Alexander Blandon Lopez (p), Janeth Gonzalez Rubio, Illich Giancarlo Guependo Ortiz

Iyad Snunu

The transformation of coffee production systems in the face of environmental and economic pressures has led small producers to seek sustainable alternatives such as agroforestry systems. The Colombian coffee landscape has evolved from monocultures to diversified systems, adapting to the changing needs of farmers and the market. In this context, coffee maintains its relevance by representing close to 15% of the agricultural GDP, involving around 550.000 families in 603 municipalities of the country. This research seeks to determine the competitive situation of the agroforestry coffee-wood production system of small and medium producers of specialty coffees in the municipality of Ibague (Tolima) and to establish strategies for improvement. The methodological design includes a quantitative approach study with the application of structured questionnaires to 37 participants, including producers and sector experts. The competitiveness factors are evaluated based on Porter's Diamond model. The theoretical framework that underpins the research integrates the area of competitiveness, with emphasis on Porter's Diamond model (Porter, 2016), theories on agroforestry systems (Meybeck et al., 2021) and elements of the coffee value chain (Samoggia & Fantini, 2024; Fernandez-Stark, K., y Gereffi, G.,2019; Kaplinsky, R. 2004). This conceptual basis makes it possible to analyze both technical-productive aspects and environmental factors that influence the competitiveness of the system.
The results reveal a productive system with strengths in natural resources, but limitations in specialized factors, where 52.4% of producers manage between 1-5 hectares and 85.7% depend mainly on coffee as a source of income. Based on the diagnosis, strategies are proposed in five dimensions: sustainability and adaptation to climate change, differentiation and value added, associativity and social capital, technology and innovation, and marketing and markets. The conclusions point to the need for a comprehensive approach that combines organizational capacity building, technological innovation, and the development of specialized services, with particular attention to generational replacement and adaptation to climate change, aspects identified as critical for the future sustainability of the system. Finally, it is important to point out that the results of this research seek to contribute both to academic knowledge on agroforestry systems and to the practice of small and medium-sized producers who are exploring alternatives to improve their competitive position.

Iyad Snunu (p), Michael Sofer, Noaman Gnayim

Kyungjae Lee

The urbanization process led to significant economic and landscape changes in the Arab settlements in Israel, among them the changing characteristics of agricultural activities and the survival strategies of farming households. The major question: Is the continued existence of agricultural activities an essential element in the urbanization process of the Arab settlements? In other words, what are the survival strategies of Arab farmers under the expansion of urbanization processes and the existence of local and national barriers - economic, social and institutional - to sustainable agricultural development? The discussion is focused on the village of Bir al-Sika, where changes in land uses were examined and estimated according to a chronological sequence, followed by the attitudes of officials. The positions of farmers were reviewed in the context of the continued survival of agriculture as a significant economic activity in the urbanizing settlement.
Along with the decrease in the scope of agricultural activities, with an increase in the intensity and in productivity and a decrease in the demand for labor - as part of the farmers' survival strategy, there are changing trends that indicate the development of alternative sources of income for the farmers. This is accompanied by changes in the nature of the local infrastructure and various aspects that accompany the urbanization process. The accumulation of evolving trends is the product of ssociological and conceptual changes in Arab society in Israel, local development mechanisms and processes concerning the Arab communities but is also influenced by mechanisms and processes at the national level.

Kyungjae Lee (p), Jonghoon Park, Seongwoo Lee

Carlos Bacha

The decline in the farming population and the aging of the agricultural labor force in South Korea have highlighted the limitations of conventional agriculture. In response, the adoption of smart farming has gained attention as a means to enhance productivity and establish a sustainable agricultural model. However, the adoption of smart farming is not evenly distributed across the country, exhibiting significant regional disparities. This study aims to analyze the effect of smart farming adoption on agricultural income and regional disparities in adoption. Using data from the 2020 Agricultural Census, this study employs multilevel linear and logit models to estimate agricultural income and the probability of smart farming adoption at the primary local government level. The estimated standardized values computed from the multilevel models serve as key variables in the subsequent Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) analysis, in which standardized agricultural income is used as the dependent variable while controlling for the probability of smart farming adoption and other regional characteristics. The results indicate that smart farming adoption has a positive effect on agricultural income, yet the magnitude of this effect varies significantly across local governments. Notably, northern Gyeonggi Province and parts of Gangwon Province exhibit stronger effects, suggesting that regional characteristics play a crucial role in shaping the economic impact of smart farming. In addition, a discrepancy exists between the estimated coefficient for the actual smart farming adoption probability and that for the standardized farms. This discrepancy suggests that while smart farming has the potential to significantly enhance income in these regions, structural and institutional constraints may be limiting its broader economic impact. These findings underscore the need for policies that not only encourage adoption but also strengthen the underlying conditions to enhance the economic benefits of smart farming for local governments.

Mariza Almeida, Carlos Bacha (p)

Alexander Blandon Lopez

Although Brazil was the fifth largest producer of cow's milk in the world in 2023, the annual productivity of its cows reaches only 25% of that in the United States (the world's largest milk producer) and just 43% of the average achieved in Argentina. Furthermore, the average productivity of Brazilian dairy farming differs by up to 194% between the South and North regions of the country. Nevertheless, some regions in the country reach international levels of dairy cattle productivity, indicating that there is technology (whether in the form of cattle breed, feeding practices, and/or animal management) available in the country to increase its productivity. And one of the ways to disseminate this technology is through rural extension services. But even among producers who receive technical assistance, is there homogeneity in their technological levels? The objective of this article is to estimate stochastic production functions, using the Cobb-Douglas formulation, for small dairy producers assisted by the ATeG-Senar program and to highlight the differences in their Stochastic Frontiers and technical efficiencies. This program assists small producers for up to 24 months, and the article analyzes the situation of 4,767 dairy producers attended by this program in 2021. Six Stochastic Production Frontiers were estimated: one considering all producers together without distinguishing their regions, and the other five considering Brazil’s five regions separately. Technical efficiency levels were then calculated based on these estimates. It was found that the coefficients associated with production factors and the determinants of inefficiencies are not of the same magnitude across the five regions considered, nor are the dimensions of their technical efficiencies. This suggests that something beyond just technical assistance is needed to standardize and improve the technological level of the national dairy farming sector.