IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/caerpp/v1y2009i2p155-172.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Business and financial risks of small farm households in China

Author

Listed:
  • Calum G. Turvey
  • Rong Kong

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between business risks and credit choices of 400 farm households surveyed in Shaanxi province in October 2007 in the Yangling district. More specifically, this paper investigates whether or not rural farm households in China balance business risks from agricultural production with financial risk from the use of debt. Design/methodology/approach - The data were collected through a survey of 400 farm households in Shaanxi province conducted in October 2007. Four separate regressions are run using a credit measure as the dependent variable and measures of profitability, risk, risk aversion, and demography, and debt source (formal versus informal lending) as independent variables. Findings - The model shows evidence of risk balancing. That is, there is strong evidence that Chinese farmers reduce credit use and financial risk, as business risks increase. Practical implications - The results suggest that Chinese policy makers could encourage the use of finacial leverage and prudent debt use by offering risk reducing programs such as crop insurance, weather insurance, or price insurance. Originality/value - This paper uses a unique survey form to collect production risk data as well as gather information on credit use and sources. Data were collected so that risk measures could easily be computed using a triangular distribution. Furthermore, this is believed to be the first empirical validation of the risk balancing hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Calum G. Turvey & Rong Kong, 2009. "Business and financial risks of small farm households in China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 155-172, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:caerpp:v:1:y:2009:i:2:p:155-172
    DOI: 10.1108/17561370910927417
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17561370910927417/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17561370910927417/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/17561370910927417?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Porter, Gina & Phillips-Howard[malt], Kevin, 1997. "Comparing contracts: An evaluation of contract farming schemes in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 227-238, February.
    2. Fritz, Melanie & Fischer, Christian, 2007. "The Role of Trust in European Food Chains: Theory and Empirical Findings," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-24.
    3. Sartorius, Kurt & Kirsten, Johann, 2007. "A framework to facilitate institutional arrangements for smallholder supply in developing countries: An agribusiness perspective," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5-6), pages 640-655.
    4. Masakure, Oliver & Henson, Spencer, 2005. "Why do small-scale producers choose to produce under contract? Lessons from nontraditional vegetable exports from Zimbabwe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1721-1733, October.
    5. Dave D. Weatherspoon & Thomas Reardon, 2003. "The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa: Implications for Agrifood Systems and the Rural Poor," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 21, pages 333-355, May.
    6. Akbar Zaheer & N. Venkatraman, 1995. "Relational governance as an interorganizational strategy: An empirical test of the role of trust in economic exchange," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 373-392.
    7. Peterson, H. Christopher & Wysocki, Allen F. & Harsh, Stephen B., 2001. "Strategic Choice Along The Vertical Coordination Continuum," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 4(2), pages 1-18.
    8. Han, Jiqin & Omta, S.W.F. (Onno) & Trienekens, Jacques H., 2007. "The Joint Impact of Supply Chain Integration and Quality Management on the Performance of Pork Processing Firms in China," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-32.
    9. Allen, Douglas & Lueck, Dean, 1992. "Contract Choice in Modern Agriculture: Cash Rent versus Cropshare," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(2), pages 397-426, October.
    10. Perry, Martin K., 1989. "Vertical integration: Determinants and effects," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 4, pages 183-255, Elsevier.
    11. Dennis R. Henderson, 1994. "Measuring and Assessing Vertical Ties in the Agro-food System," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 42(4), pages 549-560, December.
    12. Klein, Benjamin, 1980. "Transaction Cost Determinants of "Unfair" Contractual Arrangements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(2), pages 356-362, May.
    13. Dinghuan Hu & Thomas Reardon & Scott Rozelle & Peter Timmer & Honglin Wang, 2004. "The Emergence of Supermarkets with Chinese Characteristics: Challenges and Opportunities for China's Agricultural Development," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 22, pages 557-586, September.
    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. Yu Xu & Liangjie Xin & Xiubin Li & Minghong Tan & Yahui Wang, 2019. "Exploring a Moderate Operation Scale in China’s Grain Production: A Perspective on the Costs of Machinery Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Ifft, Jennifer & Kuethe, Todd & Morehart, Mitch, 2015. "Does Federal Crop Insurance lead to higher farm debt use? Evidence from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey," Working Papers 250011, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    3. Sarker, Rakhal, 2021. "Farm Safety Net Payments and Risk Balancing in Ontario Beef Sector," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315321, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Allan N. Rae & Xiaohui Zhang, 2009. "China's booming livestock industry: household income, specialization, and exit," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(6), pages 603-616, November.
    5. Aderajew, Tamirat S. & Du, Xiaoxue & Pennings, Joost M. E. & Trujillo-Barrera, Andres, 2020. "Farm-Level Risk-Balancing Behavior and the Role of Latent Heterogeneity," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 45(2), March.
    6. Adhikari, Sudip & Khanal, Aditya R., 2020. "Does higher business risk influence financial risk and induce savings among small agricultural operations? Findings from Tennessee," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304509, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Xue Yang & Shili Guo & Xin Deng & Dingde Xu, 2021. "Livelihood Adaptation of Rural Households under Livelihood Stress: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-19, May.
    8. 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.
    9. Hong Fu & Yuehua Zhang & Yinuo An & Li Zhou & Yanling Peng & Rong Kong & Calum G. Turvey, 2022. "Subjective and objective risk perceptions and the willingness to pay for agricultural insurance: evidence from an in-the-field choice experiment in rural China," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 47(1), pages 98-121, March.

    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. Xiaoyong Zhang & Lusine H. Aramyan, 2009. "A conceptual framework for supply chain governance," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(2), pages 136-154, January.
    2. Schipmann, Christin & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Supply chain differentiation, contract agriculture, and farmers’ marketing preferences: the case of sweet pepper in Thailand," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 108349, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    3. Schipmann, Christin & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Supply chain differentiation, contract agriculture, and farmers’ marketing preferences: The case of sweet pepper in Thailand," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 667-677.
    4. Joanita Kataike & Xavier Gellynck, 2018. "22 Years of Governance Structures and Performance: What Has Been Achieved in Agrifood Chains and Beyond? A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-32, March.
    5. Nguyen Hung Anh & Wolfgang Bokelmann & Ngo Thi Thuan & Do Thi Nga & Nguyen Van Minh, 2019. "Smallholders’ Preferences for Different Contract Farming Models: Empirical Evidence from Sustainable Certified Coffee Production in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-26, July.
    6. Abebe, Gumataw K. & Bijman, Jos & Kemp, Ron & Omta, Onno & Tsegaye, Admasu, 2013. "Contract farming configuration: Smallholders’ preferences for contract design attributes," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 14-24.
    7. Ashok K. Mishra & Anjani Kumar & Pramod K. Joshi & Alwin D'Souza, 2018. "Cooperatives, contract farming, and farm size: The case of tomato producers in Nepal," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 865-886, October.
    8. Hellin, Jon & Lundy, Mark & Meijer, Madelon, 2009. "Farmer organization, collective action and market access in Meso-America," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 16-22, February.
    9. Thomas Kopp & Ashok K. Mishra, 2022. "Perishability and market power in Nepalese food crop production," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(2), pages 518-540, June.
    10. repec:oup:apecpp:v:40:y:2018:i:3:p:353-378. is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Xhoxhi, Orjon & Pedersen, Søren Marcus & Lind, Kim Martin & Yazar, Attila, 2014. "The Determinants of Intermediaries’ Power over Farmers’ Margin-Related Activities: Evidence from Adana, Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 815-827.
    12. repec:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/284359 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Rui Fragoso, 2013. "Planning Marketing Channels: Case of the Olive Oil Agribusiness in Portugal," CEFAGE-UE Working Papers 2013_07, University of Evora, CEFAGE-UE (Portugal).
    14. Fanny Widadie & Jos Bijman & Jacques Trienekens, 2022. "Alignment between vertical and horizontal coordination for food quality and safety in Indonesian vegetable chains," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, December.
    15. Han, Jiqin & Trienekens, Jacques H. & (Onno) Omta, S.W.F., 2011. "Relationship and quality management in the Chinese pork supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 312-321, December.
    16. Arouna Dissa & Jos Bijman & Maja Slingerland & Ousmane Mama Sanogo & Ken E Giller & Katrien Descheemaeker, 2022. "Growing cotton to produce food: Unravelling interactions between value chains in southern Mali," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(5), September.
    17. Raballand, Gael & Macchi, Patricia & Merotto, Dino & Petracco, Carly, 2009. "Revising the roads investment strategy in rural areas : an application for Uganda," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5036, The World Bank.
    18. Zsófia Benedek & Imre Fertő & Adrienn Molnár, 2018. "Off to market: but which one? Understanding the participation of small-scale farmers in short food supply chains—a Hungarian case study," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(2), pages 383-398, June.
    19. Etornam Kosi Anku & Gerald Kojo Ahorbo, 2017. "Conflict between Supermarkets and Wet-Markets in Ghana: Early Warning Signals and Preventive Policy Recommendations," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 7(10), pages 1-17, October.
    20. Xueping Xiong & Jie Tian & Hongxin Ruan, 2011. "A DEA-model evaluation of the efficiency of peasant household credit investigation system in rural credit cooperatives: A positive research in Hubei Province, China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 3(1), pages 54-66, January.
    21. Hellin, Jon & Lundy, Mark & Meijer, Madelon, 2007. "Farmer organization, collective action and market access in Meso-America," CAPRi working papers 67, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    22. Kassie, Menale & Jaleta, Moti & Shiferaw, Bekele & Mmbando, Frank & Muricho, Geoffrey, 2012. "Plot and Household-Level Determinants of Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Rural Tanzania," RFF Working Paper Series dp-12-02-efd, Resources for the Future.

    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:eme:caerpp:v:1:y:2009:i:2:p:155-172. 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: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.