Rural entrepreneurship is a new way in development theories for empowerment and capacity building in rural areas to change the current lifestyle to a desirable and humanistic pattern. One of the manifestations of entrepreneurship is pluriactivity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze and ponder over the farmers' pluriactivity. Pluriactivity is defined as a combination of agricultural and non-agricultural activities that are run by the farmer's household. In other words, pluriactivity refers to the fact that one person (farmer) or group of people (farmers) are involved in different activities (agricultural and non-agricultural). These types of farmers are called pluriactive farmers. In general, the types of businesses alongside agriculture are classified into three categories: industry, agriculture (outside the main activity of the farmer) and services. Pluriactive farmers include-Farmer as Farmer;-Farmer as Entrepreneur;-Farmer as Contractor and-Rural Entrepreneur. Developing smallholder farmers' pluriactivity is crucial to promotion living standards, reducing urban and rural income disparities, controlling the urbanization process, and reducing the cost of social reproduction. Therefore, paying attention to the farmers' pluriactivity is a step forward towards sustainable rural development.

Global climate is changing and smallholder farmers are more vulnerable than others in terms of their inability to apply adaptation strategies. So, identifying the adaptation strategies of climate change for smallholder farmers of Hamedan province as well as evaluating the gap between importance and implementation of those strategies were the main purposes of the study. This study had two target population including agricultural experts and professionals (to evaluate the importance level) and smallholder farmers (to evaluate the implementation level). The samples of 121 experts and 280 farmers were selected due to the Cochran formula. The required data was collected by a structured questionnaire which its validity and reliability were confirmed through a panel of experts and a pilot study, respectively. The Cronbach`s alpha coefficient equaled 0. 942 for importance and equaled 0. 966 for implementation. The results showed that the strategies such as "cultivation pattern change towards water-efficient plants", "using modern irrigation systems (under pressure irrigation, tape irrigation and etc. )" and "using drought resistant varieties" were the most important adaptation strategies due to the experts` opinion. Based on the results of factor analysis, the strategies were divided into 6 main categories. The findings also showed that there was a significant difference between the importance and implementation in all of the strategy groups. At last, some recommendations were presented in order to adaptation increase and vulnerability reduction.

This study identified the most important strategies used by saffron farmers to adapt to climate change in the Qaenat region of South Khorasan and examines the factors affecting adaptation and its barriers. For this aim, by descriptive-analytical method and using a questionnaire tool, the sample size was randomly determined from 87 villages in the rural areas of the central part of Qaen and then the factors affecting adaptation to climate change were calculated by logistic regression model. These strategies include the use of different types of products, soil protection, changes in irrigation time, and among the drivers of strategy selection can be the level of education, gender, age and assets of the head of the household, Access to credit and validity of weather information noted. The reaction of saffron growers is in three categories, without choosing adaptation, reactive adaptation and active adaptation that each saffron household chooses according to its living conditions. In addition to the behavior of working saffron households in choosing adaptation methods, the difference between understandings the effects of the consequences of climate change and profiling their livelihood strategy is important to achieve a reliable strategy. The results showed that saffron growers have chosen at least one strategy method. 72% of respondents chose active and reactive adaptation.

Land degradation significantly threatens global food security and ecosystems, necessitating effective landscape restoration measures, particularly among smallholder farmers in vulnerable areas like the Womba watershed. This study investigates the localized socio-economic and physical factors influencing the adoption of landscape restoration practices within the Womba watershed. Utilizing data from 337 randomly selected household heads, along with focus group discussions and key informant interviews, the data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate probit modeling estimation. The findings reveal that physical restoration practices, biological land management practices, and agronomic measures are prevalent among farmers. Key factors influencing adoption include gender dynamics, with male-headed households favoring physical interventions, while female-headed households prefer agronomic approaches. Age negatively impacts the adoption of physical and biological practices, while education correlates positively with agronomic methods. Family size enhances agronomic adoption, and access to credit significantly increases the likelihood of implementing diverse restoration strategies. Village memberships are positively associated with four landscape restoration practices at a 1% significance level. Notably, while farmers recognize the ecological benefits of these practices, their perceptions of socio-economic advantages remain limited. To promote broader adoption of restoration initiatives, policymakers should enhance educational outreach on the long-term socio-economic benefits and improve access to credit and extension services. Integrating these dimensions into policy frameworks will foster greater participation from both male and female farmers, ultimately supporting sustainable development in the Womba watershed and beyond.

Petti land lords farmers are vulnerable to climate change and risk because of limited resource availability. The question is whether rural women and men are equally affected by climate change. The present research is in terms of purpose, applied and the method of doing it is a combination (qualitative and quantitative methods). The instrument for collecting data was a questionnaire and interviews. The statistical population of the farmers in Poledokhtar (N= 39338). Using proportional sampling, 380 farmers (194 men and 186 women farmers' farmer) were selected. Selection of samples was done to complete the questionnaire and conduct the interview in a targeted way. Data analysis was done using one-sample t-test, unlimited exploratory coercive test (Johansen method), and analysis of variance and post-hoc tests. The results showed that drought was the most important concern among farmers due to climate flood events, last year's agricultural season and in recent years, and these three events significantly affected farmers' livelihood activities and assets. So that the effects of these events are different from those of male and female farmers, and women are more vulnerable than men. Farmer's women work fewer hours on the farm, because of the role of femininity such as pregnancy and motherhood, homework and child responsibilities, as well as the lack of physical ability to work on the farm and the use of adaptation methods and the fight against climate change. Therefore, they are more vulnerable than men. The choice of adaptation methods to climate change has also been different between male and female farmers. The results of this study can be used to better adapt farmers to counteract the negative effects of climate change and to reduce the livelihood vulnerability of both sexes (men and women).

This research scrutinized the effectiveness of soil-water conservation (SWC) techniques and the determinants of their adoption by smallholder farmers in Gesha District, Southwest Ethiopia. A total of 36 soil samples were collected from preserved and non-preserved plots, and a household survey was conducted with 332 randomly selected respondents. Soil physical and chemical properties were analyzed using standard laboratory techniques, while mean differences were tested through one-way ANOVA. In addition, binary logistic regression was employed to identify factors influencing the adoption of SWC practices. Results revealed that preserved plots had higher soil fertility indicators associated to non-preserved plots, including soil pH (6. 17 vs. 5. 83), organic carbon (1. 85% vs. 1. 77%), available phosphorus (10. 92 ppm vs. 9. 93 ppm), and cation exchange capacity (37. 3 vs. 30. 3 cmol (+)/kg), while bulk density was lower (0. 42–0. 69 g/cm³ vs. 1. 22 g/cm³). Adoption rates, however, remained limited to 53. 9% of households. Regression results showed that adoption was positively influenced by education, farm size, livestock ownership, land slope, and farmers’ perception of erosion, while land tenure insecurity and credit access negatively affected adoption. The findings underscore that although SWC practices significantly improve soil fertility, socio-economic and institutional constraints hinder their wider uptake. Strengthening extension services, providing tenure security, and designing targeted interventions are recommended to enhance sustainable adoption.

The technical efficiency involved in cocoa production in Cross River State was estimated using the stochastic frontier production function analysis. The effects of some selected socio- economic characteristics of the farmers on the efficiency indices were also estimated. The study relied upon primary data generated from interviewing cocoa farmers using a set of structured questionnaire. A multi-staged random sampling technique was adopted in selecting two hundred (200) cocoa farmers from Ikom Agricultural Zone in the state. The data on the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the stochastic production function, using the Maximum Likelihood Estimating (MLE) techniques was used in estimating the farmer’s technical efficiency and their determinants. Result of the analysis showed that farmers were experiencing decreasing but positive returns to scale in the use of the farm resources. The efficiency level ranged between 0.20 and 0.93 with a mean of 0.69. The result of the generalized Likelihood Ratio (LR) tests confirmed that the cocoa farmers in the area were technically inefficient. The major contributing factors to efficiency were age of farmers, farm size, and level of education, sex of farmer and age of the farms. The study observed that there is enough room to improve efficiency with the farmers’ current resource base and available technology and concluded that policies that would directly affect these identified variables should be pursued.

The primary goal of the research was to quantify the technical efficiency and to identify its causes in the production of turmeric production in Sheko and Yeki districts. Three hundred sixty sample household heads were chosen using a two-stage random sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics and econometrics models like, Cobb-Douglas and Tobit's models were used to examine efficiency and determination respectively. As a result, the average technical efficiency was 73.72. The average technical efficiency suggests that it is possible to raise turmeric production by 26.28 percent without utilizing additional inputs. Land, labor, oxen, seeds, herbicide, and urea all had a big impact on how much turmeric was produced. The Tobit model revealed that gender, age, household size, the number of plots, and market information substantially impacted technical efficiency. Policies aimed at motivating and strengthening the existing agricultural extension system, and providing appropriate marketing information, are required to improve turmeric growers' production efficiency.

Rice is a major staple food consumed worldwide, but its processing has significant environmental impacts due to water and energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, rice producers are adopting sustainable processing techniques to reduce negative environmental impacts and increase profitability. This study analyzed the sustainability of modern and traditional paddy rice processing techniques among smallholder rice farmers in Southeast Nigeria. The data was collected from 240 rice producers using statistical approaches such as descriptive statistics, sustainability indicator (Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis), and multinomial regression analysis. The results showed that 34.7% of rice farmers used modern processing techniques while 65.3% used traditional methods. Traditional milling produced substantial carbon emissions, according to 77% of small-scale farmers, while 68% rated noise pollution as high. 80-100% of small-scale farmers using modern techniques cared about the environment and wanted to reduce their gas emissions, solid waste, energy use, and water use. The sustainability index for farmers using traditional and modern processing techniques was affected by gender experience, labor size, investment, income, cost of production, understanding of climate change, and environmental sustainability. The study recommends using renewable energy sources to increase productivity and reduce environmental effects.