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| Registros recuperados: 28 | |
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| Stockil, R.C.; Ortmann, Gerald F.. |
| This study analyses the importance and dimensions of risk sources and computer adoption among farmers in a changing economic policy and trade environment. A survey was conducted in 1996 among 112 commercial farmers in KwaZulu-Natal. The majority of respondents were in favour of a liberalized trade environment and deregulated domestic product and input markets. Respondents identified changes in the cost of farm inputs, government legislation (tax, labour, and land redistribution), the Rand exchange rate, and product prices as the most important sources of risk. Factor analysis of risk sources showed that various dimensions to risk exist, including changes in government policy, enterprise gross income, credit access and cost changes. Computers, a risk... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Farm Management; Risk and Uncertainty. |
| Ano: 1997 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54912 |
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| Ortmann, Gerald F.. |
| Rapid developments in information technology have exposed South African farmers to the potential benefits of using these technologies in farm decision-making. Use of computers on South African commercial farms is increasing, with three studies showing adoption rates of 48 percent (1993), 64 percent (1996) and 72 percent (1998). About 38 percent of computer users in a 1998 survey of commercial maize farmers had access to the Internet. Spreadsheets and financial management software are popular amongst commercial farmers, while use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are being used more widely in South African agriculture. Small-scale farmers in developing areas rely mainly on government and private industry extension... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Farm Management; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies. |
| Ano: 2000 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54195 |
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| Makenete, Andrew L.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Darroch, Mark A.G.. |
| A study was conducted during 1994-1995 amongst policy makers, government officials, retailers and millers in Lesotho to review the maize marketing system and procedures for setting maize prices at producer, mill-gate and consumer levels. Set prices distort price signals which influence decisions to allocate and distribute resources to provide goods and services for markets. Lesotho is a net importer of maize grain, the major staple, implying that maize pricing and marketing policy affect food security. Results indicate flexible informal marketing channels, fixed formal marketing channels and declining real producer, mill-gate and consumer prices in recent years Falling real South African Maize Board export grain prices and evidence of subsidies to... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries. |
| Ano: 1997 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54977 |
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| MacNicol, R.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Ferrer, Stuart R.D.. |
| This study identifies sources of risk that commercial sugarcane farmers in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, presently perceive to pose the greatest threat to the viability of their businesses. Sugarcane contributes approximately 82% of the income from field crops in KZN, with 72% of the crop planted by large-scale growers. Data obtained in 2006 via structured personal interviews of 76 large-scale sugarcane farmers from a stratified random sample of 110 farmers in two separate mill-supply areas of KZN were used to elicit farmers perceptions of various sources of risk. The most important risk sources were found to be the threat posed by land reform, minimum wage legislation and the variability of the sugar price, in that order. Land reform... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Risk sources; Farmers perceptions; Large-scale sugarcane farms; KwaZulu-Natal; South Africa; Agricultural Finance. |
| Ano: 2007 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/8011 |
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| Ortmann, Gerald F.. |
| Following unification of East and West Germany in 1990, the principal objective of the government was to restore previous property rights in the new federal states and to encourage competitive production structures. Institutions were quickly established to facilitate the required adjustments to a market economy. Privatisation of most firms (farms), which was an intricate and costly procedure, was accomplished within five years and resulted in a completely new farm structure in the new federal states. By 1996 over 80 percent of agricultural enterprises comprised private (individual) operations (cultivating 22 percent of land), 9,1 percent partnerships (22 percent of land), while about 3000 legal entities managed 56 percent of farm land. About 90 percent of... |
| Tipo: Report |
Palavras-chave: Land Economics/Use; Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession. |
| Ano: 1998 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54875 |
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| Ortmann, Gerald F.. |
| This paper considers private and public institutions that will help promote the competitiveness of commercial farms and agribusiness firms, and enhance the productivity of communal farmers and the competitiveness of emerging farmers in South Africa. Commercial agriculture and agribusiness are creating institutions (such as food safety standards and strategic partnerships), adopting existing private and public institutions (e.g. TQM, ISO 9000 and HACCP) or restructuring to add value to products and services, reduce costs and gain access to export markets. Government should focus its relatively scarce resources on providing physical and legal infrastructure (such as secure property rights and contract enforcement) to reduce transaction costs, including risk,... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Agribusiness; International Relations/Trade. |
| Ano: 2000 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54203 |
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| Ortmann, Gerald F.; King, Robert P.. |
| The objective of this research is to investigate whether agricultural cooperatives can facilitate smallholder farmer access to input and product markets. Farmers in two case study communal areas of KwaZulu-Natal face high transaction costs as reflected primarily in their low levels of education and literacy, lack of market information, insecure property rights, poor road and communication infrastructure, and long distances to markets. Analysis of the reasons why cooperatives were originally established in various parts of the world suggests that most of the causes (such as poverty, market failure and high transaction costs) also apply to the study farmers, as do the seven international principles of cooperation. Smallholder farmers in both case study... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Agricultural cooperatives; Small-scale farmers; High-value crops; Transaction costs; South Africa; Agribusiness. |
| Ano: 2007 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10124 |
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| Mabuza, Majola Lawrence; Hendriks, Sheryl L.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Sithole, M.M.. |
| The objective of the study was to provide empirical evidence on whether food aid leads to depressed domestic maize prices and reduced maize production in subsequent years in Swaziland. The lack of empirical evidence has often resulted in premature negative conclusions about the impact of food aid on Swaziland’s maize industry. The study used secondary national data from 1985 to 2006. Variables used in the statistical analysis included quantity of cereal food aid; quantity of commercial maize imports; quantity of locally produced maize; official maize producer price; open market maize producer price; fertilizer price; fuel price; rainfall; and total area planted to maize. The impact of food aid was measured using the reduced form market equilibrium model... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Financial Economics. |
| Ano: 2009 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/49290 |
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| Ortmann, Gerald F.; Nothard, B.W.; Meyer, E.. |
| The productivity of small-scale sugarcane contractors affects not only their own profitability and sustainability, but that of other stakeholders as well, such as the small-scale sugarcane farmers they contract to and the sugar mills they supply with sugarcane. This study examines the attributes of small-scale sugarcane contractors that affect their quality of service as perceived by small-scale sugarcane growers (SSGs). Information was obtained through interviews conducted with 114 contractors sampled in ten mill group areas in KwaZulu-Natal between September 2002 and July 2003. Further interviews were conducted in the same time period with SSGs for information on contractor service quality (transport and general service timeliness, meeting of daily... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Crop Production/Industries. |
| Ano: 2005 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/31725 |
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| Kuhn, M.E.; Darroch, Mark A.G.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Graham, Douglas H.. |
| Three development finance institutions (DFIs) which operate in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province were assessed in 1996/97 to see how they could improve financial viability and outreach to emerging farmers, agribusiness and micro-entrepreneurs. Improved service quality and emphasis on mobilising savings would help clients and enable the DFIs to diversify their portfolios. Better access to branches and lower loan approval times (improved screening and administrative procedures) could also lower client transaction costs. Charging a suitable interest rate spread is necessary but not sufficient for lenders to achieve subsidy independence. Reducing arrears through stricter loan contract enforcement (borrower accountability for loan repayment, lower collateral... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Agricultural Finance. |
| Ano: 2000 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54199 |
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| Ortmann, Gerald F.; King, Robert P.. |
| Small-scale (communal) farmers in South Africa have limited access to factors of production, credit and information, and markets are often constrained by inadequate property rights and high transaction costs. The objective of this research is to investigate whether agricultural cooperatives - considered by the South African (SA) government as organizations that could help promote community and economic development - can facilitate smallholder access to input and product markets that could enhance their development. This paper initially discusses the principles of cooperation, and briefly describes the history and development of agricultural cooperatives in developed and less-developed countries, with an emphasis on the United States and South Africa. A new... |
| Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper |
Palavras-chave: Agribusiness; Farm Management. |
| Ano: 2006 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/13930 |
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| du Toit, J.P.; Ortmann, Gerald F.. |
| This study investigates the impact of dairy market deregulation on the competitiveness of milk producers who comprise the East Griqualand (EG) study group in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study uses a microeconomic approach, the unit cost ratio (UCR) method of competitiveness analysis, to assess changes in the relative competitiveness of EG milk producers from 1983 – 2006. Findings of previous research indicate that dairy market deregulation in the 1980s and 1990s caused lower real milk producer prices, increased uncertainty and higher exit rates in the South African dairy industry. Results of the UCR analysis suggest that EG milk producers were not competitive based on the net local price received for milk but were... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Dairy market deregulation; East Griqualand milk producers; Competitiveness; Unit cost ratio analysis; Livestock Production/Industries. |
| Ano: 2009 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/53381 |
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| Ghebremariam, W.K.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Nsahlai, I.V.. |
| This study presents a production function analysis of fresh milk production in the Highlands of Eritrea, where most dairy farmers in Eritrea are located. To ensure representative production functions, this region was divided into three relatively homogenous study areas, namely Central Zone, Mendefera and Dekemhare. Most data for the study were collected in a survey of 120 respondents using a structured questionnaire. To obviate the problem of multicollinearity among explainatory variables, ridge regression was used to estimate milk production functions for each study area. Production elasticities of variable inputs, marginal products (MPx), values of marginal products (VMPx), marginal rates of input substitution (MRS) and least-cost combinations of... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Production Economics. |
| Ano: 2006 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/31706 |
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| Newman, R.A.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Lyne, Michael C.. |
| A survey was conducted in 1995 among 135 commercial farmers in KwaZulu-Natal to analyse labour remuneration and farmers' perceptions about the impact of labour legislation recently extended to agriculture. Farm labour remuneration normally includes cash wages and payments in kind (such as rations, housing, land use rights and clothing). The study suggests that, all things being equal, farmers who pay relatively lower cash wages tend to provide more rations per worker and allocate more land use rights. Most respondents agreed that there is some need for labour legislation in agriculture, but the majority perceived the present legislation to be time-consuming and costly, and wanted the legislation to be less ambiguous, more flexible and less extensive.... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Labor and Human Capital. |
| Ano: 1997 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54980 |
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| Ortmann, Gerald F.. |
| South African (SA) farmers are faced with a dynamic global economic and trade environment caused by the liberalisation of international markets and rapid advances in information and communication technologies In addition to dealing with the deregulation of domestic agricultural markets in the 1990s, SA farmers also have to adapt to a dynamic political environment and other challenges, including land reform, AgriBEE, new labour legislation and minimum wages, property taxes, skills levies, uncertain water rights, HIV/Aids, a volatile exchange rate, and high transport and communication costs. The main factors that will help promote the competitiveness of SA farmers, and the agricultural sector in general, include good governance at all levels of government... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Agricultural and Food Policy. |
| Ano: 2005 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/31728 |
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| Browne, M.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Hendriks, Sheryl L.. |
| Household consumption patterns were investigated to determine the impact of an income shock on household expenditure and to establish the potential for demand-led growth in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal. Household consumption data were collected from sample households in the Embo ward of Umbumbulu, KwaZulu-Natal during October 2004 and March 2005. Budget shares and expenditure elasticities were estimated for household consumption categories for the two study periods, allowing for a comparison of expenditure elasticities between the two seasons. Results suggest that expenditure elasticities for consumer expendables, durables and transport were highly elastic, while expenditure elasticities for the aggregate food category were negative (October) and highly... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Expenditure elasticities; Demand-led growth; Umbumbulu region; KwaZulu-Natal; Consumer/Household Economics. |
| Ano: 2007 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7051 |
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| Chibanda, M.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Lyne, Michael C.. |
| This paper evaluates the impact of institutional and governance factors on the performance of 10 smallholder agricultural cooperatives in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Five of the cooperatives grow and market vegetables, three produce and market poultry, one is a beef production cooperative and another operates a bakery. The results of a cluster analysis suggest that the performance of the selected smallholder cooperatives is influenced by institutional and governance problems. Institutional problems give rise to low levels of equity and debt capital, reliance on government funding, low levels of investment, and subsequent loss of members. Governance problems are strongly linked to the absence of secret ballot, low levels of education, lack of production and... |
| Tipo: Journal Article |
Palavras-chave: Traditional cooperatives; Performance; Institutions; Good governance; Cluster analysis; Institutional and Behavioral Economics. |
| Ano: 2009 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/55132 |
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| Matungul, Pierre M.; Ortmann, Gerald F.; Lyne, Michael C.. |
| High transaction costs are detrimental to the efficient operation or existence of markets for inputs and outputs. The cost of information and the costs associated with the search for trade partners, distance to formal markets and contract enforcement are likely to influence the marketing of food crops. This study hypothesises that the level of income generated from food crop sales by small-scale farmers in the Impendle and Swayimana districts of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is influenced by transaction costs and certain household and farm characteristics. Regression analysis shows that the depth of marketing methods is significantly influenced by transaction cost proxies such as cooperation with large commercial farmers and ownership of means of transport.... |
| Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation |
Palavras-chave: Farm Management. |
| Ano: 2002 |
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/6958 |
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| Registros recuperados: 28 | |
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