The present study was undertaken to ascertain whether rural women are empowered in a matrilineal society in India. In a state where traditional institutions function on the basis of local customs and conventions that are not codified and yet religiously followed, it is questionable to whether the women are essentially empowered. In such a scenario, one wonders if owning land is enough to empower a woman. The objective of this study is to check if whether land ownership empowers a woman and if it gives her decision-making power in the household. The study was conducted at one village from each of the two districts in Meghalaya- the East Khasi Hills and the West Khasi Hills. Fifty female respondents from each district were made to answer a structured questionnaire, after which four respondents had to be eliminated, as they were unmarried and eighteen respondents had to be dropped as they were either a widow or separated. Probit regression was then used to analyze the data. The results stated that women who inherited land were more likely to have a savings account and be a part of a socio-economic group. From this it can be concluded, that women who owned land through lineage were empowered, however the fact that they still consider their husbands to be the head of the family, makes us consider that there may be a psychological component to it.

The main objective of this study is to assess the determinants of livelihood diversification strategies in different regions of rural China. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and MNL model are employed to analyze the data, which are obtained from randomly selected 425 households in each western and eastern China. The results indicate that the majority of households diversified their livelihoods into off-farm and non-farm activities. However, we also find several different factors that determine farmer's choice of livelihood strategies at different significance levels in the two study areas. Therefore, development stakeholders should take different ways to expand diversification for the improvement of household income.

Indonesia has several Arabica coffee varieties that are well known in the domestic and world markets. However, marketing challenges exist for the domestic market and few cooperatives are able to export. Arabica Coffee Kerinci, a cooperative that exports, is an exception; nevertheless, marketing challenges persist for this cooperative too. Our objectives are to examine a case study of a successful cooperative that focuses on the export market and to clarify the challenges remaining for Arabica coffee marketing. Descriptive statistics were employed to capture the complexities of these marketing challenges. Semi-structured interviews using simple random sampling were conducted with the cooperative’s leader and with 51 farmers. We find that the fundamental challenges are quality inconsistency, price fluctuations, lengthy and bureaucratic export administration, absence of bank loans, and lack of government support. We recommend the following key steps: (1) focusing on improvements in producing and maintaining superior quality that meets export standards and provides capital stimulus; and (2) through greater government and industry synergy, encouraging governments to provide support to farmers and cooperatives alike. Further, other Indonesian regions could adopt Arabica coffee for rural development. This study contributes by formulating a better understanding of the major challenges facing producers of agricultural commodities.

In the past decade, the market share of environmentally friendly farming (EFF) produce in Japan has witnessed relatively rapid growth. However, consumer awareness and purchasing experience of this agricultural produce are still lagging. To study how awareness of EFF produce influences consumer psychology and purchase decisions, we use ordered logistic regression and choice experiments to analyze 600 survey responses collected through online questionnaires. The results show that information from friends and family can have a positive influence on Japanese consumers’ trust in EFF produce. Consumers also show a significant preference for EFF produce in the short term after receiving information about it. By setting up a control group for comparison, we find that, in addition to information, consumer education and income also positively and significantly affect the decision to purchase EFF produce. This study presents a unique perspective between information and consumer decision-making and provides targeted solutions for the promotional and marketing strategy problems faced by EFF produce sellers in Japan. We argue that strengthening regional publicity methods such as community events can enhance EFF producers’ marketing strategies.

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