihood from farming operations to ensure food security and curb rural-urban migration. However, vocational training can enhance the rural inhabitants’ skillset to diversify on the farm through agribusiness development within rural areas, enabling them to employ local people instead of populating urban centres.
Muhammad Amjed Iqbal; Muhammad Rizwan; Azhar Abbas; Muhammad Sohail Amjad Makhdum; Rakhshanda Kousar; Muhammad Nazam; Abdus Samie; Nasir Nadeem. A Quest for Livelihood Sustainability? Patterns, Motives and Determinants of Non-Farm Income Diversification among Agricultural Households in Punjab, Pakistan. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9084 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Amjed Iqbal, Muhammad Rizwan, Azhar Abbas, Muhammad Sohail Amjad Makhdum, Rakhshanda Kousar, Muhammad Nazam, Abdus Samie, Nasir Nadeem. A Quest for Livelihood Sustainability? Patterns, Motives and Determinants of Non-Farm Income Diversification among Agricultural Households in Punjab, Pakistan. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9084.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Amjed Iqbal; Muhammad Rizwan; Azhar Abbas; Muhammad Sohail Amjad Makhdum; Rakhshanda Kousar; Muhammad Nazam; Abdus Samie; Nasir Nadeem. 2021. "A Quest for Livelihood Sustainability? Patterns, Motives and Determinants of Non-Farm Income Diversification among Agricultural Households in Punjab, Pakistan." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9084.
Arable farming is an intrinsically risky enterprise. Therefore, managing risks and uncertainties in agriculture is very important as it affects all sectors of the economy of a developing country like Pakistan. To do so, a whole suite of options is available to the farming community to safeguard against any type of risk. However, farmers’ behavior of the concurrent adoption of multiple risk management tools is largely ignored in previous studies and has formed the rationale for this research. Thus, the current study is intended to investigate farmers’ decisions of adopting risk management strategies (contract farming, off-farm income diversification, and farm credit use) and to examine the impacts of a variety of factors on farmers’ risk management decisions. The present study is carried out in four districts of Punjab province, Pakistan with a focus on hybrid maize growers. A multivariate probit model is used to evaluate the impacts of independent variables on growers’ choices of adopting contract farming, off-farm income diversification, and farm credit use to manage farm risks keeping in view the potential for the concurrent adoption of these risk management strategies. Results show that 78% of farmers are risk-averse and hence ready to manage risks. The top risk faced by farmers is price risk followed by biological, climatic, and financial risks. Contract farming is the most popular strategy (61% farmers) followed by off-farm income diversification (49% farmers), and the use of farm credit (42% farmers). The findings also reveal that the decisions of adopting risk management strategies are interlinked while the adoption of one risk management tool complements farmers’ decision to adopt other risk management strategies. In addition, the risk management strategies’ adoption choices are affected by the number of factors including socioeconomic characteristics, farmers’ risk perceptions about risk sources, and their attitude towards risk. The study recommends the provision of timely information (climatic, extension) along with easy access to farm credit and the streamlining of contractual arrangements.
Shoaib Akhtar; Azhar Abbas; Muhammad Iqbal; Muhammad Rizwan; Abdus Samie; Muhammad Faisal; Jam Sahito. What Determines the Uptake of Multiple Tools to Mitigate Agricultural Risks among Hybrid Maize Growers in Pakistan? Findings from Field-Level Data. Agriculture 2021, 11, 578 .
AMA StyleShoaib Akhtar, Azhar Abbas, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Rizwan, Abdus Samie, Muhammad Faisal, Jam Sahito. What Determines the Uptake of Multiple Tools to Mitigate Agricultural Risks among Hybrid Maize Growers in Pakistan? Findings from Field-Level Data. Agriculture. 2021; 11 (7):578.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShoaib Akhtar; Azhar Abbas; Muhammad Iqbal; Muhammad Rizwan; Abdus Samie; Muhammad Faisal; Jam Sahito. 2021. "What Determines the Uptake of Multiple Tools to Mitigate Agricultural Risks among Hybrid Maize Growers in Pakistan? Findings from Field-Level Data." Agriculture 11, no. 7: 578.
Climate change is a serious threat to agriculture in many developing countries including Pakistan. Changing the pattern of climate and its extreme conditions have already led to a decline in crop productivity. However, farmers in developing countries experience risks beyond just climate change, many of which are related to policy, strategy, and factor endowments. The impact of these risks have serious implications for food security, rural livelihood, farm households’ wellbeing, and, above all, their motive to adapt to these changes in the long-term. To have an in-depth knowledge of farmers’ perceptions about the changing climate, this study investigates various aspects such as the determinants of perception about various risk sources and the relevant mitigation and adaptation options. To do so, 480 farmers from agriculture-dominated Punjab provinces were randomly selected in order for us to evaluate their awareness levels, socioeconomic dynamics that influence their perceptions, and various factors that influence their perceptions to achieve the desired findings. We applied the principle factor analysis approach to ascertain major sources and strategies based on farmers’ perception and planned/practiced options. Further, regression analysis was done to evaluate the factors influencing the perception levels of farmers about risk sources. The results showed that majority of the farmers faced various risks, and were trying to adapt crop husbandry practices towards these perceived risks. Change in agricultural policies (3.96) was placed as the highest risk source, while the need for small dams/turbine schemes was the top priority for risk management strategy (mean value of 4.39). By observing the effect of farm and farmer’s characteristics on risk sources and risk management strategies, it was revealed that these characteristics ominously provoked farmers’ perspectives about risk sources and management strategies. The findings imply the need for coherent environmental policy that encompasses price stability, community-led adaptation campaigns, and easy/uninterrupted flows of information that enables the farming community to facilitate sustainable decision processes.
Muhammad Iqbal; Azhar Abbas; Syed Naqvi; Muhammad Rizwan; Abdus Samie; Umar Ahmed. Drivers of Farm Households’ Perceived Risk Sources and Factors Affecting Uptake of Mitigation Strategies in Punjab Pakistan: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9895 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Iqbal, Azhar Abbas, Syed Naqvi, Muhammad Rizwan, Abdus Samie, Umar Ahmed. Drivers of Farm Households’ Perceived Risk Sources and Factors Affecting Uptake of Mitigation Strategies in Punjab Pakistan: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (23):9895.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Iqbal; Azhar Abbas; Syed Naqvi; Muhammad Rizwan; Abdus Samie; Umar Ahmed. 2020. "Drivers of Farm Households’ Perceived Risk Sources and Factors Affecting Uptake of Mitigation Strategies in Punjab Pakistan: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture." Sustainability 12, no. 23: 9895.
Land use and land cover changes (LULCC) significantly affect the climate at regional and global levels through different biogeophysical and biogeochemical processes. However, the effects of biogeophysical aspects of LULCC on climate have been often ignored, which may overestimate the biogeochemical effects on climate change. Thus, understanding the biogeophysical influence of land use changes on climate change in future potential scenarios is crucial. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the mechanism and land use change impacts on future climate under different scenarios through changes in underlying surface and surface energy balance. In order to fill this research gap, three simulations are performed by Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model for the year 2010–2030 under Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, Rapid Economic Growth (REG) scenario, and Coordinated Environmental Sustainability (CES) scenario to evaluate the influence of future LULCC on temperature projections for the Punjab province in Pakistan. Results show that land use conversions under three scenarios induce overall climate cooling in the region. The decrease in annual average temperature in CES scenario (− 0.02 °C) is slightly greater than that in BAU and REG scenarios (− 0.01 °C). The responses of temperature to future LULCC vary in different months in all scenarios, with greater responses in warmer months, causing climate cooling. In each scenario, the response of temperature is found to be sensitive to different land transitions. The findings of the study can be a reference for policy makers, researchers, and development practitioners in their pursuit to understand the effects of land use change on climate.
Abdus Samie; Azhar Abbas; Muhammad Masood Azeem; Sidra Hamid; Muhammad Amjed Iqbal; Shaikh Shamim Hasan; Xiangzheng Deng. Examining the impacts of future land use/land cover changes on climate in Punjab province, Pakistan: implications for environmental sustainability and economic growth. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2020, 27, 25415 -25433.
AMA StyleAbdus Samie, Azhar Abbas, Muhammad Masood Azeem, Sidra Hamid, Muhammad Amjed Iqbal, Shaikh Shamim Hasan, Xiangzheng Deng. Examining the impacts of future land use/land cover changes on climate in Punjab province, Pakistan: implications for environmental sustainability and economic growth. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2020; 27 (20):25415-25433.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbdus Samie; Azhar Abbas; Muhammad Masood Azeem; Sidra Hamid; Muhammad Amjed Iqbal; Shaikh Shamim Hasan; Xiangzheng Deng. 2020. "Examining the impacts of future land use/land cover changes on climate in Punjab province, Pakistan: implications for environmental sustainability and economic growth." Environmental Science and Pollution Research 27, no. 20: 25415-25433.
In Pakistan, rice is considered as the second staple food and provides livelihoods to the millions of the farm households. During recent years, rice production in Pakistan significantly decreased reportedly due to changes in climate and its induced risks. This study analyzed the incidence and severity of climate change and its induced risks in the rice-growing region of Pakistan and assessed farmers’ perception and attitude by employing risk matrix and Equally Likely Certainty Equivalent model. According to the findings, the majority of the farmers were found risk-averse in behavior, while perceptions varied among different kinds of risks. Among the five kinds of risks, biological and financial risks were conceived as high risk, followed by the climate, biophysical, and social risk. Moreover, probit regression indicated farmers’ age, education, landholding, off-farm income, advisory access, and credit utilization among the significant determinants of farmers’ risk perceptions and attitudes. These findings suggest adopting a comprehensive approach with extended institutional and adaptation support to deal with various kinds of risks being faced by rice farmers in Pakistan. Graphical abstract
Nasir Abbas Khan; Qijie Gao; Muhammad Amjed Iqbal; Muhammad Abid. Modeling food growers’ perceptions and behavior towards environmental changes and its induced risks: evidence from Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2020, 27, 20292 -20308.
AMA StyleNasir Abbas Khan, Qijie Gao, Muhammad Amjed Iqbal, Muhammad Abid. Modeling food growers’ perceptions and behavior towards environmental changes and its induced risks: evidence from Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2020; 27 (16):20292-20308.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNasir Abbas Khan; Qijie Gao; Muhammad Amjed Iqbal; Muhammad Abid. 2020. "Modeling food growers’ perceptions and behavior towards environmental changes and its induced risks: evidence from Pakistan." Environmental Science and Pollution Research 27, no. 16: 20292-20308.
Mankind is in peril and there are many reasons for this; however, climate change precedes all other reasons. Problems of poor farming communities are augmented due to the menace of climate change. This study endeavors to determine the effect on farming communities of both climate change and a situation without climate change. To carry out the study, three different districts were selected (Rawalpindi, Chakwal, and Layyah). Impact of the climate vagaries on per capita income, farm returns, and poverty of the respondents was taken into consideration. To achieve pathways analysis, regional representative agricultural pathways were used. The decision support system for agrotechnology transfer (DSSAT) crop growth model was employed for wheat-related simulations. The tradeoff analysis model for multidimensional impact assessment (TOA-MD) model was used for economic analysis. The results lend credence to the aforementioned nuisance of climate change, as the findings which came through were negatively affecting farm returns, per capita income, and poverty of the farmers. The negative impact applies to both current and future production systems. Farmers are up against the wall because of climate change and they will have to adopt new innovations to raise their productivity.
Syed Asif Ali Naqvi; Abdul Majeed Nadeem; Muhammad Amjed Iqbal; Sadia Ali; Asia Naseem. Assessing the Vulnerabilities of Current and Future Production Systems in Punjab, Pakistan. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5365 .
AMA StyleSyed Asif Ali Naqvi, Abdul Majeed Nadeem, Muhammad Amjed Iqbal, Sadia Ali, Asia Naseem. Assessing the Vulnerabilities of Current and Future Production Systems in Punjab, Pakistan. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (19):5365.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSyed Asif Ali Naqvi; Abdul Majeed Nadeem; Muhammad Amjed Iqbal; Sadia Ali; Asia Naseem. 2019. "Assessing the Vulnerabilities of Current and Future Production Systems in Punjab, Pakistan." Sustainability 11, no. 19: 5365.