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New evidence regarding the effects of contract farming on agricultural labor use

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  • Anette Ruml
  • Matin Qaim

Abstract

Contractual agreements between smallholder farmers and agribusiness companies have gained in importance in many developing countries. While productivity and income effects of contracting in the small farm sector were analyzed in many previous studies, labor market and employment effects are not yet well understood. This is an important research gap, especially against the background of continued population growth and structural transformation. Here, we investigate the effects of two types of contractual agreements between large international processing companies and smallholder farmers on agricultural labor use, household labor allocation, and hired labor demand in Ghana's palm oil sector. We use cross‐sectional survey data and a willingness‐to‐pay approach to control for unobserved heterogeneity between farmers with and without contracts. We find that agricultural labor intensity is substantially reduced through the contracts, because contracting in Ghana is associated with the adoption of labor‐saving procedures and technologies. Simple marketing contracts lead to reallocation of the saved household labor to off‐farm employment, whereas resource‐providing contracts lead to a stronger reallocation of labor within the farming enterprise. Household labor is more affected by labor savings than hired labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Anette Ruml & Matin Qaim, 2021. "New evidence regarding the effects of contract farming on agricultural labor use," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(1), pages 51-66, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:52:y:2021:i:1:p:51-66
    DOI: 10.1111/agec.12606
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Hongyun Zheng & Puneet Vatsa & Wanglin Ma & Dil Bahadur Rahut, 2023. "Does agricultural cooperative membership influence off‐farm work decisions of farm couples?," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 831-855, September.
    4. Martin Paul Jr Tabe-Ojong & Jourdain C. Lokossou & Bisrat Gebrekidan & Hippolyte D. Affognon, 2023. "Adoption of climate-resilient groundnut varieties increases agricultural production, consumption, and smallholder commercialization in West Africa," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Yiming Zhang & Rui Yang & Kai Zhao & Xiangzhi Kong, 2023. "Fertilizer Application in Contract Farming: A Risk Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Ruml, Anette & Chrisendo, Daniel & Osabuohien, Evans & Karakara, Alhassan & Iddrisu, Abdul Malik & Lay, Jann, 2021. "Smallholders in Agro-Industrial Production: Lessons from Rural Development at New Frontiers from a Comparative Analysis of Ghana’s and Indonesia’s Oil Palm Sectors," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315162, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Debela, Bethelhem Legesse & Ruml, Anette & Qaim, Matin, 2021. "The Effects of Contract Farming on Diets and Nutrition in Ghana," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315186, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Ruml, Anette & Chrisendo, Daniel & Iddrisu, Abdul Malik & Karakara, Alhassan A. & Nuryartono, Nunung & Osabuohien, Evans & Lay, Jann, 2022. "Smallholders in agro-industrial production: Lessons for rural development from a comparative analysis of Ghana’s and Indonesia’s oil palm sectors," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Anette Ruml & Martin C. Parlasca, 2022. "In‐kind credit provision through contract farming and formal credit markets," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(2), pages 402-425, April.
    10. Anette Ruml & Catherine Ragasa & Matin Qaim, 2022. "Contract farming, contract design and smallholder livelihoods," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(1), pages 24-43, January.
    11. Ghislain B. D. Aihounton & Arne Henningsen, 2023. "Does Organic Farming Jeopardize Food and Nutrition Security?," IFRO Working Paper 2023/02, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.

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