Introduction to Microeconomics
This module is an introductory course that introduces students to a wide range of economic concepts. The module focuses on how economic systems operate to allocate resources, distribute income, and organize production through the decisions of individual economic agents such as households, firms and consumers. The module focuses on the operation of a market economy where markets determine... more
Economic Shifts in Agricultural Production and Trade due to Climate Change
In addition to expanding agricultural land area and intensifying crop yields, increasing the global trade of agricultural products is one mechanism that humanity has adopted to meet the nutritional demands of a growing population. However, climate change will affect the distribution of agricultural production and, therefore, food supply and global markets. Here we quantify the structural... more
Evaluation of Policies Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in South Africa
South Africa will require the establishment of a formal inclusive policy on sustainable agricultural practices. This will not only assist the country in avoiding further exploitation of the natural environment, but will also position agricultural extension in promoting the five pillars of sustainable agriculture. A comprehensive review using conceptual reflection presented in this paper... more
Climate Smart Agriculture? Governing the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper examines the political economic and governance challenges faced by African governments in operationalizing Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) as part of their pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is a need to enrich our understanding of the diverse contexts and ways in which governments will have to navigate and address the inevitable choices and... more
Imperatives for an Agricultural Green Economy in South Africa
Globally, there are social, economic and environmental challenges related to sustainable development; these challenges include climate change, the need to feed a rapidly increasing population, high rates of poverty and environmental degradation. These challenges have forced us to rethink the way in which development takes place, resulting in the emergence of the concept of a ‘green economy... more
Agricultural Sector Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Ghana
The study seeks to establish the relationship between foreign direct investment to Ghana’s agriculture sector and economic growth with secondary data mainly sourced from the World Development Indicator. The techniques employed to analyse the data include descriptive statistic, unit root test, Granger causality test and error correction model (ECM). The study accepted a neutrality hypothesis... more
Farmer's Agribusiness Training Course: Module 5 - Agribusiness Management for Farmer Organisations. Lesson 5: Closing the Loop
This Farmers' Agribusiness training course has been developed to help both farmers and farmer organisations. Its intention is to provide access to provide access to additional skills and knowledge that will allow farmers to move from a 'farm' to a 'firm'. This lesson provides guidance of how to transform a farm into a firm. Hindering and enabling factors are expected to be explored in the... more
Farmer's Agribusiness Training Course: Module 5 - Agribusiness Management for Farmer Organisations. Lesson 4: Decision Making Based on Loss Minimization and Present Value
This Farmers' Agribusiness training course has been developed to help both farmers and farmer organisations. Its intention is to provide access to provide access to additional skills and knowledge that will allow farmers to move from a 'farm' to a 'firm'. This lesson continues on from lesson 3 and should be seen as a continuation. You will need to review lesson 3 and the discussion on... more
Farmer's Agribusiness Training Course: Module 5 - Agribusiness Management for Farmer Organisations. Lesson 3: Decision Making - Explicit and Implicit Costs
This Farmers' Agribusiness training course has been developed to help both farmers and farmer organisations. Its intention is to provide access to provide access to additional skills and knowledge that will allow farmers to move from a 'farm' to a 'firm'. This lesson focuses on building skills and economic rationales for decision making under given farming scenarios that may have multiple... more
Farmer's Agribusiness Training Course: Module 5 - Agribusiness Management for Farmer Organisations. Lesson 2: Basic Principles of Economics
This Farmers' Agribusiness training course has been developed to help both farmers and farmer organisations. Its intention is to provide access to provide access to additional skills and knowledge that will allow farmers to move from a 'farm' to a 'firm'. This lesson covers the basic governing principles of economic thinking including the key economic questions, factors of production,... more