Search Results (824)

Background: Access to safe and reliable water and sanitation remains a critical public health and development challenge, with rural and low-income communities being disproportionately affected by inadequate services and heightened exposure to waterborne diseases. Despite global efforts and infrastructure-based progress indicators, significant disparities persist, and these often overlook users’ perceptions of water quality, reliability, and safety. This study explores the determinants of household satisfaction with drinking water in rural areas, comparing subjective user feedback with official access data to reveal gaps in current monitoring approaches and support more equitable, user-centered water governance. Methods: This study was conducted in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau Region, where 1361 residents from 86 rural villages participated in a structured survey assessing household access to drinking water and perceptions of its quality. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression to identify key predictors of user satisfaction, with results compared against official records to evaluate discrepancies between reported experiences and administrative data. Results: The field survey results revealed substantial discrepancies between official statistics and residents’ reports, with only 58.1% of respondents having in-house tap water access despite claims of universal coverage. Multinomial logistic regression analysis identified key predictors of user satisfaction, showing that uninterrupted supply and the absence of complaints about turbidity, odor, or taste significantly increased the likelihood of higher satisfaction levels with drinking water quality. Conclusions: This study underscores the critical need to align official water access statistics with household-level experiences, revealing that user satisfaction—strongly influenced by supply reliability and sensory water quality—is essential for achieving equitable and effective rural water governance. Full article

The growth of rural residents’ disposable income is essential for narrowing the income gap between urban and rural areas and promoting integrated development. This study explores how China’s National Main Functional Zoning Plan influences rural household income through its regulatory impact on construction land expansion. Using data from county−level administrative units across China, the research identified the construction land regulation index as a key mediating variable linking zoning policy to changes in household income. By shifting the analytical perspective from a traditional urban–rural classification to a framework aligned with the National Main Functional Zoning Plan, the study reveals how spatial planning tools, particularly differentiated land quota allocations, influence household income. The empirical results confirm a structured causal chain in which zoning policy affects land development intensity, which in turn drives rural income growth. This relationship varies across different functional zones. In key development zones, strict land control limits income potential by constraining land supply. In main agricultural production zones, moderate regulatory control enhances land use efficiency and contributes to higher income levels. In key ecological function zones, ecological constraints require diverse approaches to value realization. The investigation contributes both theoretical and practical insights by elucidating the microeconomic effects of national spatial planning policies and offering actionable guidance for optimizing land use regulation to support income growth tailored to regional functions. Full article

Enhancing farmers’ digital literacy is both an inevitable requirement for adapting to the digital age and an important measure for promoting the sustainable development of livestock and poultry manure resource utilization. This study surveyed and obtained data from 1047 farm households in Ningxia and Gansu, two provinces in China that have long implemented livestock manure resource utilization policies, from December 2023 to January 2024, and employed the binary probit model to analyze how digital literacy influences farmers’ willingness to adopt two livestock manure resource utilization modes, as well as to analyze the moderating role of three policy regulations. This paper also explores the heterogeneous results in different village forms and income groups. The results are as follows: (1) Digital literacy significantly and positively impacts farmers’ willingness to adopt both the “household collection” mode and the “livestock community” mode. For every one-unit increase in a farmer’s digital literacy, the probability of farmers’ willingness to adopt the “household collection” mode rises by 22 percentage points, and the probability of farmers’ willingness to adopt the “livestock community” mode rises by 19.8 percentage points. After endogeneity tests and robustness checks, the conclusion still holds. (2) Mechanism analysis results indicate that guiding policy and incentive policy have a positive moderation effect on the link between digital literacy and the willingness to adopt the “household collection” mode. Meanwhile, incentive policy also positively moderates the relationship between digital literacy and the willingness to adopt the “livestock community” mode. (3) Heterogeneity analysis results show that the positive effect of digital literacy on farmers’ willingness to adopt two livestock manure resource utilization modes is stronger in “tight-knit society” rural areas and in low-income households. (4) In further discussion, we find that digital literacy removes the information barriers for farmers, facilitating the conversion of willingness into behavior. The value of this study is as follows: this paper provides new insights for the promotion of livestock and poultry manure resource utilization policies in countries and regions similar to the development process of northwest China. Therefore, enhancing farmers’ digital literacy in a targeted way, strengthening the promotion of grassroots policies on livestock manure resource utilization, formulating diversified ecological compensation schemes, and establishing limited supervision and penalty rules can boost farmers’ willingness to adopt manure resource utilization models. Full article

This study evaluates the socio-economic impact of rural electrification through photovoltaic (PV) systems in Morocco. As part of the country’s broader energy transition strategy, decentralized renewable energy solutions like PV kits have been deployed to improve energy access in isolated rural areas. Using quasi-experimental econometric techniques, specifically propensity score matching (PSM) and estimation of the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT), the study measures changes in household income, expenditures, and economic activities resulting from PV electrification. The results indicate significant positive effects on household income, electricity spending, and productivity in agriculture and livestock. These findings highlight the critical role of decentralized renewable energy in advancing rural development and poverty reduction. Policy recommendations include expanding PV access with complementary support measures such as microfinance and technical training. Full article

Non-agricultural business activity of farmers is crucial not only for stabilizing farm income but also for the multifunctional development of rural areas. Capturing changes in the level and nature of this activity supports the development of sustainable agricultural and rural policy. In this context, this study aimed to identify the scale and types of non-agricultural business activity and to recognize the main determinants of such business activities undertaken by farmers in Poland between 2002 and 2022. Sectoral-level data from the Agricultural Censuses and cyclical studies of the structure of farms and household budgets were used to approximate underlying motivations for running non-agricultural business (opportunity vs. necessity entrepreneurship). The findings indicate that, in Poland, the impact of regressive factors remains strong, pushing farmers to take on additional business activity due to the large share of small and very small farms. However, during the 21st century, a gradual spread of opportunity entrepreneurship among Polish farmers has been observed. This study highlights the rationale for supporting non-agriculture business activity motivated by progressive factors to increase the income resilience of farmer households and the sustainable development of agriculture. The article indicates the need for further research on the motives for undertaking non-agricultural economic activities by farmers and the impact of this activity on the allocation of farm resources. Full article

This article examines the relationship between human capital accumulation, household income, and shared prosperity using 2005–2018 household surveys in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Human capital is found to be positively and significantly correlated with household wellbeing in all five nations. Health’s indirect benefits in Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Kenya augment its direct benefits. Education has monotonic welfare benefits from primary to tertiary levels in all countries. Human capital and labour market participation are strongly associated with household wellbeing. The equalization of human capital endowments increases income for the 40% of the least well-off groups in three of the sample countries. All countries except Uganda record a decrease in human capital deprivation over the period studied. Redistribution is associated with a reduction in human capital deprivation, although less systematically than in the growth scenario. These results suggest that sizeable reductions in human capital deprivation are more likely to be accomplished by interventions that focus on boosting general human capital outcomes than those that redistribute the human capital formation inputs. In countries with declining human capital deprivation, the within-sector interventions seem to account for this success. Substantial heterogeneity in human capital poverty exists within and across countries and between rural and urban areas. Full article

Since the end of the Civil War, Cambodia has pursued economic development to enhance livelihoods, particularly in rural areas, where land is a critical resource. Previous studies have indicated that the country has changed land use and land cover. However, they have not explained how these changes can improve the livelihoods of local communities, thereby mitigating their negative impacts through an asset-based approach. Battambang Province, in the northwestern region, was the battleground until political integration in 1996. Since then, the province has been home to immigrants exploring the lands for livelihood. Thus, this study aims to examine agricultural livelihoods in the villages of Dei Kraham and Ou Toek Thla, located west of Battambang Town. These were selected because of their common characteristics. Adopting a quantitative approach and a sustainable livelihood framework, this study employed stratified random sampling to select 123 families for interviews across three population subgroups: old settlers, new settlers, and young settlers. In situ information was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis tests to assess the livelihood assets underlying the physical, natural, human, financial, and social capital. The statistical analysis results reveal no significant differences (p-value = 0.079) in livelihood assets between the strata at the village level. Meanwhile, significant differences were observed in physical, human, and financial capital between old and young settlers when examining the subgroups (p-value 0.000). The extent of the land resources held by old settlers was associated with household income and livelihoods related to agriculture. Based on livelihood asset scores, nearly half of the new settlers (0.49–0.5) and a quarter of the young settlers (0.47) are vulnerable groups requiring support. The youth will soon face an uncertain future if they do not prioritize education. Full article

There is still a need to develop scenarios and models aimed at substituting fuelwood and reducing the use of fossil fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), on which low-income rural households in the Global South often depend. The use of these fuels for cooking and heating in domestic and productive activities poses significant health and environmental risks. This study validated, in three different phases, the sustainability of a model for the production and use of biogas from the treatment of swine-rearing wastewater (WWs) on a community farm: (i) A Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), incorporating environmental, social/health, technical, and economic criteria, identified the main weighted criterion to C8 (use of small-scale technologies and low-cost access), with a score of 0.44 points, as well as the Tubular biodigester (Tb) as the most suitable option for the study area, scoring 8.1 points. (ii) Monitoring of the Tb over 90 days showed an average biogas production of 2.6 m³ d⁻¹, with average correlation 0.21 m³ Biogas kg Biomass⁻¹. Using the experimental biogas production rate (k = 0.0512 d⁻¹), the process was simulated with the BgMod model, achieving an average deviation of only 10.4% during the final production phase. (iii) The quantification of benefits demonstrated significant reductions in firewood use: in Scenario S1 (kitchen energy needs), biogas replaced 83.1% of firewood, while in Scenario S2 (citronella essential oil production), the substitution rate was 24.1%. In both cases, the avoided emissions amounted to 0.52 tons of CO_2eq per month. Finally, this study proposes a synthesised, community-based rural biogas framework designed for replication in regions with similar socio-environmental, technical, and economic conditions. Full article

This study investigates the critical link between child care accessibility and local labor force participation, addressing a gap in current research that often lacks local spatial granularity. While over half of the U.S. population resides in child care deserts, disproportionately affecting rural, low-income, and minority communities, the economic implications for local labor markets remain underexplored. Leveraging Michigan child care license data and Census tract-level demographic and employment characteristics, this research employs a spatial econometric approach to estimate the impact of geographic distance to child care facilities on labor supply using descriptive data. Our findings consistently demonstrate that increased distance to child care is significantly associated with reduced labor force participation. While female labor force participation is lower in areas with constrained access to child care, we also found that households with two parents are also less likely to have full labor force participation when access to child care is constrained. The cost-effective framework used here can be replicated to identify specific communities most impacted by child care-related employment disruptions. The analytical findings can be instrumental in targeting and prioritizing child care policy interventions. Full article

The Sustainable Development Goals seek to achieve universal, adequate, and equitable access to drinking water and sanitation by the year 2030. Yet, significant and persistent disparities in water and sanitation access exist, with rural and low-income households in Sub-Saharan Africa exhibiting some of the lowest levels. This paper uses household surveys from rural villages in Zambia’s Western Province to identify, highlight, and examine spatial barriers to improved water and sanitation. Most households included in the study area drink unimproved water, including surface water, and either use unimproved sanitation facilities or practice open defecation. Access to improved water sources and improved sanitation in the study area lags behind the rest of rural Zambia. Beyond the distance to urban areas that makes piped water and sanitation expensive, the location of these villages in the Barotse Floodplain necessitates seasonal migration, which creates barriers to universal access to improved water and sanitation. Full article

Amid the rapid expansion of the digital economy, online shopping has become increasingly common among rural households in China, yet the social interaction mechanisms driving such behavior remain insufficiently explored. This study examines the impact of peer effects on farmers’ online shopping behavior using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) covering the years 2014 to 2022. A Logit model is applied to estimate peer influence, and interaction terms are introduced to assess the moderating roles of land assets and social expenditures. The results reveal that peer behavior significantly increases the likelihood of rural households participating in online shopping, with the effect being particularly strong among low-income, less-educated households and those in western regions. Additionally, both land-rich households and those with higher social expenditures demonstrate greater responsiveness to peer influence. These findings highlight the importance of local social interaction in shaping rural online shopping behavior and provide theoretical and practical implications for digital inclusion and rural e-commerce strategies. Full article

Upgrading the industrial structure is an essential step for economic growth and the transformation of old and new development drivers. Counties situated at the rural–urban interface hold a comparative advantage in industrial upgrading compared to cities, converting agricultural resource dividends into economic value. However, whether agricultural innovation talent can facilitate this process requires further investigation. Based on a sample of 1771 Chinese counties, this study employs a quasi-natural experiment using China’s “World-Class Disciplines” construction program in agriculture and establishes a difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the impact of agricultural innovation talent on county-level industrial structure upgrading. The results show that agricultural innovation talent significantly promotes industrial upgrading, with this effect being more pronounced in counties with smaller urban–rural income gaps, greater household savings, and higher levels of industrial sophistication. Spatial spillover effects are also evident, indicating regional knowledge diffusion. Knowledge empowerment emerges as the core mechanism: agricultural innovation talent drives industrial convergence, responds to supply–demand dynamics, and integrates digital and intelligent elements through knowledge creation, dissemination, and application, thereby supporting county-level industrial upgrading. The findings highlight the necessity of establishing world-class agricultural research and talent incubation platforms, particularly emphasizing the supportive role of universities and the knowledge-driven contributions of agricultural innovation talents to county development. Full article

The development of a forestry carbon sink project is an important way to achieve carbon neutrality and carbon reduction, and the collective forest carbon sink project is an important part of China’s forestry carbon sink project. As the main management entity of collective forests, whether farmers are willing to produce forestry carbon sinks is directly related to the implementation effect of the project. In this paper, a partial equilibrium model of farmers’ forestry production behavior was established based on production function and utility function, and the path to enhance farmers’ willingness to produce forestry carbon sink through forestry carbon sink projects was analyzed in combination with forest ecological management theory. In terms of empirical analysis, the PSM-DID econometric model was established based on the survey data of LY in Zhejiang Province, China, and the following conclusions were drawn: (1) With the receipt of revenues from forestry carbon sequestration projects and partial cost-sharing by the government, farmers’ participation in forestry carbon sink projects can save investment in forest land management. (2) The saved forestry production costs and forestry carbon sink project subsidies can make up for the loss of farmers’ timber income, so that the net income of forestry will not be significantly reduced. (3) The forestry production factors saved by farmers can be transferred to non-agricultural sectors and increase non-agricultural net income, so that the net income of rural households participating in forestry carbon sink projects will increase. The forestry carbon sink project can improve the utility level of farmers and increase the willingness of farmers to produce forestry carbon sinks by delivering income to farmers and saving forestry production factors. This study demonstrates that a well-designed forestry carbon sink compensation mechanism, combined with an optimized allocation of production factors, can effectively enhance farmers’ willingness to participate. This insight is also applicable to countries or regions that rely on small-scale forestry operations. Full article

Promoting clean energy transition in rural areas is a key path to achieving global sustainable development, protecting public health, and promoting ecological livability. Based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper employs a multi-dimensional fixed effects model to evaluate the impact of income inequality on rural households’ clean energy transition (CET) and examines its underlying mechanisms. Research findings indicate that income inequality significantly suppresses rural households’ CET, primarily by reducing basic energy consumption and hindering the upgrading of basic energy consumption structures. Government governance quality exerts a significant negative moderating effect on the relationship between income inequality and rural households’ CET. Further analysis shows that the inhibitory effect of income inequality on CET is more significant in the regions with a low economic development level and low coal resource endowment, and in the western and northeastern regions of China. Therefore, while continuously promoting rural income growth, the government should prioritize equitable distribution, strengthen institutional capacity-building, improve the social service and security system, and facilitate rural households’ CET. Full article

Studies examining the role of chikanda orchids in bolstering rural livelihoods coupled with the associated socio-economic intricacies remain absent, especially in African settings. This study examined the contribution of chikanda orchids in supporting rural livelihoods, taking into account socio-economic influences through a case study of the Mwinilunga District of northwestern Zambia. The study employed a mixed methods approach using 303 semi-structured questionnaires, complemented by three focus group discussions and nine in-depth interviews. Study findings showed that revenue generated from chikanda orchid sales supported rural livelihoods and served a crucial function in addressing food scarcity challenges. Income derived from chikanda orchid sales accounted for 30.8% of total household income and exhibited an income equalization effect of 8% among households. Participation in harvesting chikanda orchids exhibited a significant correlation with gender (χ² = 6; p < 0.05) and marital status (χ² = 8; p < 0.05). This study showed the significance of chikanda orchids in supporting livelihoods, including socio-economic influences, particularly for poorer households that exhibit vulnerability to food deficits. Consequently, the need to develop effective chikanda orchid management strategies that are locally tailored and acknowledge the socio-economic intricacies associated with the chikanda orchids trade is fundamental. Full article