IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i8p3160-d345409.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Makes Farmers Exit Farming: A Case Study of Sindh Province, Pakistan

Author

Listed:
  • Muhammad Irshad Ahmad

    (College of Economics and Management, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China)

  • Les Oxley

    (Department of Economics and Finance, University of Waikato, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand)

  • Hengyun Ma

    (College of Economics and Management, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China)

Abstract

In agriculture based economies like Pakistan, farmers often shift from farming to off-farm activities as part of an apparent livelihood transition strategy, despite the fact that most of the workforce depends upon farming. In this paper, we try to uncover insights into how livelihood assets, such as human capital, natural capital, economic capital, and locational characteristics, affect a household’s exit decision from on-farm to off-farm activities as a livelihood transition strategy in rural Pakistan. We analyzed data from 335 farming households from the second largest agricultural producing province in the country, Sindh. Our findings show that more than 19% of households have completely shifted from farming to off-farm activities. Furthermore, we identified that the ‘crop input credit’ is one of the major constraints to farmers converting their previous input-driven small loans into larger loans, where large markups may be imposed if they fail to pay when the harvest is made. The empirical findings from Binary Logistic Regression provide strong evidence for family labor characteristics, particularly for working-age males, working-age females, and working-age children. Surprisingly, the cultivated land size significantly and positively influences farm exit rather than a continuation of farming. Off-farm employment, exogenous shocks, and urbanization also significantly and positively influenced the decision to transition into off-farm work. In contrast, the age of the household head, livestock ownership, and distance to a commercial zone significantly inhibited the decision to exit farming. However, government assistance, including subsidies, strongly encouraged farmers to continue farming. These findings provide new insights into the factors affecting the drivers of both exit and continuation in the farming sector as part of a long-term livelihood transition strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Irshad Ahmad & Les Oxley & Hengyun Ma, 2020. "What Makes Farmers Exit Farming: A Case Study of Sindh Province, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:8:p:3160-:d:345409
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/8/3160/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/8/3160/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Lanjouw & Rinku Murgai & Nicholas Stern, 2013. "Nonfarm diversification, poverty, economic mobility, and income inequality: a case study in village India," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(4-5), pages 461-473, July.
    2. Bina Agarwal & Ankush Agrawal, 2017. "Do farmers really like farming? Indian farmers in transition," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 460-478, October.
    3. Imai, Katsushi S. & Gaiha, Raghav & Garbero, Alessandra, 2017. "Poverty reduction during the rural–urban transformation: Rural development is still more important than urbanisation," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 963-982.
    4. Gunnar Breustedt & Thomas Glauben, 2007. "Driving Forces behind Exiting from Farming in Western Europe," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 115-127, February.
    5. Ayal Kimhi & Ray Bollman, 1999. "Family farm dynamics in Canada and Israel: the case of farm exits," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 21(1), pages 69-79, August.
    6. Ky–sti Pietola & Minna V”re & Alfons Oude Lansink, 2003. "Timing and type of exit from farming: farmers' early retirement programmes in Finland," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 30(1), pages 99-116, March.
    7. Alfred M. Stiglbauer & Christoph R. Weiss, 2000. "Family and Non-Family Succession in the Upper-Austrian Farm Sector," Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 54, pages 5-26.
    8. Ali, Akhter & Hussain, Imtiaz & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Erenstein, Olaf, 2018. "Laser-land leveling adoption and its impact on water use, crop yields and household income: Empirical evidence from the rice-wheat system of Pakistan Punjab," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 19-32.
    9. S. Mahendra Dev, 2012. "Small Farmers in India: Challenges and Opportunities," Working Papers id:5037, eSocialSciences.
    10. Owusu, Victor & Abdulai, Awudu & Abdul-Rahman, Seini, 2011. "Non-farm work and food security among farm households in Northern Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 108-118, April.
    11. Pfeffer, Max J, 1989. "Part-time Farming and the Stability of Family Farms in the Federal Republic of Germany," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 16(4), pages 425-444.
    12. Stephan J. Goetz & David L. Debertin, 2001. "Why Farmers Quit: A County-Level Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 1010-1023.
    13. Ashok K. Mishra & J. Mathew Fannin & Hyunjeong Joo, 2014. "Off-Farm Work, Intensity of Government Payments, and Farm Exits: Evidence from a National Survey in the United States," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 62(2), pages 283-306, June.
    14. Awudu Abdulai & Christopher L. Delgado, 1999. "Determinants of Nonfarm Earnings of Farm-Based Husbands and Wives in Northern Ghana," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 81(1), pages 117-130.
    15. Kailas Sarap, 1990. "Factors Affecting Small Farmers' Access to Institutional Credit in Rural Orissa, India," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 281-307, April.
    16. Christoph R. Weiss, 1999. "Farm Growth and Survival: Econometric Evidence for Individual Farms in Upper Austria," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 81(1), pages 103-116.
    17. Sitakanta Panda, 2015. "Farmer education and household agricultural income in rural India," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(6), pages 514-529, June.
    18. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    19. Thomas Glauben & Hendrik Tietje & Christoph Weiss, 2006. "Agriculture on the move: Exploring regional differences in farm exit rates in Western Germany," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 26(1), pages 103-118, March.
    20. Weiss, Christoph R, 1997. "Do They Come Back Again? The Symmetry and Reversibility of Off-Farm Employment," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 24(1), pages 65-84.
    21. S. Mahendra Dev, 2012. "Small farmers in India: Challenges and opportunities," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2012-014, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    22. Väre, Minna & Heshmati, Almas, 2004. "Perspectives on the Early Retirement Decisions of Farming Couples," IZA Discussion Papers 1342, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Hardy, Daniel, 2015. "Addressing poverty and inequality in the rural economy from a global perspective," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 63257, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    24. Muhammad Irshad Ahmad & Hengyun Ma, 2020. "Climate Change and Livelihood Vulnerability in Mixed Crop–Livestock Areas: The Case of Province Punjab, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-31, January.
    25. Bebbington, Anthony, 1999. "Capitals and Capabilities: A Framework for Analyzing Peasant Viability, Rural Livelihoods and Poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2021-2044, December.
    26. Guillaume Gruere & Debdatta Sengupta, 2011. "Bt Cotton and Farmer Suicides in India: An Evidence-based Assessment," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 316-337.
    27. Mendola, Mariapia, 2008. "Migration and technological change in rural households: Complements or substitutes?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1-2), pages 150-175, February.
    28. Collier, Paul & Dercon, Stefan, 2014. "African Agriculture in 50Years: Smallholders in a Rapidly Changing World?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 92-101.
    29. Bragg, Lisa, 2004. "Factors Affecting the Decision to Exit Farming: A Maine Dairy Industry Study," SS-AAEA Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 2003, pages 1-19.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rabia Mazhar & Bi Xuehao & Thomas Dogot & Rytis Skominas & Vjekoslav Tanaskovik & Hossein Azadi & Zou Wei, 2022. "Contract Farming and Technical Efficiency: A Case of Export-Oriented Organic Rice Farmers in Pakistan," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Ghazali, Samane & Zibaei, Mansour & Azadi, Hossein, 2023. "Impact of livelihood strategies and capitals on rangeland sustainability and nomads' poverty: A counterfactual analysis in Southwest Iran," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    3. Anna Tafidou & Evgenia Lialia & Angelos Prentzas & Asimina Kouriati & Eleni Dimitriadou & Christina Moulogianni & Thomas Bournaris, 2023. "Land Diversification and Its Contribution to Farms’ Income," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Saira Batool & Maryam M. Ali & Areeba Amer, 2021. "Contribution of CPEC to Mitigate Issues in Agri Sector," International Journal of Agriculture & Sustainable Development, 50sea, vol. 3(4), pages 77-86, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bina Agarwal & Ankush Agrawal, 2016. "To farm or not to farm? Indian farmers in transition," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 012016, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Alessandro Corsi & Vito Frontuto & Silvia Novelli, 2021. "What Drives Farm Structural Change? An Analysis of Economic, Demographic and Succession Factors," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-24, May.
    3. Jin‐Tao Zhan & Yan‐Rui Wu & Xiao‐Hui Zhang & Zhang‐Yue Zhou, 2012. "Why do farmers quit from grain production in China? Causes and implications," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 342-362, August.
    4. Thomas Glauben & Hendrik Tietje & Christoph Weiss, 2006. "Agriculture on the move: Exploring regional differences in farm exit rates in Western Germany," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 26(1), pages 103-118, March.
    5. Marie Dervillé & Gilles Allaire & Élise Maigné & Éric Cahuzac, 2017. "Internal and contextual drivers of dairy restructuring: evidence from French mountainous areas and post†quota prospects," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(1), pages 91-103, January.
    6. Roeder, Norbert & Kilian, Stefan, 2009. "Regional differences in the determinants for structural change in German agriculture," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51463, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Vare, Minna, 2005. "Spousal Effect and Timing of Farmers' Early Retirement Decisions," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24696, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Sarah Ann Wheeler & Ying Xu & Alec Zuo, 2020. "Modelling the climate, water and socio-economic drivers of farmer exit in the Murray-Darling Basin," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 551-574, February.
    9. repec:kap:iaecre:v:15:y:2009:i:1:p:125-137 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Thomas Fellmann & Judith Möllers, 2009. "Structural Change in Rural Croatia—Is Early Retirement An Option?," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 15(1), pages 125-137, February.
    11. Ashok K. Mishra & J. Mathew Fannin & Hyunjeong Joo, 2014. "Off-Farm Work, Intensity of Government Payments, and Farm Exits: Evidence from a National Survey in the United States," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 62(2), pages 283-306, June.
    12. Jan Fałkowski, 2010. "Zmiany liczby gospodarstw rolnych w Polsce w okresie transformacji," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 1-2, pages 89-108.
    13. Sebastian Neuenfeldt & Alexander Gocht & Thomas Heckelei & Klaus Mittenzwei & Pavel Ciaian, 2021. "Using Aggregated Farm Location Information to Predict Regional Structural Change of Farm Specialisation, Size and Exit/Entry in Norway Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, July.
    14. Röder Norbert & Kilian Stefan, 2011. "Which Parameters Determine the Development of Farm Numbers in Germany?: Dependency of the Results on the Segmentation of the Data," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 231(3), pages 358-378, June.
    15. Neuenfeldt, S. & Rieger, J. & Heckelei, T. & Gocht, A. & Ciaian, P. & Tetteh, G., 2018. "A multiplicative competitive interaction model to explain structural change along farm specialisation, size and exit/entry using Norwegian farm census data," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277090, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Alec Zuo & Sarah Ann Wheeler & Peter Boxall & W. L. (Vic) Adamowicz & Darla Hatton MacDonald, 2015. "Identifying Water Prices at which Australian Farmers Will Exit Irrigation: Results of a Stated Preference Survey," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 91(S1), pages 109-123, June.
    17. Vare, Minna, 2005. "Timing of the Early Retirement Decisions of Farming Couples," 94th Seminar, April 9-10, 2005, Ashford, UK 24412, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Ferjani, Ali & Zimmermann, Albert & Roesch, Andreas, 2015. "Determining Factors of Farm Exit in Agriculture in Switzerland," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14.
    19. Chiara Landi & Gianluca Stefani & Benedetto Rocchi & Ginevra Virginia Lombardi & Sabina Giampaolo, 2016. "Regional Differentiation and Farm Exit: A Hierarchical Model for Tuscany," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 208-230, February.
    20. Berlinschi, Ruxanda & Swinnen, Johan F.M. & Van Herck, Kristine, 2012. "Subsidies and agricultural employment: The education channel," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126776, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    21. Elias Giannakis & Sophia Efstratoglou & Artemis Antoniades, 2018. "Off-Farm Employment and Economic Crisis: Evidence from Cyprus," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-11, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:8:p:3160-:d:345409. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.