from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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JAFSCD is the world’s only community-supported journal. JAFSCD content is open access (free) thanks to the generous support of our shareholders: the JAFSCD Shareholder Consortium, Library Shareholders, a growing number of Individual Shareholders, and our six JAFSCD Partners: |
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| THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER COLUMN
The case for radical changes in U.S. farm policy Column by John Ikerd (Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics, U of Missouri, Columbia) Most farm and food policy debates have been about ways to make today’s failed systems less bad rather than how to make them fundamentally better. |
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From John Ikerd's column in the current fall issue:
"It is time to truly start thinking 'outside the box'—in this case, outside the box of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The inclusion of farm and food policies in the 2025 federal budget reconciliation bill, the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025,' provides opportunities to change the way farm and food assistance policies are funded and administered. The bill didn’t change previous funding priorities. It provides increased funding for industrial commodity producers, reduced funding for food assistance programs, community development, and local foods, and redirects climate change funding to subsidize conservation practices for commodity producers.
"However, funding agri-food programs through the regular budgeting process, rather than a separate 'farm bill,' weakens the grip of the industrial agricultural establishment on farm and food policies. . . . The vast majority of people, including most mainstream farmers, know there is something fundamentally wrong with the current systems of farming, food processing, and food retailing. The agri-food systems are not working for consumers who are suffering from a variety of diet-related health issues. They are not working for the smaller diversified family farmers who are forced to rely on off-farm income to make a living. They are not working for the rural communities that have supported and been supported by farming families. They are not working for the land; agricultural chemicals and biological wastes pollute the soil, air, and water. Current farm policies are not even working for the large commodity producers who feel trapped in farming systems that conflict with their social and ethical values."
Read the entire column for free at JAFSCD: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.144.001
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Most farm and food policy debates have been about ways to make today’s failed systems less bad rather than how to make them fundamentally better. In the recent Economic Pamphleteer, John Ikerd advocates for the sustainable farming tax credit. Stating "[it] would be for those who are motivated to farm sustainably, rather than those trying to maximize incomes and wealth." Read the column for free @JAFSCD https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.144.001. #bbb2025 #farmbill #foodpolicy #ag
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JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by K Raman (Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology), Dr. Rani J (Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology), Dr. Anubhuti Dwivedi (EdMaestro Academy) and Dr. Maroof Ahmad Mir (Asian School of Business)
Agripreneurship involving organic farming practice is a diversified activity and part of the agriculture value chain. This new study explores how the key elements of the strategic mix influence the agripreneurial performance of smallholder organic vegetable farmers in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. While adoption of organic cultivation is gaining momentum in emerging economies, detailed analysis of strategic drivers has been limited. By surveying 271 farmers across 16 districts, this study examined the impact of cost reduction, networking, quality differentiation, and supply-chain management on farm performance. The findings revealed that networking, quality differentiation, and supply-chain management significantly influenced performance, while cost reduction showed no notable effect. These findings are valuable for policymakers, agricultural extension agents, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and farmer producer organizations (FPOs) who are actively involved in the support and development of organic farming through strategic interventions.
In a new JAFSCD article, Strategic mix priorities as drivers of agripreneurial performance: Evidence from smallholder organic vegetable farmers in Tamil Nadu State of India, authors K Raman, Rani J., Anubhuti Dwivedi, and Maroof Ahmad Mir present initial findings from an exploratory research study using structural equation modeling to explore the strategic elements as drivers of agripreneurial performance, which is of significant importance for policymakers and other stakeholders in creating awareness among smallholder vegetable farmers.
KEY FINDINGS -
Approximately 70% of farmers had been educated up to the primary school level, 25% up to the secondary school level, and the remaining 5% were uneducated.
- Most of the farmers were 30 to 50 years old, with 16% above 50 and only 3% below 30 years.
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For sustainable development, smallholder organic vegetable farmers should focus more on the quality of crop diversification rather than cost-reduction related activities.
- Increasing networking with all stakeholders will improve the overall farm performance.
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Focusing on supply chain logistics will result in better value addition.
- Strengthening communication with policymakers, NGOs, and FPOs will create better awareness and adoption of organic farming practices in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH - Provide customized training on organic farming practices for all crops that farmers are willing to cultivate.
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Simplify the process of organic certification and accreditation.
- Promote awareness of organic farming practices through digital technologies, mobile applications, and remote sensing technologies, such as by distributing free smartphones with user-friendly technology apps, in local regional languages.
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Spread awareness about organic farming practices through FPOs and agriclinics.
- Involve women’s self-help groups (SHGs) in promoting the concept of organic farming practices.
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Extend research on other valuable crops such as cotton, oilseeds, soybeans, pulses, paddy, minor millets, plantations, etc.
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Exploring sustainability agriculture by examining strategic options for agripreneurial success among smallholder organic vegetable growers. A new study explores how the key elements of the strategic mix influence the agripreneurial performance of smallholder organic vegetable farmers in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Read the entire article for free at @JAFSCD: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.144.007
#smallholder #India #organic #agripreneurship |
Photo above: Author K Raman (at left) with a farmer in a field of organic tomatoes. Photo provided by authors. |
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Books Available for Review
Like to review a book and share your thoughts with JAFSCD’s readers? Fill out the quick review query form linked on our home page (right margin, Engage with JAFSCD > Propose a Book Review). You can also use the form to suggest other books, films, or reports for review. The selected reviewer receives a free hard copy or e-book.
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Nourishing Resistance: Stories of Food, Protest, and Mutual Aid, edited by Wren Awry
From the publisher:
"From the cooks who have fed rebels and revolutionaries to the collective kitchens set up after ecological disasters, food has long played a crucial role in resistance, protest, and mutual aid. Nourishing Resistance centers these everyday acts of culinary solidarity. Twenty-three contributors—cooks, farmers, writers, organizers, academics, and dreamers—write on queer potlucks, rebel ancestors, disability justice, Indigenous food sovereignty, and the fight against toxic diet culture, among many other topics. . . . They look to the past . . . and the future, speculating on postcapitalist worlds that include both high-tech collective farms and herbs gathered beside highways."
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Junk Food Politics: How Beverage and Fast Food Industries Are Reshaping Emerging Economies, by Eduardo J. Gómez
From the publisher:
"Why do sugary beverage and fast food industries thrive in the emerging world? . . . Despite government commitment to eradicating noncommunicable diseases and innovative prevention programs aimed at reducing obesity and type 2 diabetes, sugary beverage and fast food industries are thriving. But political leaders in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia are reluctant to introduce policies regulating the marketing and sale of their products, particularly among vulnerable groups like children and the poor. Why?"
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How to Create a Sustainable Food Industry, by Melissa Barrett, Massimo Marino, Francesca Brkic, and Carlo Alberto Pratesi
From the publisher:
"This book presents a practical guide to help businesses navigate the complex topics of sustainability in the food industry. The book takes you on a journey along the food value chain, from farm to fork, exploring key opportunities to increase positive impacts and circularity at each step of the journey. Written by a team of authors with decades of experience in the food industry and academia, it provides guidance on how to analyze sustainability across the value chain and life cycle of a food product and how to design, implement and communicate strategies to customers. Furthermore, the book shows that there are not always straightforward solutions, but rather choices and trade-offs that require an understanding of what is best suited to the product, customers and business in question."
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Explore KPU’s SFSS program | |
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