The Importance of Agricultural Sector in Economics

The Importance of Agricultural Sector in Economics THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 1.0 INTRODUCTION Agriculture is an important sector to the country’s economic development. It was one of the highlighted issues during Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s as Malaysia’s Prime Minister. Abdullah strongly believed that this industry can generate wealth and reduce poverty particularly among those from rural areas. One of the major thrusts of the Malaysian economic development since her Independence in 1957 has been and continues to be the rural development programmes. The rural sector plays a pivotal role in the country’s economic growth, social and political development. The Malaysian economy depended on the rural sector in the early development stage for agricultural input and output and hence the country’s export earnings and growth in the 1960s and 1970s. Agriculture sector can be generalized into two categories – industrial commodities and food sub-sector. Industrial commodities under Ministry of Primary Industries (KPU) provision is responsible in ensuring high quality production of pepper, palm oil, rubber, cocoa and wood and timber. On another note, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry (MOA) must oversee crop production, livestock and fisheries activities. Like any other developing economies, the growing economic importance of the manufacturing sector implies that the rural sector has fulfilled its role as the supplier of labour, land and capital required for industrial. 2.0 THE IMPORTANCE OF ECONOMIC IN AGRICULTURAL The agricultural sector has contributed to the growth and major contributors to national income and export earnings. The agricultural sector initially derived from increase production of livestock, fisheries and other miscellaneous crops. The NAP provided for a comprehensive and coordinated long-term policy for an effective development of the agricultural sector. The NAP called for agricultural-industrial linkage through the expanded development of agro-based industries, mainly in processing, storage and handling of agricultural commodities to increase their value-added before export. There is some of importance of economic in agricultural sector: 2.1 Diversifying and shielding the economy Agricultural is consideration a vital to the economy of Malaysia. It play a role in diversifying and shielding the economy from external shock. The increase in earnings of major commodities, particularly palm oil as food commodities, enable sector to retain its workforce and withstand the economic downturn. There also important in especially in diversification to improve the economy activity in Malaysia. This is some of example that can help for increasing the economy such as: Integration of cattle in palm oil plantation Intercropping Mixed farming Processing activities 2.2 Development of rural area We will bring development to rural areas by promoting the agricultural sector by reducing imbalance in urban-rural development especially in the less developed states. Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Rural development has traditionally centred on the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources such as agriculture and forestry. However, changes in global production networks and increased urbanization have changed the character of rural areas. Increasingly tourism, niche manufacturers, and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant economic drivers. The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentive for agricultural or resource based businesses 2.3 Increase food production The sector contributed not only as a supplier of raw material to the resource based industries, but also in term of food production. Food production capacity is faced with an ever-growing number of challenges, including a world population expected to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2050 and a falling ratio of arable land to population. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations or FAO. These crop losses would be doubled if existing pesticide uses were abandoned, significantly raising food prices. Even after harvest, crops are subject to attack by pests or diseases. Bugs, rodents or molds can harm grains. In addition to increasing crop yields, crop protection products used in stored products can also prolong the viable life of produce, prevent huge post-harvest losses from pests and diseases, and protect food so it is safe to eat. The crop protection industry’s primary aim is to enable farmers to grow an abundant supply of food in a safe manner and pre vent costs from increasing. Food production processes benefit from continual advancements in agricultural technologies and practices; in fact, a population now nearly twice as large has more food available per capita than 40 years ago. 2.4 Improve balance of trade The food import bill has been a long standing problem in Malaysia. The commercial balance or net export, is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports of output in an economy over a certain period, measured in the currency of that economy. It is the relationship between a nations imports and exports. A positive balance is known as a trade surplus if it consists of exporting more than is imported; a negative balance is referred to as a trade deficit or, informally, a trade gap. The balance of trade is sometimes divided into a goods and a services balance. There is some factor that improving balance of trade in economy Malaysia: The cost of production such as land, labour, capital, taxes and incentives in the exporting economy. The cost and availability of raw materials, intermediate goods and other inputs Exchange rate movements Multilateral, bilateral and unilateral taxes or restrictions on trade Non-tariff barriers such as environmental, health or safety standards The availability of adequate foreign exchange with which to pay for imports. 2.5 Economic in Malaysia restructuring The Second Malaysia Plan stepped up government involvement in the economy, with the main goal of increasing Malay economic interests, especially in the areas of manufacturing and agricultural. In order to avoid directly hurting Chinese economic interests, the plan focused on huge economic growth, with the goal of expanding both the Malay and non-Malay shares of the economy in absolute terms, while increasing the Malay share in relative terms as well. The Second Malaysia Plan hoped to achieve greater reduction in poverty and increase the involvement of the Malays in the private sector by imposing certain restrictions on private firms that would benefit Malay employment and economic ownership. 3.0 Future Prospects and Challenges Internally, the agriculture sector continues to face inefficiencies arising from structural defects such as land fragmentation, labour shortage and increasing cost of inputs. As a consequence, productivity, yield and profitability from smallholdings continue to lag behind plantations. Paddy farming continues to face chronic inefficiencies arising from the Government’s policy to continue guaranteed minimum price for paddy and structural defects. As a result of government intervention in price setting and distribution, structural defects have become institutionalized and resistant to change. It becomes even more difficult to effect a change now because subsidies to paddy farmers have become politicized as used as vote gathering tools. Inputs to agriculture production such as capital and labour will continue to be constrained in response to demand for these very same inputs by Malaysia’s fast expanding manufacturing sector. This is already resulting in the slowdown of capital investment in the agricultural sector which would eventually trickle to naught and may trigger capital outflow from this sector. Externally, the price of agriculture commodities will continue to be exposed to swings and shifts in demand due to the interplay of substitutionary and complementary products. Supply and output of commodities as from time immemorial continue to be subject to the vagaries of climate, pestilence and seasonality. Trade barriers and protectionist agricultural policies will continue to shield agriculture from reforms in many countries, distorting the free market and institutionalize market defects and inefficiencies. Conclusion Agriculture occupies a dominant position in the Malaysian economy. Since the era of British colonial government, agriculture has assumed the important role of being the backbone and driving force behind the strength and success of the Malaysian economy. Agricultural exports such as rubber, oil palm and cocoa are a major source of export earnings and have significantly contributed to the development of the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole. Agriculture is also an important sector in economy of Malaysia because of its food contributions, particularly rice for home consumption. Moreover, the sector continues to be the largest source of employment in the country. Today, marketing, processing, distribution of agricultural products etc. are all accepted as a part of modern agriculture. In the course of economic development, agriculture employs majority of people. This means raising the level of the national income and standard of living of the common man. The rapid rate of gro wth in agriculture sector gives progressive outlook and further motivation for development. As a result, it helps to create proper atmosphere for general economic development of the economy. Thus, economic development depends on the rate at which agriculture grows. References Zulkifly Hj. Mustapha. 1988. Evolution of Malaysian Agricultural Development. In Malaysian Agricultural Policy: Issues and Directions. ed. Fatimah Mohd. Arshad et Al. Serdang Idris Jala. (2013, September 30). The Star, Business News: Agriculture is a sector that is still important to Malaysia’s economy. Azmi Shahrin Bin Abdul Rahim, 2005. A critical assessment the contribution of agriculture sector in the growth of the Malaysin economy.

Educational Research Single Su :: essays research papers

Educational Research Single-Subject Critique Establishing Discriminative Control of Responding Using Functional and Alternative Reinforcers During Functional Communication Training Wayne W. Fisher, David E. Kuhn, and Rachel H. Thompson Appropriateness of research question or purpose: The purpose of this research was interesting and of value as it focused on problems that often occur when Functional Communication Training (FCT) is in use. This study sought to find effective solutions as desired “. . .response[s] may be weakened and destructive behavior[s] may reemerge . . .'; when reinforcements of communication are delayed or denied due to impossibility or inconvenience of the caregiver or instructors ability to provide said reinforcement in a timely manner. “. . .procedures are needed to increase the effectiveness of FCT in situations in which it is impractical or impossible to deliver a given reinforcer.'; Research design and design rationale: This study was broken up into 4 phases (the fourth phase “. . .was completed with only 1 participant in only one condition because of time limitations on the participants’ hospital admission.';) Phase 1: Functional Analyses and Descriptive Assessments. Alternating treatment with no baseline design. “During this analysis, a test condition . . .and a control condition were compared using a multi-element design.'; Phase 2: Communication and Discrimination Training. Phase 3: Treatment Evaluation of FCT with Discriminative Stimuli. Between series, alternating treatment (ABAB) design was used to compare FCT + EXT vs. ACT + EXT in two conditions for one participant (Amy) and in one condition for one participant (Ned). Phase 4: Independent Effects of FCT and EXT. Between series, alternating treatment and a final treatment design was used to compare FCT/ACT (w/o EXT) vs. EXT alone with the final series being strictly FCT/ACT (w/o EXT). The order of presentation for Amy’s discrimination training were “. . .stimulus-present and stimulus-absent periods [that] were alternated every 30 s for the duration of the 10-min session. For Ned, “. . .one SD at a time was presented for 1 min. The order of the first three SD presentations in a given session was randomized, without replacement; thereafter, the order remained constant.'; Phase 1 was “conducted to test the hypotheses generated by the results of. . .descriptive assessments. . .to determine whether . . .destructive behavior was multiply maintained by both attention and access to tangible items, but under specific stimulus conditions [for Amy]. . .[and whether] destructive behavior was maintained by . Educational Research Single Su :: essays research papers Educational Research Single-Subject Critique Establishing Discriminative Control of Responding Using Functional and Alternative Reinforcers During Functional Communication Training Wayne W. Fisher, David E. Kuhn, and Rachel H. Thompson Appropriateness of research question or purpose: The purpose of this research was interesting and of value as it focused on problems that often occur when Functional Communication Training (FCT) is in use. This study sought to find effective solutions as desired “. . .response[s] may be weakened and destructive behavior[s] may reemerge . . .'; when reinforcements of communication are delayed or denied due to impossibility or inconvenience of the caregiver or instructors ability to provide said reinforcement in a timely manner. “. . .procedures are needed to increase the effectiveness of FCT in situations in which it is impractical or impossible to deliver a given reinforcer.'; Research design and design rationale: This study was broken up into 4 phases (the fourth phase “. . .was completed with only 1 participant in only one condition because of time limitations on the participants’ hospital admission.';) Phase 1: Functional Analyses and Descriptive Assessments. Alternating treatment with no baseline design. “During this analysis, a test condition . . .and a control condition were compared using a multi-element design.'; Phase 2: Communication and Discrimination Training. Phase 3: Treatment Evaluation of FCT with Discriminative Stimuli. Between series, alternating treatment (ABAB) design was used to compare FCT + EXT vs. ACT + EXT in two conditions for one participant (Amy) and in one condition for one participant (Ned). Phase 4: Independent Effects of FCT and EXT. Between series, alternating treatment and a final treatment design was used to compare FCT/ACT (w/o EXT) vs. EXT alone with the final series being strictly FCT/ACT (w/o EXT). The order of presentation for Amy’s discrimination training were “. . .stimulus-present and stimulus-absent periods [that] were alternated every 30 s for the duration of the 10-min session. For Ned, “. . .one SD at a time was presented for 1 min. The order of the first three SD presentations in a given session was randomized, without replacement; thereafter, the order remained constant.'; Phase 1 was “conducted to test the hypotheses generated by the results of. . .descriptive assessments. . .to determine whether . . .destructive behavior was multiply maintained by both attention and access to tangible items, but under specific stimulus conditions [for Amy]. . .[and whether] destructive behavior was maintained by .

Homework: Harmful or Helpful

Is Homework Harmful or Helpful to Students? The student body hates nothing more than finding out that, on top of the work assigned in class, there is an additional 10 questions to be completed at home. The big question that has arisen lately is: Is homework helpful to students, or does it create unnecessary stress? I personally have to say that homework is not helping us students learn anything more. First of all, homework causes students to become stressed out or even depressed. Second of all, it does not expand the student’s learning much. Third of all, too much of it can effect the student’s home life.Forth of all, doing too much homework can have negative effects on the body. As a student myself, I find that getting homework is somewhat helpful, but only to a certain degree. Many nights, students have pages upon pages of homework to complete and it’s difficult to get it all done within the specified timeframe. Having to deal with homework is very bad when you also have to complete important projects or assignments. This is because, if you don’t get your homework done, you get into trouble and could be penalized, but if you don’t get your assignments done, your grades will go down drastically.Getting both tasks done at the same time is troubling for most students and most of the time students will just bail on their work and give up because of the amount of stress. There have even been studies that prove that too much homework causes depression in children, especially from the ages of 14 – 19. Many people-especially teachers-will have you believe that homework is essential to a student’s success and helps to expand their learning skills and knowledge. However, this is not entirely true. I am going to use math as an example.If a student does all of his or her homework for math, writes the unit test, and passes, yes I suppose they have learned something. However, the information they have learned will only stay fresh in their mind for a short amount of time. Eventually they will completely forget about whatever they learned and will need to be retaught everything next year. So, in truth, they really haven’t learned anything, only memorized what they had to until they no longer needed it. Many topics learned throughout the school year are never even used in real life scenarios.For example, unless you have decided to take up biology as an occupation, many people will not use any kind of science in their lives. When a student comes home from school, most of the time they almost immediately start on their homework. If there is a great amount of work to be finished for the next day, they will work all through the evening and night trying to finish, usually skipping out on dinner or family time. When that student isn’t present very often and spends little time with the family, that cause problems between them and leads to fighting and weakened relationships. Read also  Homework Solutions – Chapter 3If the homework issue is consistent, parents may feel the need to speak to the teacher or even the principal, stating that their child has been neglecting to do much or anything except try to finish work. A few parents may even begin arguing with their child, wondering why they have so much homework and why they can’t spend time with their family for once. Arguing will create more stress for the student and will affect their performance in school. In extreme cases, too much homework can result in negative consequences on the body and mind.As well as stress, a heavy workload can cause everything from mild to strong body pains, to mental health issues, to physical inactivity, to sleep loss. If there is only a half hour or so of homework to be completed then it isn’t a huge concern. Although, oftentimes there is more than that and it has negative effects. Leaning over a desk for a long amount of time can cause back, neck, h and and joint pains that could last for days. If the subject being worked on involves a lot of thinking and brainwork, the student can suffer from headaches and dizziness.If the student is constantly sitting and doing work, they probably aren’t getting much physical activity and that could lead to obesity or sometimes malnutrition if they are skipping supper to finish. The most common negative effect of too much homework is mainly stress and lack of sleep. This happens because the child is worried that they need to complete everything or else the teacher will penalize them, so they stay up all night perfecting the assignment or task.There are an endless amount of reasons for why homework is bad for students, and there are many reasons to counter this argument. If you choose to believe the latter, then that is your choice; but think about this: Is homework really so important to the world that the health and wellbeing of students has to be put into jeopardy? Children donâ€⠄¢t need stress, family issues, and constant torment at this time. The issue really isn’t worth ruining our youth’s short amount of time to be carefree and have fun before they have to face the harsh reality of adulthood.

What Is a Diesel Fuel Cetane Rating

Cetane is a colorless, liquid hydrocarbon (a molecule from the alkane series) that ignites easily under compression. For this reason, it was given a base rating of 100  and is used as the  standard measure of the performance of compression ignition fuels, such as diesel fuel and biodiesel. All the sundry hydrocarbon constituents of diesel fuel are measured and indexed to cetanes base 100 rating. What Is Cetane Number? Similar to the octane number rating that is applied to gasoline to rate its ignition stability, cetane number is the rating assigned to diesel fuel to rate its combustion quality. While gasolines octane number signifies its ability to resist auto-ignition (also referred to as pre-ignition, knocking, pinging, or detonation), diesels cetane number is a measure of the fuels delay of ignition time (the amount of time between the injection of fuel into the combustion chamber and the actual start of combustion of the fuel charge). Because diesels rely on compression ignition (no spark), the fuel must be able to auto-ignite — and generally, the quicker the better. A higher cetane number means a shorter ignition delay time and more complete combustion of the fuel charge in the combustion chamber. This, of course, translates into a smoother running, better performing engine with more power and fewer harmful emissions. How Does the Cetane Number Test Work? The process for determining true cetane rating requires the use of precisely controlled test engines and procedures or fuel analysis with exacting instruments and conditions. Because using dedicated engines and processes or instruments for real fuel tests is painstaking, expensive and time-consuming, many diesel fuel formulators use a calculated method to determine cetane numbers. Two common tests are ASTM D976 and ASTM 4737. These two tests use fuel density and boiling/evaporation points to derive cetane ratings. How Does Cetane Number Affect Engine Performance? Just as there is no benefit to using gasoline with an octane rating higher than recommended for a specific engine by its manufacturer, using diesel fuel with a higher cetane rating than is required for a particular diesel engine design yields no bonuses. Cetane number requirements depend mainly on engine design, size, ​speed of operation, and load variations — and to a slightly lesser extent, atmospheric conditions. Conversely, running a diesel engine on fuel with a lower than recommended cetane number can result in rough operation (noise and vibration), low power output, excessive deposits and wear, and hard starting.​ Cetane Numbers of Various Diesel Fuels Normal modern highway diesels run best with a fuel rated between 45 and 55. Following is a list  of cetane numbers varying grades and types of compression ignition diesel fuels: Regular diesel--48Premium diesel--55Biodiesel (B100)--55Biodiesel blend (B20)--50Synthetic diesel--55 A label should be affixed to the pump that states both the fuel type and cetane number. Its important to find a station that dispenses fuel of the cetane number recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.