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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2013‒04‒27
37 papers chosen by |
| By: | Popescu, Gabriel; Istudor, Nicolae; Boboc, Dan |
| Abstract: | The main goal of the 'Competitiveness of agro-food and environmental economy’ (CAFEE`12), was to debate new ideas contained in scientifically research in the field of rural development, agro-food economy, agro-food system, ecological performance etc. carried out by academicians, scientists and professionals. The Conference was held in November, 8-10, 2012, to the Faculty of Agro-food and Environmental Economics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania. The conference proceedings volume includes all the draft papers accepted and published in the proceedings of The 1st International Conference 'Competitiveness of agro-food and Environmental economy’ (CAFEE`12), organized by Faculty of Agro-Food and Environmental Economics and Research Center of Regional Analysis and Policies from The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, in partnership with Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, National Research Institute, Poland, St James's Business School(UK), University of Verona – Italy, Institute of Agricultural Economics- Serbia, Faculty of Agriculture Zemun- Serbia, Institute of Agricultural Economics, Romanian Academy, Institute of Research for Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences – Romania and Faculty of Economic Sciences, Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti Romania. |
| Keywords: | agricultural economics, agro-food, environmental economics, farm management |
| JEL: | A1 A12 M2 Q1 Q15 |
| Date: | 2012–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46369&r=agr |
| By: | Doss, Cheryl |
| Abstract: | To support gender analysis in agriculture, household surveys should be better designed to capture gender-specific control and ownership of agricultural resources such as male-owned, female-owned, and jointly owned assets. This paper offers guidelines on how to improve data collection efforts to ensure that women farmers are interviewed and that their voices are heard. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture; Gender; Women; Surveys; Household behavior; Household survey; methodologies;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1261&r=agr |
| By: | Laure Latruffe; Laurent Piet |
| Abstract: | Agricultural land fragmentation is widespread around the world and may affect farmers’ decisions and therefore have an impact on the performance of farms, in either a negative or a positive way. We investigated this impact for the western region of Brittany, France, in 2007. To do so, we regressed a set of performance indicators on a set of fragmentation descriptors. The performance indicators (production costs, yields, revenue, profitability, technical and scale efficiency) were calculated at the farm level using Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data, while the fragmentation descriptors were calculated at the municipality level using data from the cartographic field pattern registry (RPG). The various fragmentation descriptors enabled not only the traditional number and average size of plots, but also their scattering in the geographical space, to be taken into account. Our analysis highlights the fact that the measures of land fragmentation usually used in the literature do not reveal the whole set of significant relationships with farm performance and that, in particular, measures accounting for distance should be taken into consideration more systematically. |
| Keywords: | agricultural land fragmentation, farm performance, cartographic field pattern registry, France |
| JEL: | Q12 Q15 D24 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201304&r=agr |
| By: | Aberman, Noora-Lisa; Wielgosz, Benjamin; Zaidi, Fatima; Ringler, Claudia; Akram, Agha Ali; Bell, Andrew; Issermann, Maikel |
| Abstract: | Irrigation is central to Pakistan’s agriculture; and managing the country’s canal, ground, and surface water resources in a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable way will be crucial to meeting agricultural production challenges, including increasing agricultural productivity and adapting to climate change. The water component of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) is working to address these topics through high-quality research and policy engagement. As one of the first activities of this program, the PSSP undertook this assessment of the policy landscape for agricultural water management in Pakistan, to better understand how to engage with stakeholders in the landscape, and to assess possible opportunity points for improving water conservation. The authors use the Net-Map method, an interview tool that combines stakeholder mapping, power mapping, and social network analysis, to examine the relationships between various institutions influencing the water sector in Pakistan. Group interviews were conducted with national stakeholders in Islamabad and with provincial stakeholders in Lahore to establish separate influence maps at the different scales. Interviewees were asked about four types of network relationships: formal authority, informal pressure, technical information, and funding. Network data was analyzed using social network analysis software and notes from interviews add further depth to the network observations. Concluding discussion focuses on the distribution of power and influence in the network and on the opportunities and challenges of recent governance reforms and implications for stakeholder engagement. |
| Keywords: | water, agricultural water policy, Net-Map, social network analysis, stakeholder mapping, irrigation, governance, Pakistan, South Asia, Asia |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1265&r=agr |
| By: | Droppelmann, Klaus; Mapila, Mariam A. T. J.; Mazunda, John; Thangata, Paul; Yauney, Jason |
| Abstract: | The sector-wide approach currently dominates as the strategy for developing the agricultural sector of many African countries. Although it is recognized that agricultural research plays a vital role in ensuring success of sectorwide agricultural development strategies, there has been little or no effort to explicitly link the research strategies of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) in African countries to the research agenda that is articulated in sectorwide agricultural development strategies. This study fills that gap by analyzing the readiness of Malawi’s NARS to respond to the research needs of the national agricultural sector development strategy, namely the Agriculture Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp) program. Results of a social network analysis demonstrate that public agricultural research departments play a central coordinating role in facilitating information sharing, with other actors remaining on the periphery. However, that analysis also shows the important role other actors play in relaying information to a wider network of stakeholders. These secondary information pathways can play a crucial role in ensuring successful implementation of the national agricultural research agenda. Policymakers and managers of public research programs are called upon to integrate other research actors into the mainstream national agricultural research information network. This is vital as other research actors are, at the global level, increasingly taking up a greater role in financing and disseminating research and research results, and in enhancing the scaling up and out of new agricultural technologies. |
| Keywords: | Framework for African Agricultural Productivity, National Agricultural Research System (NARS), sector-wide approach, Social network analysis, Africa, Africa south of Sahara, East Africa, Malawi |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1264&r=agr |
| By: | Babu, Suresh Chandra; Dorosh, Paul A. |
| Abstract: | We surveyed 30 countries to measure the capacity of their individuals, organizations, and policy process system to undertake food and agricultural policy research. Our Food Policy Research Capacity Index, constructed using measures of human capacity (PhD full-time equivalent researchers per million rural residents), human capacity productivity (publications per PhD full-time equivalent researcher), and strength of institutions (the government effectiveness pillar of the Worldwide Governance Indicators), showed substantial variation across countries, with the Republic of South Africa, Colombia, and Ghana scored far higher than countries with similarly sized rural populations such as Liberia, Laos, Burundi, and Afghanistan. |
| Keywords: | Capacity building; Capacity strengthening; Indicators; Food policy; Typology; Agricultural research; Policy research |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1263&r=agr |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | This paper suggests a holistic framework for assessment and improvement of management strategies for conservation of natural resources in agriculture. First, it incorporates an interdisciplinary approach (combining Economics, Organization, Law, Sociology, Ecology, Technology, Behavioral and Political Sciences) and presents a modern framework for assessing environmental management and strategies in agriculture including: specification of specific “managerial needs” and spectrum of feasible governance modes (institutional environment; private, collective, market, and public modes) of natural resources conservation at different level of decision-making (individual, farm, eco-system, local, regional, national, transnational, and global); specification of critical socio-economic, natural, technological, behavioral etc. factors of managerial choice, and feasible spectrum of (private, collective, public, international) managerial strategies; assessment of efficiency of diverse management strategies in terms of their potential to protect diverse eco-rights and investments, assure socially desirable level of environmental protection and improvement, minimize overall (implementing, third-party, transaction etc.) costs, coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of individuals etc. Second, it presents evolution and assesses the efficiency of diverse management forms and strategies for conservation of natural resources in Bulgarian agriculture during post-communist transformation and EU integration (institutional, market, private, and public), and evaluates the impacts of EU CAP on environmental sustainability of farms of different juridical type, size, specialization and location. Finally, it suggests recommendations for improvement of public policies, strategies and modes of intervention, and private and collective strategies and actions for effective environmental protection. |
| Keywords: | environmental and natural resources; governance and strategies; institutions; market; private; public and hybrid modes; agriculture |
| JEL: | O13 O17 O18 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q18 Q24 Q25 Q28 Q38 Q5 Q50 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46368&r=agr |
| By: | Miranowski, John; Rosburg, Alicia |
| Abstract: | With rapid expansion of biofuel production, major concerns have arisen over higher food costs and competition between food, feed, and biofuel for energy-rich commodities. Most projections are based on short- and intermediate-term commodity price shocks. We estimate long-term biofuel demand and cost-minimizing supply functions for feedstock and biofuel in developed and developing countries. We assume input and output coefficients and substitution elasticities adjust over time in response to changing prices in a dynamic market environment with productivity growth. Three alternative oil price scenarios are considered for biofuel feedstock production and conversation. The price of oil puts both a floor and ceiling on feedstock price. We conclude that global biofuel expansion will be limited in the absence of government incentives and mandates, unless high real oil prices prevail. Countries and regions need large, excess feedstock supplies (price-elastic response) if biofuel expansion is to be competitive with oil or other liquid fuels. |
| Keywords: | biofuel; biomass; feedstock price ceiling; feedstock price floor; land use change; long-term biofuel projections; productivity growth |
| Date: | 2013–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36119&r=agr |
| By: | Hertel, Thomas; David Lobell |
| Abstract: | In this paper we discuss the scope of the adaptation challenge facing world agriculture in the coming decades. Due to rising temperatures throughout the tropics, pressures for adaptation will be greatest in some of the poorest parts of the world where the adaptive capacity is least abundant. We discuss both autonomous (market driven) and planned adaptations, distinguishing: (a) those that can be undertaken with existing technology, (b) those that involve development of new technologies, and (c) those that involve institutional/market and policy reforms. The paper then proceeds to identify which of these adaptations are currently modeled in integrated assessment studies and related analyses at global scale. This, in turn, gives rise to recommendations about how these models should be modified in order to more effectively capture climate change adaptation in the farm and food sector. In general, we find that existing integrated assessment models are better suited to analyzing adaptation by relative well-endowed producers in the developed countries. They likely understate climate impacts on agriculture in developing countries, while overstating the potential adaptations. This is troubling, since the need for adaptation will be greatest amongst the lower income producers in the poorest tropical countries. This is also where policies and public investments are likely to have the highest payoff. We conclude with a discussion of opportunities for improving the empirical foundations of integrated assessment modeling with an emphasis on the poorest countries. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gta:workpp:4030&r=agr |
| By: | Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda; Salau, Sheu |
| Abstract: | While there is growing evidence of the impact of targeted subsidies on private input demand, as far as we are aware no empirical studies have examined the spillover effects of targeted subsidies for just one input on the use of other complementary inputs with which there is low substitutability. Consequently, this study begins to fill this gap by exploring the effect of increasing access to subsidized fertilizer on farmers’ use of improved seed in Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural inputs; voucher program; improved seed; improved seed adoption; fertilizer use; subsidies; fertilizer subsidies; Spillover;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1260&r=agr |
| By: | Bennet, Jeffrey W. |
| Abstract: | The performance of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI’s) research program that focuses on water resource issues is reviewed for the period 1994–2010 around the three themes that constitute the program: global modeling, river basin modeling, and institutions. |
| Keywords: | Impact assessment; Water resources; Environmental impacts; resource management; Natural resource management; Water policies;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:impass:35&r=agr |
| By: | Martinho, Vítor João Pereira Domingues |
| Abstract: | The tourism in the rural areas is an important contribution to the local economies and an additional income for the traditional local activities as the agricultural sector. Some traditional rural activities, as the agriculture, sometimes and in some locations are not sufficient to provide an acceptable return to their promoters. So the different forms of tourism in rural zones, as the small industry and others sectors, are important contributions to the economic activity in the rural areas. This study pretends to analyze some information and statistical data about the several forms of tourism in the Portuguese rural areas, namely tourism accommodation, rural tourism, agritourism, village tourism, country house and rural hotel. There were used data from 2004 to 2008 available in the Statistics of Portugal (INE) for the Portuguese NUTs II. These data were analyzed with econometric methods, namely, spatial econometrics and panel data analysis. -- |
| Keywords: | Tourism,Portugal,Rural areas,Econometric analysis |
| JEL: | O18 L83 C20 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:71761&r=agr |
| By: | Badibanga, Thaddée; Ragasa, Catherine; Ulimwengu, John M. |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effectiveness of local-level (territory) multistakeholder platforms using data from 55 CARGs in 23 randomly selected territories in three provinces (Bandundu, Bas-Congo, and Kinshasa) of the DRC. The first CARG was established in 2008, and the survey was conducted three years later, from August to October 2011. |
| Keywords: | multistakeholder governance; Agricultural policies; Participatory development; Participation;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1258&r=agr |
| By: | Alain McLaren; ; |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the asymmetries in price transmission from international to local markets. We expect the presence of large intermediaries in agricultural markets to lead to a stronger price transmission when international prices decline than when they rise. The empirical evidence confirms the presence of asymmetric price transmission consistent with the presence of large intermediaries with monopsony power. |
| Keywords: | Asymmetric price transmission, agricultural markets |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gen:geneem:13041&r=agr |
| By: | Takahashi, Ryo; Todo, Yasuyuki |
| Abstract: | In recent years, shade coffee certification programs have attracted increased attention from conservation and development organizations. The certification programs offer an opportunity to link environmental and economic goals by providing a premium price to producers and thereby contribute to forest conservation. However, the significance of the certification program’s conservation efforts is still unclear because of the lack of empirical evidence. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the shade coffee certification program on forest conservation. The study was carried out at the Belete-Gera Regional Forest Priority Area in Ethiopia, and remote sensing data from 2005 and 2010 was used to gauge the change of the forest area. Employing the propensity score matching estimation, we found that forests under the coffee certification were less likely to be deforested than forests without forest coffee. By contrast, the difference in the degree of deforestation between forests with forest coffee but not under the certification program and forests with no forest coffee is statistically insignificant. These results suggest that the certification program had a large impact on forest protection, decreasing the probability of deforestation by 1.7 percentage points. |
| Keywords: | shade coffee , coffee certification , impact evaluation , remote sensing , Ethiopia |
| Date: | 2013–03–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:55&r=agr |
| By: | Kurosaki, Takashi; Khan, Hidayat Ullah |
| Abstract: | Based on a three-year panel dataset of households collected in rural Pakistan, we first quantify the extent to which farmers are vulnerable to attacks by wild boars; we then examine the impact of an intervention on households’ capacity to reduce related income losses. A local nongovernmental organization implemented the intervention as a randomized controlled trial at the beginning of the second survey year. This experimental design enabled us to cleanly identify the impact of the intervention. We find that the intervention was highly effective in eliminating the crop-income loss of treated households in the second year, but that effects were not discernible in the third year. The finding from the third year could be due to the high implicit cost incurred by the households in implementing the treatment. Regarding the impact of the intervention on a number of consumption measures, the difference-in-difference estimate for the impact on consumption was insignificant in the second year, but highly positive in the third year when estimated without other controls. A part of this consumption increase was because of changes in remittance inflows. The overall results indicate the possibility that treatment in the absence of subsidies was costly for households due to hidden costs, and hence, the income gain owing to the initial treatment was transient. |
| Keywords: | wild animal attack, agriculture, consumption, randomized controlled trial, Pakistan |
| JEL: | O13 O15 Q12 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2012-11&r=agr |
| By: | Swenson, David A.; Eathington, Liesl |
| Abstract: | This report investigates degrees of water dependence across various sectors of Iowa’s economy and the possible direct and indirect consequences of drought events on Iowa’s industries. The report is organized into five sections. Part 1 describes patterns of water use by broad economic sector, as measured in gallons of water withdrawn from surface and groundwater sources. Part 2 addresses the importance of water as a means of transportation, examining the types of commodities shipped to and from Iowa by river. Part 3 discusses the consequences of drought on grain and livestock production. Part 4 explores how reductions in agricultural commodity production might impact the state’s manufacturing sector. Part 5 indentifies industries that may experience changing demand for their own products due to water supply disruptions, including firms that manufacture inputs for water distribution, treatment, or storage systems. |
| Keywords: | drought; economic impacts; water usage |
| Date: | 2013–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36150&r=agr |
| By: | Karlen, D. L.; Lal, R.; Follett, R.F.; Kimble, J.M.; Hatfield, J.L.; Miranowski, John; Cambardella, C.; Manale, A.; Anex, R.P.; Rice, C.W. |
| Abstract: | A recent scientific publication stated that to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, the most permanent and rapid solution would be to sink crop residues to the ocean floor where they would be buried in deep ocean sediments. However, mitigating rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations by removing crop residues from the land, transporting them to the coast, shipping them out to sea, and burying them in the ocean could be short-sighted, with many unintended consequences. Our objectives are to alert readers to the ecosystem services that crop residues provide, to point out some errors and misinterpretations of soil science literature in the review process, and to offer an alternative approach for addressing multiple environmental problems including carbon sequestration, atmospheric CO2 concentrations, productivity, water quality, bioenergy, wildlife habitat, and community development. We conclude that although ocean sequestration may have a role in mitigating atmospheric CO2 concentrations, we should not destroy the future productivity of our soils by drowning crop residues. We also conclude that it is now more important than ever to recognize crop residues as "agricultural co-products" that must be carefully managed, not only to sustain soil and water resources but also to improve the environment in ways that are both known and unknown. |
| Date: | 2013–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36122&r=agr |
| By: | Kajisa, Kei; Payongayong, Ellen |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the extensification and intensification process of rice production in Mozambique’s dominant rice ecology, i.e., rainfed lowland area. Our household-level data show that the potential of extensification is not fully exploited, as only 41% of the cultivable lowland is used for rice. The lack of power predominantly constrains rice area expansion. High potential also exists in land intensification as indicated by the average yield of 2.5 t/ha among the top 25% of rainfed farmers. Intensification through technology adoption and intensive crop care (i.e., Boserupian process) seems to be emerging among the farmers reaching their rice land limits. |
| Keywords: | Green Revolution , rice , Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2013–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:61&r=agr |
| By: | Raval, Vishvesh; Vyas, Khyati |
| Abstract: | Indian Farmers continue to suffer regularly from Droughts, as a frequent natural disaster and has profound effect individually and collectively. The mental health effects of natural disaster are well known however anxiety and readiness of likely Drought is less well understood. However, in addition to likely anxiety and readiness there is likelihood of revisit of feelings of loss, grief and hopelessness. This research investigates the experience of Drought anxiety and readiness on experienced Farmers and new Farmers, facing threat of Drought for the first time. Farmers took part in focus group discussions of the likely anxiety and readiness of Drought on themselves, their families and their community in districts of Valsad, Navsari, Surendranagar and Savar kundla, Gujarat, India. In addition to anxiety and readiness related to financial and workloads, Farmers reported experiencing significant anxiety and readiness from the emotional impact of environmental degradation, from loss of hope for the future, and from feelings of being isolated and financially weak. Sample of 60 farmers was selected out of 60, 30 were new farmers and 30 were experienced farmers. All the farmers were at least 20 years of age. It was observed that new and experienced farmers do not show significant difference in Drought anxiety and readiness to face Drought. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Behavioural finance, Psychology |
| JEL: | G01 Q1 Q14 Q5 Q54 |
| Date: | 2013–04–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46295&r=agr |
| By: | Bezu, Sosina (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Holden, Stein (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia has implemented one of the largest, fastest and cheapest land registration and certification reforms in Africa. While there have been evidences of positive impacts of this land reform in terms of increased investment, land productivity and land rental market activities, the government is now piloting another round of land registration and certification that involves GPS measurement and computer registration. This ‘Second Stage land registration’ is expected to replace the registration from the first round that used field markings in combination with memory of the neighbors to identify plot borders. We use panel data from 600 households in two regions (Oromia and SNNP) to investigate household perceptions and demand for such a Second Stage reform. Our study has revealed a relatively low demand and WTP for Second Stage certificates. The WTP also decreases significantly from 2007 to 2012 while the value of land increases dramatically in the same period. Households with larger land holdings and male-headed households whose First Stage certificate contained only the husband’s name are especially less interested in a new registration. Households who attended a meeting on land registration are more interested and willing to pay for Second Stage certificate. The demand for Second Stage certificates comes primarily from the Land Administrations as it can provide a better basis for Land Administration and produce public documentation of land-related affairs. |
| Keywords: | Land registration and certification; Second Stage registration and certification; joint land certification; land administration; gender; |
| JEL: | Q15 |
| Date: | 2013–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2013_003&r=agr |
| By: | Rawal, Vikas |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2012-15&r=agr |
| By: | Hasan, Mohammad Monirul |
| Abstract: | This paper depicts the agricultural policy reforms and structural changes in Bangladesh from independence to the present times. Bangladesh agriculture has experienced major structural changes and achieved major successes over the last three and a half decades. Reforms began in the late 1970s and early 1980s by liberalizing the input markets. Both domestic and trade policy got a vibration of liberalization in the early 1990s. After the independence, Bangladesh followed a highly restrictive trade and exchange rate policy characterized by import regulations, high import tariffs, export taxes, persistent quantitative restrictions and an overvalued exchange rate. With a decade long half-hearted attempt towards trade liberalization, the democratic government in 1991 took courageous steps towards reforming the trade regime. Reforms instigated during this period included reducing and compressing tariffs, implementing and publishing a less complicated import tax structure, gradually eliminating non-tariff import restrictions, and promoting exports through income tax exemptions, bonded warehousing, and flexible exchange rate management. The recent Import-Export Policy 2009-2012 is a major step to the continuation of the liberalization of international trade. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural policy, Structural Policy, Trade reform, Bangladesh, Policy reforms in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Economic reforms, policy changes, structural adjustment policy, Five year plans in Bangladesh, Fiscal reforms |
| JEL: | E6 E61 E62 F13 N10 O11 O13 Q10 Q17 Q18 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46540&r=agr |
| By: | Elaine Liu (University of Houston); JiKun Huang (Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy) |
| Abstract: | Despite insect-resistant Bt cotton has been lauded for its ability to reduce the use of pesticides, studies have shown that Chinese Bt cotton farmers continue to use excessive amounts of pesticides. Using results from a survey and an artefactual field experiment, we find that farmers who are more risk averse use greater quantities of pesticides. We also find that farmers who are more loss averse use lesser quantities of pesticides. This result is consistent with our conceptual framework and suggestive evidence where farmers behave in a loss averse manner in the health domain and place more weight on the importance of health over money in the loss domain. |
| Keywords: | Risk Preferences, Prospect Theory, Pesticide Use |
| JEL: | O13 O14 O33 D03 D81 D83 |
| Date: | 2013–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hou:wpaper:201310920&r=agr |
| By: | Domenech, Laia; Ringler, Claudia |
| Abstract: | The hypothesis underlying this review paper is that how irrigation gets deployed in SSA will be decisive not only for environmental sustainability (such as deciding remaining forest cover in the region) and poverty reduction, but also for health, nutrition, and gender outcomes in the region. The focus of this paper is on the health, nutrition, and gender linkage. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation; Nutrition; Health; Gender; Women; Water resources; Environmental impacts; Water use.;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1259&r=agr |
| By: | Pierre-Philippe Combes (AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - Aix-Marseille Univ. - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales [EHESS] - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM)); Gilles Duranton (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania - University of Pennsylvania); Laurent Gobillon (INED - Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques Paris - INED, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales [EHESS] - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - Ecole normale supérieure de Paris - ENS Paris - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris) |
| Abstract: | We develop a new methodology to estimate the elasticity of urban costs with respect to city population using French land price data. Our preferred estimate, which handles a number of estimation concerns, stands at 0.041. Our approach also yields a number of intermediate outputs of independent interest such as a distance gradient for land prices and the elasticity of unit land prices with respect to city population. For the latter, our preferred estimate is 0.72. |
| Keywords: | urban costs; land prices; land use; agglomeration |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00793632&r=agr |
| By: | Paarlberg, Robert L. |
| Abstract: | The IFPRI 2020 Conference on “Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition and Health†was held in New Delhi, India, February 10–12, 2011, and attracted more than 900 attendees. Conference activities included 12 plenary sessions, 15 parallel sessions, 14 side events, an ongoing knowledge fair with more than 25 exhibit booths and tables, six informal discussion groups, and roughly 30 “rapid fire†presentations during coffee breaks. Assessing the impact of this Conference is a task complicated by multiple issues such as assessment coverage and impact attribution. The assessment methods used here include surveys of conferees, Internet searches, website and literature searches, and extensive personal interviews. Distinctions are drawn between short-term and medium-term impacts, and also among impacts on individuals, on institutions, and on professional discourse. |
| Keywords: | Impact assessment; Agriculture; Health; Nutrition;, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:impass:34&r=agr |
| By: | Mario Du Preez, Deborah Ellen Lee and Leann Cloete |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the Nelson Mandela Bay public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for the removal of a local undesirable land use, the manganese ore dumps and the oil tank farm situated within the boundaries of the Port Elizabeth harbour, Eastern Cape, South Africa, by means of the contingent valuation method. Both a non-parametric and parametric estimate of the WTP is derived. Estimated WTP for the removal of this disamenity ranges from R47.09 to R93.21 per household. The aggregate WTP ranges from R13 489 683 to R26 701 496. Due to the sensitivity of the parametric estimate of WTP to functional form specification and the distribution of the random part of preferences, the less restricted non-parametric WTP estimate (R47.09) is more appropriate. The results of this study show that policy-makers should take heed of the importance communities attach to the location of pollution-creating activities in urban areas. |
| Keywords: | Contingent valuation, willingness to pay, dichotomous choice, parametric estimation, non-parametric estimation |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:338&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, Chun |
| Abstract: | Informatization, a policy of integrated telecommunications development, is regarded as one of the driving forces behind the Chinese government's new socialist countryside program. Various national and provincial programs have been initiated to connect the agricultural communities to the information highway. Most of the existing studies are conducted at the national level, which largely neglects the fact that China's unique central-provincial-local institutional arrangement makes the provincial/local government not only the implementers of center-initiated projects but also the initiators of informatization programs specific to their territory. This paper studies Sichuan province because its geographic and economic features make it an ideal site. Moreover, Sichuan probably has the widest variety of agricultural informatization programs among all the provinces in China because of the relief efforts after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake by various entities. It is now imperative to critically revisit those programs to find out their status and identify the factors for both their successes and failures. This paper aims to complement the existing rural informatization research in China with a comprehensive provincial/local-level analysis, using an analytical framework that evaluates the performance and sustainability of major ongoing agricultural informatization programs. This paper will identify the best practices for rural development in other countries. -- |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itsb12:72547&r=agr |
| By: | Chad M. Baum |
| Abstract: | The greater awareness of the negative environmental and health-related externalities of the large-scale food industry is directly responsible for the diminished confidence of the quality of its products. Using the multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions (Geels, 2004; 2010), I argue that the initial impetus for the emergence of mass production was the presence of threats to health and safety in the broader societal context. Rather than simply serving economic considerations, the scale and scientific expertise of mass production functioned as a credible signal due to its relationship to these threats. The declining health and safety of the food industry represents, however, a consequence of the changing relationship of scale and quality due to the emergence of new threats to health and safety. Scale as a signal of credibility is no longer sufficient to guarantee these qualities, however. Absent the incentives to undertake costly investments in quality production, the criteria of productivity and efficiency become duly emphasized to the detriment of health and safety. Hence, the continued emphasis on scale now represents a limitation to improving health and safety. Instead, further quality innovation demands the development of a costly signal appropriate to the extant social context. |
| Keywords: | socio-technical transitions, health and safety of the food industry, mass production, credibility |
| Date: | 2013–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esi:evopap:2013-03&r=agr |
| By: | Williams, Idongesit; Gyaase, Patrick Ohemeng; Falch, Morten |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the potentials of an adaptation of the Internet café business model adopted for Internet access in African cities to improve rural Internet access through a partnership between the public and private sectors. The rural areas in most developing countries e lack of Internet connectivity due to commercial unviability of such investment by the private sector alone.. The modernization theory is used to support the concept that the availability of Internet services in rural can be catalyzed if an Adaptation of the Internet cafés business model incorporating the public participation are replicated in the rural areas. . A study is carried out in Ghana, where the market players in the Internet café operations to ascertain the potential viability of public - private partnership in the provisioning of internet access in the rural areas in Ghana. A new business model in the form of Public Private Partnership is proposed that will facilitate the extension of Internet cafés into rural areas to enhance rural connectivity. -- |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itsb12:72476&r=agr |
| By: | Olivia D'Aoust; Olivier Sterck; Philip Verwimp |
| Abstract: | In 2009, hostilities were brought to an end in Burundi when the FNL rebel group laid downweapons. In exchange for peace, ex-rebels benefited from a disarmament, demobilizationand reintegration (DDR) program to finance their return to civilian life. A few years earlier,another rebel group (CNDD-FDD) had gone through the same program. In this paper, weassess the impact of this complex program from a theoretical and an empirical viewpoint.First, we develop an agricultural model in order to predict the impact of demobilization cashtransfers on beneficiary and non-beneficiary households. Then, we test the theoretical modelby using a household panel dataset collected in rural Burundi. We find that, in the shortrun, the cash payments received by ex-combatants had a positive direct impact on purchasesand investments of beneficiaries, as well as an indirect positive impact on non-beneficiaries.We also find that the direct and indirect impacts on purchases vanish in the long run. Theseresults suggest that reinsertion grants may favour the acceptation of ex-combatants in theirlocal communities in the short run, but are most likely not sufficient for peace to hold.More generally, it emphasizes the importance of considering spillovers in the evaluation ofdevelopment programs. |
| Keywords: | civil conflict; Burundi; disarmament; demobilization and reintegration program; cash transfer; spillovers |
| JEL: | D74 O12 I32 I38 N47 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/143034&r=agr |
| By: | Holvoet, Nathalie; Inberg, Liesbeth |
| Abstract: | The recent (draft) decision of the 2012 Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognises that a more balanced representation of women from developed and developing countries in the UNFCCC process is important in order to create climate policies that are responding to the different needs of men and women in national and local contexts (UNFCCC, 2012). In the context of the UNFCC, countries that are most vulnerable to climate change list their priority adaptation projects in National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs). Guidelines for drafting NAPAs have been made gender-sensitive drawing upon equality, effectiveness and efficiency arguments. More specifically, climate change affect men and women differently and therefore, policies and programmes that do not take into account the particular needs and capacities of both men and women will fail to be effective and may even worsen the already existing male bias. Against this background of increased acknowledgement of the importance of gender mainstreaming in climate change policies, we aim at confronting rhetorics with reality. Our study investigates to what extent and in what way the 31 available Sub Sahara African NAPAs integrate a gender dimension into the different phases (diagnosis, selection of projects, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation) of the NAPA cycle and the different sectors that are especially related to climate change (in addition to the energy sector, these are the agriculture, forestry, water and sanitation and health sectors). Additionally, we also analyse the degree of participation of women and gender experts in diagnosis and decision-making as well as the gender sensitivity of the format used for participation. The findings of the gender scan among others demonstrate that there is a decline in gendersensitivity throughout the cycle, which is particularly outspoken when translation priorities into budgets and indicators. Next, processes have been more gender sensitive than the actual content of NAPAs which hints at the fact that the gender actors around the table in NAPA decision making have not always been able to influence the content of the NAPAs. This could among others be related to a low track record of these gender actors in the area of climate change. Local climate change experts on the other hand often lack operational ‘gender’ tools and approaches which are framed in their own terminology. When it comes to an integration of gender issues in climate change budgets, our study suggests that the insights, approaches and tools of gender budgeting could be particularly useful. |
| Keywords: | Sub-Saharan Africa; National Adaptation Programmes of Action; NAPA |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2013002&r=agr |
| By: | Nakano, Yuko; Kajisa, Kei |
| Abstract: | Using an extensive household-level data set collected in Tanzania, this paper investigates the determinants of technology adoption in rice cultivation by focusing on the role of credit. We find that credit enhances fertilizer use and the adoption of labor-intensive agronomic practices such as transplanting in rows, for which monitoring of hired labor is easy. We also find that new technologies are adopted more widely in irrigated areas and small-scale farmers are not at a disadvantage. Based on these findings, we argue that with appropriate policies including credit, a rice Green Revolution can improve the productivity of small-scale farmers in Tanzania. |
| Keywords: | technology adoption , Green Revolution , Sub-Saharan Africa , Tanzania |
| Date: | 2013–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:58&r=agr |
| By: | Rosburg, Alicia; Miranowski, John |
| Abstract: | We present results from an application of the Biofuel Breakeven program (BioBreak) to 14 US cellulosic ethanol markets that vary by feedstock and location. BioBreak estimates the economic costs of cellulosic biofuel production for each market and identifies the necessary conditions to sustain long-run markets. Based on current market conditions, our results suggest that long-run cellulosic ethanol production is not sustainable without significant government intervention or high long-run oil prices ($135-$170 per barrel). Using life-cycle analysis for cellulosic ethanol and conventional gasoline, we extend the BioBreak program results to derive an implicit value of reduced greenhouse gas emissions embodied in cellulosic ethanol. For the markets considered in our analysis, sustaining cellulosic ethanol production is equivalent to valuing the reduction in CO2 equivalents between $141 and $282 per metric ton. |
| Keywords: | biofuel; Biofuel policies; biomass; carbon tax; cellulosic ethanol; Greenhouse gas emissions; life-cycle analysis; renewable fuel standard |
| Date: | 2013–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36118&r=agr |
| By: | Gernot Pehnelt (GlobEcon and Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena); Christoph Vietze (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | The European Union's (EU) Renewable Energy Directive (RED) continues to be the focus of much debate over the validity of biofuel sustainability. The debate is driven in part by ongoing concerns of transparency and regional variations of emissions from feedstock cultivation and processing. In a working paper, Pehnelt and Vietze (2012) undertook a general analysis of rapeseed biodiesel greenhouse gas (GHG) savings. In light of the recent effort to decentralize assessments to regional (i.e. Member State) authorities to assess the sustainability of biofuel feedstocks, we have done the same for three Member States, incorporating the comments and critique we received on our latest working paper (Pehnelt and Vietze 2012). Using publicly available cultivation and production figures from Germany (the largest producer and consumer of rapeseed biodiesel), Poland and Romania, we analyse the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings of rapeseed biodiesel which we then compare to the values of GHG savings identified in the RED. Under average conditions and conservative assumptions on N2O emissions, German rapeseed biodiesel meets the GHG savings requirements of 35 percent in the RED. However, in years with unfavourable weather conditions and lower yields, German rapeseed biodiesel may fail to reach the 35 percent threshold even with efficient production technologies in the subsequent steps of the supply chain. Taking into account higher N2O emissions due to fertilizer input as suggested by some researchers, German rapeseed biodiesel clearly fails to fulfil the 35 percent criterion required by the RED. Meanwhile, in no instance Polish or Romanian rapeseed biodiesel meet the RED's 35% GHG savings threshold. The assessment of the sustainability of rapeseed biodiesel heavily depends on the very production conditions and assumptions regarding the N2O field emissions. As a matter of fact, not every liter of rapeseed biodiesel produced in the EU is 'sustainable' in the sense of RED. Therefore, the use of standard values (e.g. default values) in order to categorize rapeseed biodiesel - or any other biofuel - as sustainable or not is not justifiable. With renewable energy strategies proliferating throughout the world, the validity of technical criteria has become increasingly critical to the success of these strategies - particularly the fiercely debated RED. The application of technical criteria remains inconsistent, and in the case of the RED, resulting in unreliable assessments of biofuel feedstocks and heated debates over the authority of these assessments. |
| Keywords: | Biofuel, Rapeseed, Biodiesel, RED, Renewable Energy Directive, Default Values, Typical Values, GHG-emissions |
| JEL: | F14 F18 O13 Q01 Q15 Q27 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2013–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2013-015&r=agr |
| By: | Henny Romijn; Sanne Heijnen; Saurabh Arora |
| Abstract: | Standards and certifications, as ‘scientific’ instruments of public and private governance, have recently emerged as ways to deal with growing concerns about the triple P sustainability of global supply chains for renewable energy. Focussing on a chain for sourcing ‘sustainable’ biokerosene for use by a major European airline, this article studies the practice of a pilot certification project aimed at thousands of Tanzanian smallholders who cultivate Jatropha oilseeds (one of the few known feedstocks suitable for biokerosene production). In particular, we study the tense interactions and encounters between a ‘universal’ biofuel sustainability standard, designed in an ostentatiously participatory process in the Netherlands, and the socio-ecological realities of the smallholders in Tanzania. As a result of these encounters, many provisions in the standard and certification protocols were found to constitute cases of ‘excess governance’, which made little or no sense in the Tanzanian smallholder context. At the same time, the standard was found to exhibit instances of ‘deficient governance’ leaving several critical issues outside its purview. Most importantly however were the cases where the provisions in the standard were deemed legitimate by the project’s implementers. Operationalization of these provisions in the smallholders’ surroundings however relied on major translation efforts involving significant brainstorming in Tanzania, conducting remedial research for problem-solving, and perhaps most importantly, significant improvisation in the field. As a result of this operationalization, many of the standard’s provisions had to undergo modifications that were initially resisted by the standard’s designers. These modifications may have resulted in a standard that is more aligned with the local realities encountered in a particular region of Tanzania. But other frictions, similar and different from the ones discussed in this article, are bound to crop up as this ‘adjusted’ standard moves to newer locales and encounters diverse social realities. In concluding, we call for regional or niche standardization strategies, rejecting the idea of universal standards that can be applied globally. A niche standardization strategy, while serving the intended purpose of the standards (in terms of ‘social’ and environmental sustainability), should facilitate the poorest farmers from reaping the benefits of the sustainability of their existing practices, a sustainability they cannot afford to prove ‘scientifically’. |
| Keywords: | sustainable, standards, certification |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:tuecis:wpaper:1202&r=agr |