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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2015‒01‒26
115 papers chosen by |
| By: | Was, Adam; Zawalinska, Katarzyna; Britz, Wolfgang |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the potential impacts of the post 2013 EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, which aims to improve the environmental performance of agriculture, called “greening” the CAP. Using the well-established CAPRI model, the economic and environmental consequences of the reform on agriculture are estimated for selected EU countries. The results indicate that ‘greening’ causes a decline in the area of the main crops, increase crop prices and slightly intensify production on the remaining areas. Farm income would increase, but due to the low intensity of agriculture - like in the Baltic countries - this increase would be rather limited. |
| Keywords: | greening, sustainability of agriculture, Common Agricultural Policy reform, CAPRI model, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:186374&r=agr |
| By: | Milczarek-Andrzejewska, Dominika |
| Keywords: | Organizations of farmers, power, interest groups, Poland, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182972&r=agr |
| By: | Khanal, Aditya; Mishra, Ashok |
| Keywords: | diversification, farm business households, strategies, interlinkage, multivariate probit, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2015–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196860&r=agr |
| By: | Maredia, Mywish; Reyes, Byron; DeYoung, David |
| Keywords: | Seed system, evaluation, common beans, Phaseolus vulgaris, agricultural research, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, improved varieties, Bean Technology Dissemination Project, sustainability, seed demand, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O3, O130, Q16, Q55, Q18, Q12, |
| Date: | 2014–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:196540&r=agr |
| By: | Simonovska, Ana; Gjosevski, Dragan |
| Abstract: | In transition economies, capital structure decisions are not driven from the market, but on farmers’ expectations to receive financial support from the government. These observations raise the necessity for empirical evidences for RM on whether agricultural support programs, affecting capital structure decisions and other specific farm structural characteristics, foster improvements in farm performance. The results support that agricultural companies worry less about their capital structure hindering investments and thus, restructuring of the agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Farm performance, soft-budget constraints, capital structure decisions, agricultural companies, econometrics, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182943&r=agr |
| By: | Boere, Esther; Peerlings, Jack; Reinhard, Stijn; Heijman, Wim |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the sequence of changes in land used for milk production on dairy farms in the period before, during, and towards the abolishment of milk quotas. Using a unique dataset comprising farm level data of the Netherlands between 1971 and 2011 we estimate two duration models, analysing the time period between changes in case of increases and decreases in dairy land use. The impact of milk quota, socio-economic and production variables on the likelihood of a farm changing his land use are assessed. Results show that quota abolishment will lead to a more dynamic dairy sector. |
| Keywords: | Duration models, Panel data, Milk quota, Land use change, CAP reform, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182710&r=agr |
| By: | Desquilbet, Marion; Dorin, Bruno; Couvet, Denis |
| Abstract: | We show that whether intensive or extensive farming is most beneficial to biodiversity depends on the equilibrium of agricultural markets. With higher production costs, extensive farming tends to be more beneficial to biodiversity than intensive farming, except when there is a very high degree of convexity between biodiversity and yield. Extensive farming is detrimental to consumers while its effect on agricultural producers is indeterminate. It has no straightforward effect on food security, but could decrease the pressure on protected areas. Additional demand f reinforces the preference for extensive farming, especially in the case of animal feed. |
| Keywords: | conservation, farming, biodiversity, land use, markets, welfare, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182809&r=agr |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | The paper presents findings of a large study on socio-economic impacts of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster on the Japanese agriculture and food sector. It contains fourteen parts: introduction with the framework of analysis; a brief description of events and their overall social, economic and environmental effects; assessments on affected farms and agricultural resources; progress and challenges of restoration of agricultural communities, lands, infrastructure and businesses; assessments of impacts on food industries; analysis of radioactive contamination of agri-food products; evaluation of the effects on markets, consumers and international trade; analysis of effects on food regulation and inspection system; estimates on farms and agri-businesses damages from the nuclear accident; assessment of overall impact on farms and agricultural resources; assessment of overall impact on agricultural productions; assessment of overall impact on agricultural output and income; assessment of overall impact on farm economy; and conclusion with lessons and recommendations. |
| Keywords: | great east japan eartquake, tsunami, fukushima nuclear accident, social, economic, environmental, instructional, organisational, technological, impacts, agriculture, food industry, food consumption, agri-food chains, risk managment |
| JEL: | D18 D23 I12 I18 Q1 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 Q2 Q3 Q48 R23 R58 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:61499&r=agr |
| By: | Vigani, Mauro; Magrini, Emiliano |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses the impact of adopting new agricultural technologies on the multiple dimensions of food security for maize farmers in Tanzania. Relying on matching techniques, we use a nationally representative dataset to estimate the causal effects of improved seeds and inorganic fertilizers on four dimensions: availability, access, utilization, and stability. We find an overall positive and significant impact on all the dimensions of food security even if substantial differences are observed. In particular, improved seeds show a stronger effect on food availability and access while inorganic fertilizers guarantee higher stability. In terms of utilization, both technologies increase the diet diversity while only improved seeds reduce the dependence on staple food. The study supports the idea that the relationship between new agricultural technologies and food security is a complex phenomenon which requires a deeper and more thorough investigation. |
| Keywords: | Technology adoption, food security, tanzania, propensity score matching, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182646&r=agr |
| By: | Desjeux, Yann; Dupraz, Pierre; Latruffe, Laure; Maigne, Elise; Cahuzac, Eric |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the impact of various rural development measures on the evolution of farm labour in France between 2006 and 2011. Regionally-aggregated data were used, while potential spatial effects were taken into account. Results show that farm labour change was positively influenced by the participation to agroenvironmental schemes targeting the protection of water and biodiversity, but was not influenced by investment aids for farm modernisation, grassland premium, payments to organic farming conversion, or payments for the diversification of farm activities and rural tourism. Besides, delayed effects, related to the participation in the previous programming period (2000-2006), are observed. |
| Keywords: | Rural development measures, Common Agricultural Policy, Farm labour, Impact evaluation, France, Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182817&r=agr |
| By: | Cong, Ronggang; Ekroos, Johan; G. Smith, Henrik; Brady, Mark |
| Abstract: | It is argued that landscape-scale management (LSM) of habitat is better than farm-scale management (FSM) when considering the externality of ecosystem services. Given this advantage, how to regulate individual farmers’ land-use decisions to achieve the LSM solution is an issue of common concern both for farmers and policymakers. Specifically, it needs to be determined if there exists a dominant land-use pattern that characterizes the LSM solution compared to FSM solution. In addition to the area of habitat, we design a land-use pattern index (LPI) to characterize the configuration of habitat and project it onto the sharing-sparing continuum. We find that the LSM solution is characterized by less intensive farming, and configurations of habitat are closer to land sharing. However, as crop dependency on ecosystem-services declines, the land-use patterns with LSM and FSM converge and the configurations of habitat start to resemble to land sparing. In addition, when habitat quality improves the configurations of habitat on the border farms become important. Finally, the less mobile service-providers are, the more farmers should focus on land-use patterns on their own farms. Our indices of land-use patterns could be integrated into the cross-compliance of CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) to better manage ecosystem-service in the future. |
| Keywords: | Agent-based model, landscape-scale management, ecosystem services, land sharing, land sparing, land-use pattern index, governance, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182698&r=agr |
| By: | Martinet, Vincent |
| Abstract: | Ecologists discuss the “food versus biodiversity” trade-offs in the fol- lowing terms: what is the land use configuration that minimizes biodiver- sity loss for a given food production target. This is, in economic terms, a cost-effectiveness approach related to the concept of Pareto-efficiency in the food-biodiversity outcomes map. This paper argues that economists should participate in this debate. A first set of results shows how the introduction of some basic micro-economic considerations modifies or reinforces the rec- ommendations of the ecological literature on how to preserve biodiversity while producing food. A second set of arguments emphasizes that it is not necessarily sensible, from an economic point of view, to set the debate in terms of food versus biodiversity. A wider, welfarist approach should be used. |
| Keywords: | Food production, Biological conservation, Trade-offs, Land use, Agricultural intensity, Soil heterogeneity, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182800&r=agr |
| By: | Feichtinger, Paul; Salhofer, Klaus |
| Abstract: | We empirically analyze 7,300 agricultural land sales transactions in 2001 and 2007 to identify factors influencing agricultural land sales prices in Bavaria. To account for the importance of space in land markets, we utilize a general spatial model including a spatial lag and a spatial error. Our findings confirm a significant capitalization of government payments into land prices. A reduction of payments by 50 €/ha would decrease land sales prices by 849 €/ha (280 €/ha) in 2007 (2001). Hence, the 2003 Fischler Reform has increased the capitalization effect. Moreover, we find a strong influence of land productivity, urban pressure and the regional land market structure on agricultural land sales prices. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182751&r=agr |
| By: | Anonymous; Jayet, Pierre-Alain |
| Abstract: | The cross-sectional approach to the assessment of climate change impacts on agriculture is a widely used technique. It is based on land prices and supposes a perfect mobility of agricultural activities following climate evolution. Theory and our empirical study of the French land market show that land prices do not only reflect the land rent related to productivity. We argue, that geographical labeling represents a component of land prices which is space invariant. Thus, present rents related to geographical labeling cannot be transferred to new regions, as a cross-sectional analysis would suggest. |
| Keywords: | cross-sectional approach, climate change, land rent, agriculture, labeling, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182746&r=agr |
| By: | Menozzi, Davide; Fioravanzi, Martina; Donati, Michele |
| Abstract: | The 2014-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform defines new rules for farmers including regionalization, crop diversification and ecological focus area (EFA). This paper aims to evaluate farmers’ intention to modify their behaviour because of the CAP reform, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). A questionnaire was submitted to 71 Italian durum wheat producers assessing their intention to change durum wheat surface and to maintain as EFA part of the arable land. Subjective norms affects intention to change durum wheat surface, while attitude drives intention to dedicate arable crop to EFA. Implications for policy makers and producers are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Durum wheat, Intention, Ecological focus area, Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182811&r=agr |
| By: | Lovo, Stefania; Veronesi, Marcella |
| Abstract: | Malnutrition is a major issue in developing countries with long-term implications for economic development. Agricultural diversification has been recognized as a strategy to improve nutrition and human health, and a risk coping strategy in the face of climate change. We use the 2008-2010 Tanzania National Panel Survey, which includes about 3,700 children, to investigate the effect of crop diversification on child health. We use an instrumental variable approach and estimate the effect of crop diversification on child growth by controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. We show that crop diversification has a positive and significant impact on long-term child nutritional status. |
| Keywords: | crop diversification, food security, health, nutrition, development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, I12, I15, Q18, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182735&r=agr |
| By: | Wainaina, Priscilla Wairimu; Tongruksawattana, Songporne; Qaim, Matin |
| Abstract: | There is consensus that adoption of technological improvements is crucial to increasing agricultural productivity and reducing poverty, while sustaining the agro-ecosystems. There is however disagreement as to which type of technologies are well suited in developing countries; external input intensive technologies or low external input/ natural resource management (NRM) technologies. This paper uses plot level survey data collected from all maize growing areas in Kenya and employs a multivariate probit to assess conditions under which different technologies are adopted. We find that indeed the technologies that farmers adopt vary with different conditions ranging from plot level to climatic conditions. |
| Keywords: | Technologies, adoption, Multivariate probit, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182644&r=agr |
| By: | Orden, David; Zulauf, Carl R. |
| Abstract: | This article assesses the political economy of the 2014 farm bill, which eliminated annual fixed direct payments but offers enhanced downside risk protection against low prices or declining revenue. The farm bill secured substantial bipartisan majorities in a politically contentious Congress. The countercyclical structure of U.S. support is reaffirmed and crop insurance is enhanced as a safety net pillar. Open policy issues include the distribution of benefits among crops, the design of multiple year support around moving-average revenue benchmarks versus fixed references prices, and questions related to crop insurance, including the overall level of premium subsidies. In an international context, we conclude the 2014 farm safety net likely would not have been enacted had multilateral agreement been reached on the 2008 Doha Round negotiating documents; conversely, the 2014 farm bill makes achieving those limits more difficult. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural policy, 2014 farm bill, farm subsidies, commodity programs, crop insurance, conservation, WTO, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Livestock Production/Industries, Q17, Q18, Q28, K33, N52, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa15:189692&r=agr |
| By: | Obembe, Oladipo S; Almas, Lal K.; Guerrero, Bridget L.; Vestal, Mallory K. |
| Abstract: | Agriculture production in the Texas High Plains is highly dependent on climate especially with the decline in water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer. There is increasing pressure on the Ogallala Aquifer as a result of an increase in population and expansion of agricultural production. The decline in water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer along with precipitation variability are affecting agricultural production, thus increasing the risk faced by farmers. The primary goal of the study is to determine the effect of rainfall variability on yield and income from crops grown in the Texas High Pains. The specific objectives are to estimate the effect of precipitation variability on dryland and irrigated crops; to conduct risk analysis for dryland and irrigated crops and estimate revenue loss/gain due to variability in precipitation; and, to perform sensitivity analysis to analyze the effect of precipitation changes on profitability for a farm enterprise. The information about the dryland county-level yield data was collected from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for the period of 1972 to 2012 for dryland cotton and dryland sorghum while dryland wheat data was for the period of 1973 to 2012. The county-level climatic information was collected from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The information about irrigated corn was collected from AgriPartners Program from 1998 to 2007. The relationship between growing season precipitation variability and dryland yield was examined for dryland sorghum, dryland wheat, and dryland cotton using ordinary least square regression. The effect of precipitation fluctuation on irrigated corn profitability, and irrigation water demand was also estimated. The coefficients of variation for price, yield, precipitation, and revenue were considered for different sub periods. The average season county precipitation levels are 13.65 inches, 13.16 inches, and 15.01 inches for dryland sorghum (Deaf Smith County), dryland wheat (Hansford County), and dryland cotton (Lynn County) respectively. The R2 values from the restricted models are 90%, 93% and 87% for dryland sorghum, dryland wheat, and dryland cotton respectively. The R2 value of the restricted irrigated corn model was 96%. The higher the coefficient of variation for precipitation, the greater the risk faced by farmers. A decline in the coefficient of variation for precipitation by 9.59% favored dryland sorghum yield increase by 5.14 cwt/ac from 1972-1981 to 1982-1991. In Deaf Smith County, 570,813 ac-ft. of irrigation water will be needed for irrigated sorghum if there is a 25% decrease in the average seasonal precipitation received for the next 50 years. At a natural gas price of $4.5/Mcf and corn sales price of $7/bu, variation in the Hansford County seasonal precipitation by ±2.69 inches will change the optimal profit by ±$27.26/ac. More irrigation water will be needed in the future if any less amount of precipitation is received. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196796&r=agr |
| By: | Thabet, Chokri; Chebil, Ali; Frija, Aymen |
| Abstract: | The main objective of this study is to compare the impacts of alternative water policy management scenarios on Tunisia and Morocco. A dynamic water CGE-model has been implemented and used to explore the likely effects of water economic instruments. Results show that the low cost of water has encouraged farmers to adopt more water-intensive activities. Reducing public subsidies on water will affect directly farm income which is expected to drop by about 20 per cent in the short and medium terms. However, the reduction of farmers’ incomes will be largely compensated by the saving in public expenditures but also in a better and more efficient use of water resources. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, water pricing, CGE model, Tunisia and Morocco, Food Security and Poverty, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183088&r=agr |
| By: | Obembe, Oladipo S; Almas, Lal K.; Guerrero, Bridget L.; Vestal, Mallory K. |
| Abstract: | Agriculture production in the Texas High Plains is highly dependent on climate especially with the decline in water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer. There is increasing pressure on the Ogallala Aquifer as a result of an increase in population and expansion of agricultural production. The decline in water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer along with precipitation variability are affecting agricultural production, thus increasing the risk faced by farmers. The primary goal of the study is to determine the effect of rainfall variability on yield and income from crops grown in the Texas High Pains. The specific objectives are to estimate the effect of precipitation variability on dryland and irrigated crops; to conduct risk analysis for dryland and irrigated crops and estimate revenue loss/gain due to variability in precipitation; and, to perform sensitivity analysis to analyze the effect of precipitation changes on profitability for a farm enterprise. The information about the dryland county-level yield data was collected from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for the period of 1972 to 2012 for dryland cotton and dryland sorghum while dryland wheat data was for the period of 1973 to 2012. The county-level climatic information was collected from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The information about irrigated corn was collected from AgriPartners Program from 1998 to 2007. The relationship between growing season precipitation variability and dryland yield was examined for dryland sorghum, dryland wheat, and dryland cotton using ordinary least square regression. The effect of precipitation fluctuation on irrigated corn profitability, and irrigation water demand was also estimated. The coefficients of variation for price, yield, precipitation, and revenue were considered for different sub periods. The average season county precipitation levels are 13.65 inches, 13.16 inches, and 15.01 inches for dryland sorghum (Deaf Smith County), dryland wheat (Hansford County), and dryland cotton (Lynn County) respectively. The R2 values from the restricted models are 90%, 93% and 87% for dryland sorghum, dryland wheat, and dryland cotton respectively. The R2 value of the restricted irrigated corn model was 96%. The higher the coefficient of variation for precipitation, the greater the risk faced by farmers. A decline in the coefficient of variation for precipitation by 9.59% favored dryland sorghum yield increase by 5.14 cwt/ac from 1972-1981 to 1982-1991. In Deaf Smith County, 570,813 ac-ft. of irrigation water will be needed for irrigated sorghum if there is a 25% decrease in the average seasonal precipitation received for the next 50 years. At a natural gas price of $4.5/Mcf and corn sales price of $7/bu, variation in the Hansford County seasonal precipitation by ±2.69 inches will change the optimal profit by ±$27.26/ac. More irrigation water will be needed in the future if any less amount of precipitation is received. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196795&r=agr |
| By: | Kuhlman, Tom; Helming, John; Oudendag, Diti |
| Abstract: | The impact of policy scenarios on economic welfare and the environment depends to a large extent on their direct effect on land use: a strong increase in the cultivation of legumes means a significant environmental impact and a sizeable impact on other variables such as farmers’ incomes, cost to taxpayers and imports and exports. The impact of realistic policy alternatives aimed at promoting legumes is likely to be limited. In particular, they may not be able to reverse the trend in the decline of grain legumes. |
| Keywords: | grain legumes, policies, economics, environment, modelling, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182790&r=agr |
| By: | Martinovska-Stojcheska, Aleksandra; Chanevski, Zlatko; Hristov, Jordan; Surry, Yves |
| Abstract: | Considering the scale of global warming, we make an attempt to assess the impact of climate change on Macedonian agriculture. Farmers’ adaptation is taken into account by using an alternative specification of the Ricardian model based on the use of aridity indices to capture the non-linear response of farmland values to temperature and precipitation. Econometric results indicate that winter and spring aridity indices influence unit gross returns of crop farms. A decomposition analysis of aridity indices between temperatures and precipitations results in the derivation or marginal responses of unit gross returns of crop farms to seasonal temperatures and precipitations. |
| Keywords: | Ricardian model, climate change, Macedonian agriculture, aridity index, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183042&r=agr |
| By: | Neill, Clinton Lee; Williams, Ryan B |
| Keywords: | Milk packaging, Consumer preference, Willingness to pay, Perception, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196651&r=agr |
| By: | Phetcharat, Chaowana; Chalermphol, Juthathip |
| Abstract: | Mixed cropping has advantages to famers because it allows diversification for reducing risk, which caused by unfavorable weather and market price variability. This research aims to analyze and determine factors that influence farmer’s decision to transfer from growing traditional crops (a single crop such as corn and lychee) to diversified crops. The logit model was used to identify factors associated with the farmer’s decision. Models based on a face-face survey of 185 respondents from six villages in Lampang province belonging to the highland community of northern Thailand. The results showed that farmer’ decision to enter into land diversion was different in terms of farmers’ socio-economic factor such as the education level of the farmer and household debt. The government subsidy and technical assistance of the agricultural extension services also significantly influent the farmer’s decision to accept the crop diversified method. |
| Keywords: | land diversion, upland farmer, logit model, co-cultivation, Farm Management, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196982&r=agr |
| By: | Durand-Morat, Alvaro; Wailes, Eric; Alam, MJ; Mwaijande, Francis; Tsiboe, Francis |
| Abstract: | Genetically modified (GM) rice has been developed to confer pest resistance, herbicide tolerance and health benefits, yet regulatory, policy and market barriers prevent commercialization of GM rice. This study assesses factors based on consumer survey results that assess acceptance of GM rice in 5 selected countries, namely, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, Honduras, and Tanzania. |
| Keywords: | GM rice, consumer willingness to pay, developing countries, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Political Economy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, D12, Q16, Q51, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196980&r=agr |
| By: | Mantino, Franco |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the notion of localised agricultural and agro-food system as unit of analysis (LAFS). LAFSs appear to be as quite resilient and dynamic systems. As we will see, the analysis of exports in the last years can provide enough evidence of their strong resilience and capability to respond to economic crisis. This dynamics does not seem understandable by only using either classical variables (size of farm holdings, intensity of capital investment, human capital, rate of technological progress, etc.) or geographical factors (soil fertility, irrigation, plain versus mountain location, etc.). Organisation is a key variable to explain their diverse economic performances. Between the market and the hierarchic structure there are so many possible types of organisational modes, which strictly depend from the strategies set up by economic agents. The analysis provides evidence of diffused dynamism of these systems, both in terms of demographic characteristics, labour productivity and exports in international markets. Relevant differences among these local systems can be explained by geographical location (especially between North and South Italy) and infrastructural endowments. But relevant differences, according to recent studies on governance of rural areas, are also as far as cooperation and integration variables are concerned. To explore the nature of these variables, a parallel survey was implemented in 20 Italian areas to identify and reconstruct the institutional maps of the food chain supply (farming system, food industry, type of distribution and market channels), the main actors working in it and the main forms of vertical and horizontal integration/cooperation. This allowed to understand the structure of the food chain supply and which kind of governance is characterising agriculture and agro-food sector in these rural areas. The survey allows conceptualising four possible modes of rural integration/cooperation, depending from the organisation that has been set up within the single LAFS: 1) LAFSs with lack of governance; 2) LAFSs with contractual arrangements dominated by the processing industry and/or by the large-scale retail; 3) LAFSs with contractual arrangements involving effective cooperative structures and/or producers organisations; d) LAFSs where Consortia of cooperatives and/or producers Organisations were able to bring in innovative forms in marketing phase. |
| Keywords: | Rural development, Agro-food systems, Governance, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Political Economy, Agricultural policies – Food Policies Q18, Regional development Planning and Policy R58, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:186380&r=agr |
| By: | Xu, Ying; Huang, Qiuqiong; West, Grant |
| Abstract: | Water shortage is likely intensified by climate change. Although advanced irrigation technologies and agricultural water management practices are widely promoted, farmers’ adoption behavior is not well understood in the climate change context. This study helps fill this gap by assessing how climate risk affects such adoption. We construct moment-based climate risk measures that better reflect its volatility and extremes and apply them in multiple discrete choice modeling procedures. We also extend existing literature focusing solely on irrigation technologies to include conservation practices such as the Best Management Practices (BMPs), thereby providing a more complete picture of conservation practices. Jointly using the Arkansas subset of USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey and Census of Agriculture over years and multiple climate records, we find climate risk plays a role in the adoption of advanced irrigation technologies and BMPs, and suggest the policy relevance of the consideration of climate risk in understanding farmers’ technology adoption. |
| Keywords: | irrigation technology, Best Management Practices (BMPs), adoption, climate risk, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196693&r=agr |
| By: | Lunik, Elizabeth; Langemeier, Michael |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper was to examine the cost efficiency of corn and soybean production for typical farms involved in the cash crop agri benchmark network. Using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, efficiency indices were computed for 35 corn farms, representing 15 countries including Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, and South Africa. Average technical efficiency was 0.497, average allocative efficiency was 0.487, and average cost efficiency was 0.310. Efficiency indices were also found for 18 soybean farms, representing 9 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, and South Africa. Average technical efficiency was 0.533, average allocative efficiency was 0.553, and average cost efficiency was 0.340. Correlation analysis shows that seed input cost shares were the most correlated with cost efficiency for soybeans, while fixed capital cost shares were the most correlated with cost efficiency for corn production. OLS regression indicated that land, labor and other direct services were under-utilized for corn production, and that seed was over-utilized for soybean production. |
| Keywords: | corn, soybeans, efficiency, farm-level productivity, data envelopment analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, D24, Q12, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196885&r=agr |
| By: | Cimino, Orlando; Henke, Roberto; Vanni, Francesco |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses the effects of greening measures on farm income in Italy focusing on two specialised farming systems that will be largely affected by the introduction of green payments: the maize production system, localized mainly in Northern regions, and the durum wheat production system, especially localised in Central and Southern regions. Data show that in the case of the farms specialised in maize production, the green payments generally do not compensate the reduction of the farm gross margin, while for the farms specialised in durum wheat, the green payments would cover the reduction of farm gross margin determined by the introduction of the greening obligations. |
| Keywords: | CAP reform, direct payments, CAP greening, Italian farming systems, FADN, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182701&r=agr |
| By: | Štraus, Saša; Rozman, Črtomir |
| Abstract: | Sustainable agriculture encompasses economic feasibility, social acceptance, and conservation of the environment. The three agricultural systems (conventional, integrated and organic) are currently in the focus of debate of sustainable agriculture. This paper presents a qualitative multi-attribute model, based on DEX-I methodology, for the assessment of sustainability of agricultural systems at a field level. The data for the implementation was based on field trial. In an overall assessment of the sustainability assessment outcomes the model ranked agricultural systems in the order: organic > integrated > conventional agricultural system. The model gives the decision makers the possibility to assess their decision. |
| Keywords: | sustainability assessment, agricultural systems, qualitative multi-attribute decision models, DEX-i, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182958&r=agr |
| By: | Dutta, Ritwik; Saghaian, Sayed |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index for the U.S. agricultural sector from the period 1970 to 2004 and decomposes the resulting TFP estimation in the Trans-logarithmic production function for U.S. agriculture for the same period to determine the residual measure that explains variation in output aside from land, labor and capital inputs. The objective is to identify the major sources of agricultural productivity in the U.S. from the period mentioned and furthermore estimate the residual in the production function that the Neoclassical production function does not explicitly explain.The results indicate a collective contribution of intermediate inputs such as pesticides use and energy inputs and infrastructural development spending such as overall federal disbursement on highway on TFP and consequently on agricultural output growth for the time period under consideration. |
| Keywords: | Total Factor Productivity(TFP), Trans-logarithmic Production Function, Agricultural Productivity, Intermediate Inputs, Residual Measure., Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q19, Q20, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196890&r=agr |
| By: | Dutta, Ritwik; Saghaian, Syed |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index for the U.S. agricultural sector from the period 1970 to 2004 and decomposes the resulting TFP estimation in the Trans-logarithmic production function for U.S. agriculture for the same period to determine the residual measure that explains variation in output aside from land, labor and capital inputs. The objective is to identify the major sources of agricultural productivity in the U.S. from the period mentioned and furthermore estimate the residual in the production function that the Neoclassical production function does not explicitly explain.The results indicate a collective contribution of intermediate inputs such as pesticides use and energy inputs and infrastructural development spending such as overall federal disbursement on highway on TFP and consequently on agricultural output growth for the time period under consideration. |
| Keywords: | Total Factor Productivity(TFP), Trans-logarithmic Production Function, Agricultural Productivity, Intermediate Inputs, Residual Measure., Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q19, Q20, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196969&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, Xing; Lehtonen, Heikki; Purola, Tuomo; Pavlova, Yulia; Rötter, Reimund; Taru, Palosuo |
| Abstract: | We developed a dynamic farm level economic model of crop rotations including nitrogen fertilization, fungicide treatment and liming as adaption practices. Simulations were run at different price and disease scenarios over 30 years. Farmer maximizes present discounted value of futures stream of profits by choosing optimal sequence of four different crops and two types of set aside. Results indicate that crop rotation system favors, or even requires, more crops to tackle against increasing disease pressure. Crop prices play also a key role in providing incentive for farmers to utilize adaptation management. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic optimization, agriculture, climate change, farm management, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182982&r=agr |
| By: | Ciaian, Pavel; Kancs, d'Artis; Swinnen, Johan |
| Abstract: | Decoupled direct payments were introduced in the EU in form of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2005. The 2013 CAP reform changed both the implementation of the SPS and its budget. This is the first paper that analyzes the possible effects of the 2013 CAP reform on the EU land markets; in particular the capitalization of the SPS in land rental values. Our results suggest that the implementation elements of the 2013 CAP reform will largely determine the impact of the SPS on land markets. In particular, the reference period for entitlement allocation, regionalization, payment differentiation and budgetary changes. Our analysis also implies that a number of relatively minor policy changes could have substantial impacts on land markets. |
| Keywords: | Capitalization, decoupled subsidies, CAP reform, land market, land prices, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182748&r=agr |
| By: | Alan Matthews (Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy Department of Economics and Institute for International Integration Studies, Trinity College DublinInstitute for International Integration Studies, Trinity College Dublin); |
| Abstract: | The integration of agricultural markets and policy has played a major role in European Union (EU) integration, acting as both driver and brake at various periods. Food security was one of the motives behind the creation of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), although its importance has varied over time. Regional integration arrangements often extend to agriculture, but the EU is a rare example where competence in agricultural policy-making is transferred to the supranational level. This chapter traces the early history of the CAP and the fatal decision to fix internal support prices at levels much higher than world market prices. Dealing with the consequences of that decision took the following three decades to reform. During this period, agricultural market integration sometimes threatened to de-rail the wider EU integration project but also gave rise to new institutions and practices which drove integration forward. Based on this examination of the drivers of integration in the EU agricultural sector, the chapter draws conclusions and lessons for similar initiatives in Asia and other regions. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iis:dispap:iiisdp466&r=agr |
| By: | Campus, Daniela |
| Abstract: | The present paper describes the role of organic farming measures in the safeguard of the High Nature Value in Tuscany. Using National Census of Agriculture data (2010) the probability of program enrolment has been computed, through a Probit model. After, a Propensity Score Matching approach has been implemented, to verify what would have happened if treated farms would not have participated to the program. Hence, a control group with similar characteristics as the treated one has been built. Finally, the Average Treatment on the Treated has been computed, revealing organic farming measures have not statistical relevance in enhancing biodiversity. |
| Keywords: | agri-environmental payments, biodiversity, Tuscany, treatment effect, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182919&r=agr |
| By: | Giannoccaro, Giacomo; Castillo, Manuela; Berbel, Julio |
| Abstract: | In this research farmers’ stated preferences towards water markets are analysed. The research aims to underline determinants of farmers’ attitudes towards allocation trading considering two water availability scenarios: average and drought year. A survey with 241 farmers in Guadalquivir and Almeria basins is used. Determinants of monetary value of water traded are analysed by means of Heckman’s two-steps model. Results indicate that participation increases when farmers belong to innovative type, have agricultural training and cultivate higher crops value. Additionally, low water supply guarantee and appropriate information on seasonal water availability increase probability of participation. |
| Keywords: | contingent valuation, drought, irrigation, water markets, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182986&r=agr |
| By: | Figiel, Szczepan; Hamulczuk, Mariusz; Klimkowski, Cezary; Kufel, Justyna |
| Abstract: | In the period of 1995-2013 the Polish agro-food export exhibited a very dynamic growth. It has happened under free-floating exchange rate system, which is believed to help stimulate exports when the Polish currency depreciates. Using some econometric procedures we have found that the exchange rate fluctuations played very little role in shaping the Polish agro-food trade. A comparison of relative prices of selected agricultural and food products in Poland and in the EU suggests that adoption of euro at a conversion rate close to the recent market levels should not have a significant impact on the Polish agro-food export. |
| Keywords: | Euro adoption, agro-food trade, Poland, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182836&r=agr |
| By: | Chakir, Raja; De Cara, Stéphane; Vermont, Bruno |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the effects of input and output prices on French GHG emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) at the NUTS2 level. Reduced-form, random-effect spatial error models are estimated for four emissions categories (nitrogen use, manure management, enteric fermentation, and land use, land-use change and forestry) in order to account for both spatial autocorrelation and spatial unobserved heterogeneity. The main findings are: (i) price impacts on emission levels are found to be significant, although sign and magnitude vary from one emission category to the other, (ii) estimated price effects are more apparent when emission categories are analyzed separately rather than aggregated, and (iii) the spatial dimension is found to play an important role. The estimated models are then used to simulate the effects of a doubling of crop prices on AFOLU emissions. The results indicate that this would lead to an 11%-increase in agricultural sources. |
| Keywords: | AFOLU, greenhouse gas emissions, spatial autocorrelation, panel data, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q54, C31, C33, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182770&r=agr |
| By: | Jambor, Attila; Sirone Varadi, Julia |
| Abstract: | 10 years have passed since the 2004 accession round to the European Union. The tenth anniversary provides a good opportunity for stocktaking and assessing the developments of the New Member States in light of the latest data available. The aim of this paper is identify the winners and losers of accession in the agri-food sector of the New Member States by ranking individual country performances. Results suggest Poland, Estonia and Lithuania to be winners of EU accession regarding agricultural, agri-environmental and rural performance, while Slovakia, Latvia and Hungary appear to be the losers in this regard. |
| Keywords: | 10 years, New Member States, agri-food, winners, losers, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182736&r=agr |
| By: | Michalek, Jerzy; Ciaian, Pavel; Kancs, d'Artis |
| Abstract: | This is the first paper which empirically estimates the capitalization of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) into land values. Although, the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) is the largest expenditure category in the EU budget, the distributional impacts between land users and land owners have not been assessed empirically yet. We employ a unique farm-level panel data set, and apply the generalized propensity score matching approach to estimate the capitalization of the SPS in EU. Our results suggest that around 6-10 percent of the total SPS are capitalized into land rents. On average in the EU, the non-farming landowners' gains from the SPS are only 4 percent. However, there is a large variation in the capitalization rate for different SPS levels, and between different Member States (3 to 94 percent). |
| Keywords: | Decoupled subsidies, capitalization, land market, income distributional effects, selection bias, GPS, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:186378&r=agr |
| By: | Romano, Donato; Ciani, Federico |
| Abstract: | The main goal of this paper is to develop a methodology to quantitatively assess resilience to food insecurity. The developed methodology is applied to Nicaraguan rural households hit by Mitch Hurricane in 1999. The proposed resilience index highlights small landowners and agricultural wage workers as less resilient vis-à-vis other livelihood groups. The analysis shows that the proposed resilience index is a significant determinant of households’ food security and this result is robust across several specifications. |
| Keywords: | Resilience, Agriculture, Food Security, Nicaragua, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182717&r=agr |
| By: | Pokhrel, Bijay; Paudel, Krishna |
| Abstract: | Identification of critical source areas (CSAs) helps to reduce best management practices (BMPs) adoption cost to meet the desired level of water quality in a given watershed. We used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to identify critical source areas within the Saline Bayou Watershed (HUC 11140208), Louisiana. SWAT model was calibrated and validated for discharge and sediment pollution. We then followed up with MAPSHED to assess the effectiveness of implementing different best management practices to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution. Optimization results show that nutrient management and agricultural land retirement can reduce most of the phosphorus runoff in the watershed at the lowest cost. Results are robust to change in parameter sensitivity and alternative weather (dry, normal, and wet) scenarios. |
| Keywords: | Best management practices, cost, optimization, MAPSHED, phosphorus, SWAT, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, C61, Q52, Q53, |
| Date: | 2015–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:197034&r=agr |
| By: | Wesley, Annie (International Development Research Centre); Faminow, Merle (International Development Research Centre) |
| Abstract: | Investments in agricultural research and extension have consistently demonstrated high rates of return in Asia and the Pacific. However, the recent global food crisis exposed the vulnerability of food supply systems and reversed many past achievements in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. It also demonstrated the need for continued innovation. In view of the emerging economic, climatic, and political scenarios in the region, this paper explores the role of applied research for development and extension services through the two-pronged approach of boosting food production and preventing losses. Priority areas for research emphasize attention to smallholder farming systems, practical business models, the integration of gender, and multidisciplinary research that is sensitive to nutritional outcomes. In addition, pioneering mechanisms to public–private partnerships are examined towards the strategic use of renewed stakeholder commitments to achieve food security and prevent future crisis. By learning from the past and looking into the future, this paper makes a case for sustained investments in research and extension to address the numerous challenges along the pathway from agriculture production and distribution to consumption and utilization. |
| Keywords: | food security; agriculture; research and extension; the Asia and Pacific region |
| JEL: | Q16 |
| Date: | 2014–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0425&r=agr |
| By: | Tseng, Eric; Sheldon, Ian |
| Abstract: | In this paper the heterogeneous firms and trade literature is extended by integrating quality of inputs and outputs in a food and agricultural setting. Recently, Sexton (2013) has suggested that intermediate agricultural input quality is critical in food processing firms’ output quality and pricing decisions. The results presented in this paper indicate that intermediate agricultural input quality, when combined with the quality of other food processing inputs, is important in analyzing the production decision-making of firms. Extending the model of Kugler and Verhoogen (2012), the quality of food processing inputs is integrated into the analysis in two ways: first, it affects the production of the final good, in that higher quality food processing inputs lower the marginal cost of producing the final good; and, second, food processing input quality is complementary to intermediate input quality in determining quality of the final good. By choosing these elements, firms become differentiated on a vertical (quality) level not only because of their capability draw and intermediate input quality choice, but also because of their choice of food processing inputs. Three key results are developed in the paper: first, larger firms, measured by revenue, charge a higher price for their final good, pay a higher price for their inputs, and produce a higher quality final good. Second, firms that produce for export destinations with a higher preference for quality, choose higher-quality inputs. Third, if preference for quality increases in export-destinations new firms enter the export market, while less capable firms are forced to exit. |
| Keywords: | heterogeneous firms, input quality, food processing, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, F12, F61, L66, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa15:189696&r=agr |
| By: | Pardey, Philip; Chan-Kang, Connie; Beddow, Jason M.; Dehmer, Steven |
| Abstract: | Domestically funded (and performed) research and development (R&D) has historically been a major source of productivity gains in U.S. agriculture, and a principal source of R&D spillovers to the rest of the world. In the waning decades of the 20th century, U.S. policymakers opted to ratchet down the rate of growth in public support for food and agricultural R&D. As the 21st century unfolds, slowing growth gave way to real cutbacks, reversing the accumulation of U.S.- sourced public R&D capital over most of the previous century and more. The 2014 Farm Bill did little to reverse these long-run research funding trajectories—politicians apparently ignored economic evidence about the still substantial social payoffs to that research and the consequent slowdown in U.S. agricultural productivity growth associated with the spending slowdown. Meanwhile, R&D spending by other countries has been moving in different directions. We present new evidence that today’s middle-income countries—notably China, Brazil and India— are not only growing in relative importance as producers of agricultural innovations through investments in public R&D, they are also gaining considerable ground in terms of their share of privately performed research of relevance for agriculture. The changes in global public and private R&D investment trajectories are accelerating of late, and substantive. If history is any guide to the future, these changing R&D trajectories could have profound consequences for the competiveness of U.S. agriculture in the decades ahead. |
| Keywords: | public, private, food, agriculture, research, innovation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O3, O4, Q1, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa15:189694&r=agr |
| By: | Miftari, Iliriana; Waldhardt, Rainer; Bajrami, Egzon; Gjonbalaj, Muje |
| Abstract: | The aim of the poster is to present the main findings of the research study on the supply scale and the demand of advisory services in the sector of agriculture in Kosovo. The study area covers ten municipalities and 120 farms coming from different sectors of agriculture. The data analyses show the supply scale of advisory services from 2007-2013; advisory sources, the importance of advisory services for farmers, and also identifies the methods and fields where these services should be focused in the future. Research findings show that almost half of the interviewed farmers did not receive advisory services and an interesting finding is that ten of the farmers did not her at all about these services. Farmers were drawing agricultural advices and services from different sources, where the highest percentage of offering advices for farmers was from private sector, specifically from different international organizations. The advisory services received from agriculture experts from public sector were significantly lower compared to the other sources. The derived results show that the advisory services were needed on all processes that accompany a farmer in agricultural production. In this regard the supply of advisory services in the future needs to be oriented mainly at pre-production phase, production, protection, processing, and marketing. Whereas, most favorable methods stressed by the farmers in receiving advisory services were oral advices, respectively experimental plots. |
| Keywords: | advisory services, farmers, agriculture, Kosovo, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182850&r=agr |
| By: | Oudendag, Diti; Hoogendoorn, Mark; Jongeneel, Roel |
| Abstract: | Gaining insight on the effect of policies upon the agricultural domain is essential for policy makers, famers and the agribusiness sector. A variety of models have therefore been developed that enable a prediction of agricultural development under different policies. Most models do however not make predictions on a fine grained level and are weak in accounting for specific factor market and resource constraints farmers (agents) face at farm level. The paper presents an agent-based model where each farm is modeled by means of an agent and studies the effect of milk quota abolishment. Two simulations policy simulations are made: 1) abolition of the milk quota; and 2) land-tied sustainable dairy scenario. Outcomes are analyzed and compared with the predictions of sector models. |
| Keywords: | agent based modelling, dairy, milk quota, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182700&r=agr |
| By: | Alho, Eeva Kristiina |
| Abstract: | Globalisation of food markets pressures agricultural cooperatives to seek growth strategies to safeguard competitiveness and the capacity to maintain services. Farmers as the owners of the cooperative are the principal party to provide investment capital. The availability of member financing is however undermined by structural changes in agriculture. The capital intensity of farming discourages voluntary contributions if farmers do not have incentives to commit capital to the cooperative. Choice experiment is employed to uncover preferences for investment attributes among Finnish milk producers. Results indicate that farmers prefer reserving control rights to members, but they could be incentivised to contribute capital on terms which include capital-based residual rights, low-risk return, and compensate for appreciation of firm value. Policy implications of the findings describe the need to redefine member capital instruments innovatively in growing producer cooperatives. |
| Keywords: | producer cooperatives, investments, choice experiment, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182923&r=agr |
| By: | Li, Xiaogu; Jensen, Kimberly L.; Clark, Christopher D.; Lambert, Dayton M. |
| Abstract: | Beef is the most commonly consumed red meat and a major source of protein for US consumers. High-quality beef products are sold with substantial premiums, but the specific beef attributes by which high-quality standards are determined remain ambivalent. Most attribute studies have focused on palatability characteristics such as tenderness, juiciness, fatness, or marbling. More recent research finds increasing consumer interest in beef attributes that are not directly taste-related, such as food safety, organic, environmental impacts, local production, or DNA traceability. However, these studies have focused on a single non-taste attribute. Questions remain as to which of those attributes might have more of an influence on consumer preferences for beef products and whether there are interactions between these attributes in terms of consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the beef product in question. This study uses results from a national survey of consumers to examine how the presence of multiple quality indicators of attributes influence WTP for beef products, which of these attributes have a relatively greater impact on consumer choice, and how these impacts vary based on consumer demographics. A WTP space modeling framework is used to analyze the survey data, allowing for variability and scaling of preferences. |
| Keywords: | Beef, Choice Experiment, Label, Willingness-to-Pay Space, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Q18, Q54, Q56, Q58, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196719&r=agr |
| By: | Knuuttila, Marja; Vatanen, Eero; Niemi, Jyrki; Jansik, Csaba |
| Abstract: | Self-sufficiency figures based on the relationship between domestic production and consumption fail to take into account the fact that domestic production itself is dependent on imported resources. In this paper, an indicator for measuring the import content of food production industries is introduced. With the aid of Eurostat input–output tables, the total dependency on imports, comprising both direct as well as indirect imports of raw materials and intermediates, is calculated for Finland, Germany and Denmark. The results of agricultural and food manufacturing production are presented, indicating a growing trend in import dependency, including energy, chemicals, feed protein and services. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, food industry, imports, inputs, input-output model, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182950&r=agr |
| By: | Koirala, Krishna; Mishra, Ashok K.; Mohanty, Samarendu |
| Abstract: | Using average treatment effect and data from 2012 the Central Luzon Loop Survey, this study investigates the role of gender in rice production. Results indicate that female-headed farm households, despite having limited access to land, have a higher value of rice production than their male counterparts. However, there is no significant difference between net farm incomes earned by male- and female-headed farm households. Female-headed households have higher fixed costs, consequently earning less total household income. Findings from this study indicate that women are less efficient in farming, but are more likely to adopt improved seed varieties. In addition, female-headed farm households are better at controlling farming costs. |
| Keywords: | Gender, average treatment effect, rice, women, farm households, agricultural productivity, Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:195705&r=agr |
| By: | Caillavet, France; Kyureghian, Gayaneh; Nayga, Rudy; Ferrant, Coline; Chauvin, Pierre |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa15:195706&r=agr |
| By: | Christos P. Pappas (Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens); Christos T. Papadas (Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens) |
| Abstract: | The relationship between farm production costs, producer prices and retail food prices is frequently the subject of research. This study examines the existence of cointegrating relationships between the above variables and their direction of causality. Data used refer to price indices of farm inputs and outputs, for crop and livestock production and retail price indices for food and non alcoholic beverages. They are quarterly covering the period 2000-2012 and their source is the Greek Statistical Authority. The stationarity of time series is examined using alternative econometric tests, followed by cointegration analysis while the issue of the correct specification for the cointegrating relationship is also considered. Short and long run causality relationships between the variables are also analyzed. Econometric results lead to the conclusion that there is a long run equilibrium relationship between the variables which are estimated and that production costs and producer prices influence retail food prices in the short and long run. |
| Keywords: | Input Prices, Output Prices, Food Prices, Time Series, Stationarity, Cointegration, Error Correction Model, Causality |
| JEL: | Q11 Q13 C22 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aua:wpaper:2015-1&r=agr |
| By: | Frank, Stefan; Witzke, Heinz-Peter; Zimmermann, Andrea; Havlík, Petr; Ciaian, Pavel |
| Abstract: | We present and integrated supply and demand side analysis of climate change impacts on the agricultural sector from a European perspective based on a joint application of two European focused global partial equilibrium models. Results show that climate change would considerably affect agricultural supply and demand quantities as well as producer prices. Nevertheless, adaptation mechanism such as reallocation of production or intensification can help to absorb the initial climate shock so that impacts on the demand side are eventually significantly smaller. Differences between the two models applied are negligible when comparing results to the output spectrum from other global partial and general equilibrium models running the same scenarios. |
| Keywords: | climate change, Europe, agriculture, modelling, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183025&r=agr |
| By: | Arovuori, Kyösti |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to empirically analyse the effectiveness of agricultural policies, given the general economic and structural conditions under which the policies operate. The effectiveness of policies is measured in terms of their impacts on the stated policy objectives. The analysis is carried out at the EU15 level and the time period analysed ranges from 1975 to 2007. The analysis suggests that structural economic development has to some extent outpaced the effects of agricultural policies. Structural and economic factors have developed at a significantly faster pace compared to agricultural policies. However, the implemented policy reforms in the EU have improved the policy effectiveness. |
| Keywords: | policy objectives, policy instruments, common agricultural policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182911&r=agr |
| By: | Zhong, Hua; Hu, Wuyang |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this article is to explore how much farmers may engage their lands in Best Management Practices (BMPs) through a water quality trading (WQT) program in Kentucky. We conducted a survey of farmers in the Kentucky River watershed from 2011 to 2012. The questions in our survey are whether and how much farmers may adopt the BMPs (in addition to what they have already used) if they are offered compensation through WQT. About 20% of respondents with respect to five different types of BMPs did not indicate how much they will adopt. We compare three strategies to handle the missing data: deleting the observations with missing value, simple imputation by imputing the mean of the observed value, and Multiple Imputation (MI). Follow these missing data treatments, we estimate the factors affecting how much farmers may engage in BMPs using Tobit model. The results show that increasing the compensation for using BMPs are more likely to encourage farmers to adopt riparian buffers, animal fences and nutrient management. Besides, land area, rent area, farming revenue, percentage of reinvestment to farms from household income, water quality near the farm, participation in government programs, and current experience of BMPs will affect BMPs adoption. The results by using the MI are more promising and reasonable than using the deletion method and mean imputation method. |
| Keywords: | Best management practices, water quality trading, multiple imputation, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q52, Q56, C89, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196962&r=agr |
| By: | Dong, Zefeng; Gao, Zhifeng; Lee, Jonq-Ying |
| Abstract: | Food consumption has significant impact on sodium intake, with which overconsumption will result in negative healthy impact on individuals. Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2010 and regression analyses, we examined the effect of consumption of various food groups on the sodium intake of American adults (19 years of age or older) and changes in the impacts of various food consumption on sodium intake over the study period. The impact of respondents’ demographics are also considered. Results demonstrate that per calorie consumption of oils, fruits, fruit juices, fruit products, sugars and sweets, deep-yellow vegetables and beverages and water have no significant impact on individuals’ sodium intake. Milk and milk products and cakes contain less sodium per calorie, while fish, tomatoes, other types of meat products, dark-green vegetables, crackers and cheese contain higher sodium per calorie. The contribution of almost half of the food groups to individuals’ sodium intake remain unchanged over years. |
| Keywords: | food choice, food groups, NHANES, sodium intake, American adults, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, I12, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196695&r=agr |
| By: | Singh, Sukhpal |
| Abstract: | Agribusiness or agricultural franchising is quite new in India, though it is quite commonly used in other businesses like fast food, hotel and other service industries where service quality is crucial to maintain brand equity. There have been only a few experiments in this field in the recent past by some corporate agencies, both private and public. This paper locates the rationale for franchising in agribusiness from global literature and from the Indian smallholder agricultural context where other ways of reaching small farmers or linking them with markets have not worked. It then analyses a few cases of failure and success in franchising in agribusiness by corporate agencies and compares and contrasts them for inferring on better management of franchising and its wider applicability in the Indian agribusiness context. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:13118&r=agr |
| By: | Ahtiainen, Heini; Pouta, Eija; Liski, Eero; Assmuth, Aino; Myyrä, Sami |
| Abstract: | This paper summarizes information on the importance of the objectives of agriculture and agricultural policies based on previous studies. We focus on studies that examine stakeholder preferences and provide relative weights for the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Descriptive and meta-analysis are used to evaluate the 34 identified studies. The findings show the equal importance of the economic, social and environmental objectives of agriculture, but also that the general public emphasizes social values, while economic considerations are highlighted in nation-wide studies. Of the environmental objectives, those pertaining to sustainable resource management have received most weight. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, multifunctionality, objectives, sustainability, weighting, Agricultural and Food Policy, Political Economy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182792&r=agr |
| By: | Yu, Wusheng; Bandara, Jayatilleke S. |
| Abstract: | There has been a great deal of recent interest in India’s food security, as evidenced by intensive discussions on India’s National Food Security Act (NFSA) and proposed changes to its food subsidy programs. The NFSA is both ambitious and full of potential problems, as it aims at guaranteeing the provision of subsidized food grains for around 70 percent of its vast population and is built upon India’s existing food security policy, which has caused enormous fiscal burden, particularly during the recent world food price crisis. This study uses a computable general equilibrium model to evaluate the fiscal and welfare costs of the market stabilization and insulating food policy of India during the 2007-08 global food crisis. We demonstrate that domestic food grain price stabilization through simultaneously subsidizing consumers and producers and restricting exports entailed huge fiscal costs and equally large welfare costs to India, an outcome that is almost always the worst as compared to the alternative policy mixes examined in this study. While the most market-oriented domestic and trade policy alternatives that would generate better welfare effects and the least fiscal costs may not be feasible due to political economy considerations, we argue that there exist some “middle-ground” policy mixes featuring partial relaxations of domestic subsidizations on either food grains or fertilizers and/or less restrictive border policies. These policy mixes are superior in terms of their welfare effects and fiscal costs and might also be politically possible. |
| Keywords: | India, food security policy, trade policy, agriculture subsidy, computable general equilibrium, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182694&r=agr |
| By: | Moncarz, Pedro; Barone, Sergio; Calfat, Germán; Descalzi, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | Argentina, like other land abundant country, benefited greatly from the increase in the prices of agricultural commodities. However, and in despite of the benefits at the macro level, with a large share of the population with low and medium-low incomes, the increase in agricultural commodity prices has the potential to hurt an important part of the population through a raise in the prices of the consumption basket of households, especially those that constitute the food-basket. The ex-ante evidence shows that this is expected to be the case. A less obvious channel, through changes in factor incomes would be more beneficial to the middle income households. Overall, losses range between 5.5 and 10% of initial household expenditure, with poorer households being the most negatively affected. |
| Keywords: | trade; commodity prices; poverty; Argentina |
| JEL: | F10 F13 F14 F16 I30 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:201409&r=agr |
| By: | Mark, Tyler; Whitacre, Brian; Griffin, Terry |
| Abstract: | Researchers and practitioners of precision agricultural technology have worked to overcome adoption, cost, and environmental obstacles since its introduction. The next gap in the adoption continuum of profitable precision agricultural technologies is data and data use, the so-called Big Data. Broadband connectivity could be the next hurdle affecting the precision agricultural technology chain and the employment of ‘big data’ and telematics services. Without adequate connectivity the transferring of ‘big data’ from machine-to-machine or to the cloud, inefficiencies are created. These inefficiencies come in the forms of machine downtime, increased human error, and lack of real-time information. We have addressed this issue in a conceptual framework by proposing a non-parametric data envelopment analysis. Simulation and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) are utilized to evaluate differing levels of data utilization made possible by broadband internet connectivity. The DEA methodology is useful to estimate the foregone societal value and farm-level profitability due to lack of broadband connectivity. In addition to constraining the profitability of agricultural firms; lack of broadband connectivity limits the adoption of precision agricultural technologies that make use of or relies upon near real time connectivity. The expected results are that producers that have adequate connectivity to employ ‘big data’ and telematics will be more efficient than producers without. Thus, the importance of adequate connectivity can be evaluated. |
| Keywords: | broadband, big data, telematics, data transfer, wireless, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics, Q10 D85, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196816&r=agr |
| By: | Tuna, Emelj; Karantininis, Konstantinos; Surry, Yves |
| Abstract: | Countries still confronted with transition process express different patterns of contractual arrangements in the agricultural sector. The inefficiencies in their legal systems and problems with contracts enforcement in many instances force informal contracting arrangements instead. This paper empirically tests the transaction cost specifics determining the presence or absence of contracts to regulate transactions between the dairy farmers and their processing partners in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). In order to stimulate investments and initiate progress in this sector, it is necessary to establish tighter coordination trough long-term formal contracts which will eliminate the present uncertainties and risks. |
| Keywords: | contracts, dairy, empirically test, transaction cost, FYROM., Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182860&r=agr |
| By: | Zheng, Wen; Dharmasena, Senarath; Janakirarman, Ramkumar; Capps, Oral, Jr |
| Abstract: | Bottled water has become the second largest in the nonalcoholic beverage market just behind the market for soft drinks. Knowledge of price sensitivity, substitutes or complements, and demographic profiling and tax issues with respect to consumption of sparkling and non-sparkling bottled water is important for manufacturers, retailers, advertisers, and other stakeholders from a competitive intelligence and strategic decision-making perspective. Using nationally representative household level data from 62,092 households (Nielsen Homescan), and tobit econometric procedure, factors affecting the demand for sparkling and non-sparkling bottled water will be determined. Moreover, own-price, cross-price, and income elasticities for sparkling and non-sparkling bottled water will be estimated. Finally, we evaluate the effect of a 10% tax on bottled water as they affect for non-sparkling bottled water and sparkling bottled water consumption. |
| Keywords: | Sparkling bottled water, Non-sparkling bottled water, Tax policy, Nielsen Homescan Panel, Tobit model, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, D11, D12, H25, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196790&r=agr |
| By: | Verhofstadt, Ellen; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | We study the inclusiveness and effectiveness of land and marketing cooperatives in Rwanda. We use cross-sectional household survey data and apply propensity-score-matching techniques to estimate the effect of cooperative membership on household income and poverty. Unlike most impact studies, we look beyond mean income and poverty effects and evaluate impact heterogeneity. We find that cooperatives are exclusive to some extent but effective in increasing income and reducing poverty. Effects vary with farm size and distance to the market; which calls for strategies to promote cooperative formation in remote areas but not for increasing the inclusiveness of cooperatives towards land-poor households. |
| Keywords: | cooperatives, agriculture, poverty, impact evaluation, Rwanda, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182775&r=agr |
| By: | Esposti, Roberto |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at evaluating the impact of the 2003/2005 CAP reform on farm production choices. The outcome of “market orientation” is measured by considering both the short-term production choices and the long-term investment decisions. The Treatment Effect (TE) is estimated through recent alternative multiple/continuous TEs estimators based on the Generalized Propensity Score (GPS). Instead of looking at non-treated counterfactuals these approaches take advantage of the different intensity with which the first pillar support is delivered to treated units. These alternative estimators are implemented and their statistical robustness assessed and results compared. Results show that the 2003/2005 reform of the first pillar of the CAP actually had an impact more in (ri)orienting short-term farm production choices then investment decisions and this effect is significantly more evident for farms with a limited contribution of the CAP on their own Gross Production Value. |
| Keywords: | Treatment Effects, Common Agricultural Policy, Farm Production Choices, Matching, Agricultural and Food Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183067&r=agr |
| By: | Anonymous; Phélinas, Pascale |
| Abstract: | In the context of the rapid development of the cultivation of genetically modified soybeans in Argentina, we conduct a hedonic analysis of agricultural land values. The main objective is to evaluate the impact of land tenure systems and agricultural practices on these values. Data on 338 parcels, located in the Pampas region, are analyzed. The tenure appears to be a particularly important variable. We find that plots rented either by physical persons or by companies are negatively valued in relation to plots owned. Results also highlight the importance, though not to a large degree, of a diversified cropping pattern compared to soybean monoculture. Soil quality, location of the plots, distance to markets, as well as to the nearest city, were also found to affect land values. |
| Keywords: | Genetically modified soybean, hedonic prices, farmland values, Argentina, tenure, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182750&r=agr |
| By: | Miličić, Vesna; Udovč, Andrej |
| Abstract: | In the paper the case of cross-border area of Gorizia in Italy and Nova Gorica, Šempeter-Vrtojba in Slovenia is studied in terms of the development of an integrated market of agricultural products and the supply of services and real assets. Market research includes the analysis of the capacity of local production, the range of local products, and the consumption needs of local products within the study area. The main conclusion is that consumers in first place put the emphasis on the quality of local products and that efficient united selling point for local products needs to be established in order to sufficiently meet consumers’ demand. |
| Keywords: | food security, consumer behaviour, market research, supply chain, Slovenia-Italia, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182928&r=agr |
| By: | Kovacs, Kent; Mattia, Mancini; Christopher, Henry; Grant, West |
| Abstract: | Expanding irrigated agriculture and drought in the Lower Mississippi River Basin have led to large-scale withdrawals of groundwater and a consequent decline in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer. Conserving the aquifer, while at the same time providing for economic growth, is a challenge for policy makers. We develop a spatially explicit landscape level model for analyzing the aquifer and economic consequences of alternative crop mix patterns. The spatially explicit aquifer model incorporates irrigation needs of the crops grown, initial aquifer thickness, hydro-conductivity of the aquifer, and distance to surrounding grid cells to predict the proportion of groundwater removed from surrounding cells due to pumping on each grid cell. The spatially explicit economic model incorporates site characteristics and location to predict economic returns for a variety of potential crop types. By thinking carefully about the arrangement of activities, we find crop mix patterns that sustain high levels of the aquifer and economic returns. Compared to the crop mix of the current landscape, we show that both aquifer conservation and the value of economic activity could be increased substantially. |
| Keywords: | Aquifer, Irrigation technologies, Agricultural production, Spatial-dynamic optimization, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q25, D62, C61, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196758&r=agr |
| By: | Rizov, Marian; Marian, Anrej; Pokrivcak, Jan |
| Abstract: | We estimate a food demand system for Slovakia using a recent household budget survey data for the period 2004-2011. The Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) augmented with demographic, regional and expenditure controls is employed based on preliminary non-parametric Engel curve analysis. In most samples demand for meat and fish and fruits and vegetables is expenditure and own-price elastic. On average all five food groups are found to be normal goods. Rural and low-income households appear more expenditure and price sensitive compared with the urban and high-income ones. Overall the food security situation in Slovakia has improved since the country’s EU accession. |
| Keywords: | Food demand, QUAIDS, elasticity, Slovakia, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182825&r=agr |
| By: | Rees, Gwen; Stephenson, Kurt; Taylor, Daniel B. |
| Abstract: | The cost estimates to meet agriculture reduction goals for the Bay run into the billions. Most cost models, however, are based on simplifying behavioral assumptions about public transaction costs, adoption rates, and implementation costs of agricultural nutrient-reducing practices (called best management practices or BMPs). Relatively little systematic research has been conducted on the transaction costs of implementing agricultural conservation programs. Similarly, watershed scale cost models typically assume constant and uniform costs for different BMPs. The objective of this paper is to examine the cost implications of including transaction costs and differential BMP costs and adoption rates associated with reducing nitrogen and phosphorus loads from agricultural sources in Virginia. The paper uses math programming to estimate the minimum cost of achieving agricultural nutrient reductions under a number of different cost scenarios that include transaction costs and differential adoption rates. Transaction costs are found to comprise between 13 and 27% of the total costs. The inclusion of plausible maximum BMP adoption rates increase costs substantially above conventional model estimates. |
| Keywords: | Nonpoint source, implementation costs, transaction costs, BMPs, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q52, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196834&r=agr |
| By: | Guesmi, Bouali; Serra, Teresa; Radwan, Amr; Gil, José María |
| Abstract: | Productive efficiency analysis is a relevant tool that can be used to evaluate differences in efficiency performance between conventional and organic farms. Such study is important for the assessment of the economic viability of these two agricultural systems. While the existing research has widely used the stochastic frontier methodology and the DEA nonparametric approach to assess farming performance, the use of the local maximum likelihood (LML) approach recently proposed by Kumbhakar et al. (2007) is still at an infant stage. This study represents the first analysis that compares the efficiency levels of organic and conventional farms in Egypt. To do so, we apply LML methods to cross sectional, farm-level data collected from a sample of 60 Egyptian farms. Results suggest that performance of organic farmers is slightly better than performance of their conventional counterparts. |
| Keywords: | Organic and conventional farming Technical efficiency Local maximum likelihood approach, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183023&r=agr |
| By: | Jansson, Torbjörn; Heckelei, Thomas; Gocht, Alexander; Basnet, Shyam Kumar; Zhang, Yinan; Neuenfeldt, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | We formulate and estimate a farm level simulation model of agricultural crop production, and apply it to a scenario with increasing yield variability. The objective function is of the mean-variance utility type with a positive mathematical programming (PMP) cost function, and it is estimated using the optimality conditions and a large panel data set obtained from the FADN. Special attention is given to the problem of separating the effect of the covariance matrix from that of the quadratic PMP terms. The model is applied in a partial analysis of impacts of climate change in Germany by exogenously changing yield patterns. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, positive mathematical programming, risk, Bayesian econometrics, FADN, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182665&r=agr |
| By: | Quaye, Frederick; Hartarska, Valentina; Nadolnyak, Denis |
| Abstract: | This study examines the factors and behaviors that affect Southeast US farmers’ ability to meet their loan payment obligations within the stipulated loan term. The study also estimates a credit risk model using farm-level financial information to determine the credit worthiness of various different farmers in different states and their possible repayment capabilities. The study uses a 10-year (2003-2012) pooled cross-sectional data from the USDA ARMS survey data (Phase III). A probit approach is used to regress delinquency against various borrower-specific, loan-specific, lender-specific, macroeconomic and climatic variables for the first part, whilst a logistic approach is used to regress farmers’ coverage ratio (repayment capacity) on financial variables (liquidity, solvency, profitability, and financial efficiency) in addition with tenure, to determine how creditworthy the various kinds of farmers are, and in what particular states. The results show that farmers with larger farms, farmers with insurance, farmers with higher net income, farmers with smaller debt to asset ratio, farmers with single loans and those that take majority of their loans from sources apart from commercial banks are those that are less likely to be delinquent. Temperature and precipitation increases also lowers farmer delinquency, unless in excessive quantities where certain thresholds are exceeded. The results for credit model also show which particular farmers and in what states are more likely to be creditworthy based on their financial variable information. |
| Keywords: | Credit Delinquency ∙ Agricultural Loans ∙ Credit Model ∙ Farmer Risk Analysis ∙ Financial ratios, Agricultural Finance, Q14, R51, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196914&r=agr |
| By: | Schmitt, Emilia; Barjolle, Dominique; Cravero, Virginia; Tanquerey-Cado, Anaelle |
| Abstract: | In the context of growing consumers’ awareness about the impact of food products on the environment, their health or on social aspects, a careful analysis needs to be conducted to compare the sustainability performance of local and global food value chains. Indeed, a critical analysis of local food chains’ performance in comparison with more global ones will help to objectively assess the real benefits and drawbacks of local and global food chains. In this paper, a comparison of a local and a global milk supply chain is presented. The assessment of their sustainability was realized with a set of attributes and indicators around five sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, health and ethical). Scores of performance are measured for each chain in each of the indicators and results show that the local chain performs better in 40% of the indicators and performs equivalently to the global chain in 40% of the indicators. The higher performance of the local chain is especially striking in the health and social dimensions. It was possible to identify that inputs procurement and the capability of chain’s actors to create and share added value are two main factors of performance and very important regarding policy interventions targeting value chains sustainability. |
| Keywords: | Local, global, value chains, sustainability, indicators, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:186680&r=agr |
| By: | Hess, Sebastian; Bolos, Laura A.; Hoffmann, Ruben; Surry, Yves |
| Abstract: | Structural change towards more ‘industrialised’ pig farming is widely criticised for having adverse effects on farm animal welfare (FAW). This criticism implies that larger farms might be less concerned with animal welfare than smaller, more diversified farms, e.g. since small farmers would value FAW more. Based on data from veterinary pig farm inspections, various aspects of this standard criticism were empirically tested. The results showed that FAW violations were less frequent on larger farms and more frequent on pig farms with dairy cows. Violations were no less frequent in areas with more organic production, but on average less severe. |
| Keywords: | Farm animal welfare, Zero-inflated Negative Binominal Model, Agro-Industrialisation, Propensity-Score Matching, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182781&r=agr |
| By: | Robert, Huber |
| Abstract: | Mountain regions provide essential ecosystem goods and services (EGS). Global change however endangers the capacity of mountain ecosystems to provide key services. The ‹Mountland› project is focusing on three case study regions in the Swiss Alps and aims at proposing land-use practices and alternative policy solutions to ensure the provision of EGS under climate and land-use changes. In ‹Mountland› an integrative approach is applied, com-bining methods from agricultural economics and the political and natural sciences to analyse ecosystem functioning from a holistic human-environment system perspective. In this poster paper, I give a short introduction to the project and summarize those results which are based on the socio-economic land-use model ALUAM which provided a platform for the integration of different inter- and transdisciplinary data and knowledge on a common scale. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, land-use change, landscape models, economic modelling, policy analy-sis, social-ecological systems, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183040&r=agr |
| By: | Gottshall, Bryan; Gillespie, Jeffrey; Broyles, Stephanie |
| Abstract: | Increasing obesity rates and associated poor diets are a major concern in the U.S. The USDA recommends that Americans increase fruit and vegetable intake. This study examines produce availability in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Results indicate that competition, store type, and income may be associated with produce availability. |
| Keywords: | Food Desert, Food Access, Food Stores, Supermarkets, Grocery Store Obesity, Availability, Accessibility, Fruits, Vegetables., Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Q00, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196807&r=agr |
| By: | Irz, Xavier; Leroy, Pascal; Réquillart, Vincent; Soler, Louis-Georges |
| Abstract: | The effect of consumers’ compliance with nutritional recommendations is uncertain because of potentially complex substitutions. To lift this uncertainty, we adapt a model of consumer behaviour under rationing to the case of linear nutritional constraints. Dietary adjustments are thus derived from information on consumer preferences, consumption levels, and nutritional coefficients for each food. The model is then used to simulate, for different income groups, how the French diet would respond to various food-based and nutrient-based recommendations, and calculate the related welfare and health effects. This allows for the ex-ante comparison of the efficiency, equity and health effects of nutritional recommendations |
| Keywords: | food choice, nutrition, rationing, healthy diet, norms, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182866&r=agr |
| By: | Gutierrez, Luciano; Piras, Francesco |
| Abstract: | Food commodity price fluctuations have an important impact on poverty and food insecurity across the world. Conventional models have not provided a complete picture of recent price spikes in agricultural commodity markets, while there is an urgent need for appropriate policy responses. Perhaps new approaches are needed in order to better understand international spill-overs, the feedback between the real and the financial sectors and also the link between food and energy prices. In this article we present the results from a new worldwide dynamic model that provides the short and long-run impulse responses of the international wheat price to various real and financial shocks. |
| Keywords: | Global Dynamic Models, Price analysis, Wheat market, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182723&r=agr |
| By: | Alarcón, Silverio; Sánchez, Mercedes |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the innovation and export strategies of Spanish food and agriculture firms. It is based on a sample of these firms selected by PITEC for the period 2003-2010. The results show the key role of internal innovation efforts in international commercial activity. This highlights the importance of the capacity to absorb internal innovation efforts. Furthermore, process innovation has a greater effect than product innovation on the internationalization strategy, both for the agricultural and the food firms. |
| Keywords: | R&D, product innovation, process innovation, internationalization, agrifood firms, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182974&r=agr |
| By: | Ouedraogo, Frederic; Phillip, Kenkel |
| Abstract: | This research aims to benchmark agricultural supply cooperatives regarding their fertilizer application services. Cooperative fertilizer application departments are essentially an extension of member farm operations. Because farm supply cooperatives return profits to their user members, the efficiency of the application department directly impacts farm profitability. Therefore, a benchmark analysis is needed to compare performances among competitive cooperatives, identify the best practices, and inform decision makers of the less competitive cooperatives about actions that need to be taken to improve inefficiencies. Mail surveys were sent to Oklahoma grain and farm supply cooperatives. In addition to the financial data collected for benchmarking purpose, the survey investigated the adoption and availability of variable rate application technology and the educational and training needs of application service technicians. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Benchmarking, supply cooperatives, applicators, farm business, efficiency, |
| Date: | 2015–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196852&r=agr |
| By: | Bonanno, Alessandro; Castellari, Elena; Scockai, Paolo |
| Abstract: | In the last two decades the Italian food retail landscape has changed considerably also thanks to the LD 114/1998 and subsequent trade liberalization laws. In this study, we investigate the impact of LD 114/1998 on the structure of the Italian food retailing industry and on the food and beverage price index. We use difference–in–difference to compare the level of concentration, number of stores, average store size and in-store services in regions enacting changes mandated by the LD 114/1998, versus those which did not; we also measure both the direct and indirect (through change in retail structure) policy effects on food price levels. Results show that, once the endogenous nature of policy changes is controlled for, the policy appears affecting more smaller than larger outlets, although facilitating consolidation across store formats. The effects on price levels seem mixed, varying in function of the structural metric considered, however showing no overall effect. Last, the effect of the liberalization seems to be more modest in regions where the level of liberalization implemented is “low”. |
| Keywords: | Retail Structure, Trade Liberalization, CPI for Food, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, L81 L22 L52, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182762&r=agr |
| By: | Witte, Taylor; DeVuyst, Eric; Whitacre, Brian; Jones, Rodney |
| Keywords: | loan volume, spatial, Farm Credit Services, Agricultural Finance, G20, |
| Date: | 2015–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196674&r=agr |
| By: | Jongeneel, Roel; Polman, Nico |
| Abstract: | The latest reform of the CAP, CAP towards 2020, opens up the possibility to arrange agri-environmental service provision via contracting groups of farmers, rather than contracting individual farmers. The Dutch government decided to fully switch to a farmer group service provision system in 2016. The paper analyses the new organisational framework that now is derived and links it to the Dutch tradition of environmental cooperatives. Issues of collective action, transaction costs, information problems, effectiveness, accountability, and procurement efficiency are analysed in a qualitative way. It is concluded that the Dutch model is promising, although not without risks. Its implementation path seems properly chosen. However, in order to fully reap the benefits possible under the new system one need to reduce restrictions and increase incentives. |
| Keywords: | agri-environmental scheme, collective action, transaction costs, procurement, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Political Economy, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:186674&r=agr |
| By: | Mili, Samir; Júdez, Lucinio; de Andrés, Rosario |
| Abstract: | This contribution analyzes the likely impacts of the new CAP reform on different olive farming systems in Andalusia, Spain. It uses a Positive Mathematical Programming model calibrated with the neutral procedure. The model compares the situation of the average olive farm in the base year with its position in a simulated year using two policy scenarios. Results indicate inter alia that the new distribution rules of aids don’t incentive the adoption of integrated and organic farming. Alternatively, implementing green payment scheme would better redistribute public support from less to more environmentally-friendly olive farming practices, enhancing the CAP aids legitimacy. |
| Keywords: | CAP Reform 2014-2020, PMP, Olive Farming Systems, Andalusia, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182915&r=agr |
| By: | Dharmasena, Senarath; Kosub, Brooke; Capps, Oral, Jr |
| Abstract: | There are many different types of nonalcoholic beverages available in the United States today as compared to a decade ago and the functionality and health dimensions of beverages have changed over the years. Recently, calcium and vitamin fortified dairy alternative beverages, such as almond milk and soymilk have entered the market to compete with conventional milk. Knowledge of price sensitivity, substitutes/complements, and demographic profiling with respect to consumption of dairy alternative beverages is important for manufacturers, retailers, advertisers, nutritionists, and other stakeholders from a competitive intelligence and strategic decision-making perspective. Using nationally representative household level data from 65,000 households (Nielsen Homescan), and tobit econometric procedure, factors affecting the demand for almond milk for all households and households grouped by race, ethnicity, region, and income status will be determined. Moreover, own-price, cross-price, and income elasticities for almond milk delineated by selected demographic segments will be estimated. Preliminary analyses reveal that the own-price elasiticity of demand for almond milk is -3.50. Soymilk is found to be a substitute for almond milk. This information will be useful for almond milk manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers for strategic pricing decisions as well as government policy makers to implement policies related to food consumption and nutrition. |
| Keywords: | Almond milk, soymilk, conventional milk, consumer demand, tobit, Nielsen Homescan, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, D11, D12, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196789&r=agr |
| By: | Verspecht, Ann; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido; Buysse, Jeroen |
| Abstract: | Risk management in agriculture has been implemented probably as long as agriculture exists. One of the factors why researchers and policymakers recently are more interested in farm risk management is the vulnerability farmers face towards extreme events (EWE) linked to climate change. This article is based on a survey with Belgian farmers to analyze how they perceive EWE and what actions they undertake to mitigate these risks. Overall it seems that on the one hand policy based recovery measures like disaster funds do not obstruct farmers to take risk prevention measures. On the other hand, 25-30% of the farmers have no strategies implemented towards EWE. |
| Keywords: | risk management, extreme weather events, risk perception, Belgium, disaster relief fund, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183050&r=agr |
| By: | Asci, Serhat; VanSickle, John J.; Fry, Curtiss J.; Thomas, John |
| Abstract: | The phaseout of Methyl Bromide (MBr) required by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has decreased its use in soil fumigation in the United States (U.S.). Reduced supplies also increased the price of MBr and affected producers net revenues and its cost effectiveness as a soil fumigant. The phaseout encouraged some producers to switch to available alternatives. Previous studies using partial budget analysis show that some alternatives are more cost effective with higher yields. Nevertheless, the share of crop acreage treated with MBr remains high, especially for tomatoes and strawberries. This study analyzes producers’ risk and risk aversion to construct a more comprehensive yield and economic analysis of the MBr use decision. The data are collected from fresh tomatoes production trials with MBr and alternatives conducted at the Plant Science Research and Education Unit, University of Florida in Citra, FL. The results show that alternative fumigants (especially carbonated Telone C35 with totally impermeable films) are often cost effective and provide higher yields. However, a risk analysis indicates that MBr has lower downside risk and is still preferred by risk averse producers. |
| Keywords: | Methyl Bromide and alternatives, Yield risk, Stochastic dominance and efficiency, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196862&r=agr |
| By: | Babcock, Bruce |
| Abstract: | Farmers’ decisions about how much crop insurance to buy are not generally consistent with either expected profit or utility maximization. They do not pick coverage levels that maximize expected subsidy nor do they demand full insurance coverage. In addition, the absolute size of farmer-‐paid premium seems to influence the type of insurance product farmers buy. Understanding demand drivers for crop insurance has taken on new importance because of the expanded role Congress has designated for crop insurance as a key part of Federal farm policy. By modeling financial outcomes as gains and losses, prospect theory offers an appropriate framework to better understand farmers’ purchase decisions. Because insured events are best modeled as continuous random variables, cumulative prospect theory is used to find a theoretical foundation that can explain farmers’ anomalous decisions. The role of the reference point that defines outcomes as either a gain or a loss, the degree of loss aversion, and the probability weighting function are explored under typical distributions of price, yield, and revenue for a corn producer. Choice of reference points that are consistent with farmers using crop insurance to manage risk are not consistent with observed purchase decisions. Choosing the reference point to make crop insurance akin to a stand alone investment generates optimal choices that are consistent with observed decisions and with the way that insurance agents sell the product. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa15:189682&r=agr |
| By: | Jan, Pierrick; Calabrese, Chiara; Lips, Markus |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the determinants of nitrogen surplus and of its two components – nitrogen intensity and nitrogen-inefficiency – at farm level in Swiss agriculture. Our analysis is based on a cross-section of 210 farms from the year 2010. The nitrogen balance of each farm is estimated according to the OECD soil-surface approach. The determinants are analysed by means of a three-equation regression model estimated using a robust SUR approach. Farm size, part-time farming, organic farming, arable cropping and farmer’s age are found to negatively affect nitrogen surplus, whilst dairy, pig and poultry farming are associated with a higher nitrogen surplus. |
| Keywords: | environmental performance, nitrogen surplus, farming, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182930&r=agr |
| By: | Blanco, Maria; Ramos, Fabien; Van Doorslaer, Benjamin |
| Abstract: | Projections for world food production and prices play a crucial role to evaluate and tackle future food security challenges. Understanding how these projections will be affected by climate change is the main objective of this study. By means of a bio-economic approach we assess the economic impacts of climate change on agrifood markets, providing both a global analysis and a regionalised evaluation within the EU. To account for uncertainty, we analyse the IPCC emission scenario A1B for the 2030 horizon under several simulation scenarios that differ in (1) the climate projection, from HadleyCM3 (warm) or ECHAM5 (mild) global circulation models; and (2) the influence of CO2 effects. Results of this study indicate that agrifood market projections to 2030 are very sensitive to climate change uncertainties and, in particular to the magnitude of the carbon fertilization effect. |
| Keywords: | climate change, agrifood markets, bio-economic modelling, food prices, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182826&r=agr |
| By: | Grammatikopoulou, Ioanna; Pouta, Eija; Myyrä, Sami |
| Abstract: | In Finland, water conservation policy sets equal incentive regardless of the condition of the environment. Before any policy reform, it is vital to investigate landowners’ tendency for adoption. In this study we were particularly interested in examining the tendency for adoption if the soil quality implies a high leaching risk or water quality is already poor. For this purpose, survey data were combined with GIS data. Furthermore the aim was to analyse the effect of farm and farmer characteristics and attitudes on adoption. The findings derived by probit models indicated that, for active farmers, financial variables were the key determinants. For passive owners, adoption was also explained by attitudes. Contrary to our expectations, there is no spontaneous tendency for water conservation in deteriorated areas. Targeted agri-environmental measures, even though costly, cannot be avoided. |
| Keywords: | water eutrophication, conservation, GIS data, probit model, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182703&r=agr |
| By: | Yli-Heikkilä, Maria; Tauriainen, Jukka |
| Abstract: | We applied an ensemble learning method known as random forests, which is widely used in supervised machine learning, to predict the profitability ratio of dairy farms based on financial and production related variables. The predictive model was implemented as a web service to enable farmers to calculate the profitability of their business. Hereby, farmers can better assess the sustainability of their business over time, or in comparison to other farms in the sector. |
| Keywords: | Predictive modelling, random forests, learning algorithms, dairy farms, profitability, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182846&r=agr |
| By: | Jang, Ju Won; Ishdorj, Ariun; Anderson, David P.; Purevjav, Tsengeg; Dahlke, Garland |
| Abstract: | The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) beef grading system plays an important role in marketing and promoting of beef. USDA graders inspect beef carcasses and determine quality grade within a few seconds. Although the graders are well-trained, the nature of this grading process may lead to grading errors. In this paper we examine whether systematic grader bias exists in calling quality grade. Using data from a large-scale packing plant in Midwest we find that seasonality of beef demand and macroeconomic events influence the grading behavior of USDA graders. Producers gain financially from grade called by USDA graders rather than measured by camera. |
| Keywords: | Beef grading system, Grader bias, Quality grade, Marbling score., Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Q13, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196872&r=agr |
| By: | Ohe, Yasuo |
| Abstract: | Based on an analytical framework, this paper classified farmer’s identity into two types: traditional identity that is oriented toward simple farm production and enlarged identity that is oriented toward viability of a new service activity. Second, by data envelopment analysis, the result of managerial efficiency simulation of a two-sector model, that is, the main milk production and the educational activity, revealed that those with the enlarged identity could realize higher managerial efficiency than those with the conventional identity. Thus, it was revealed that a farmer’s identity makes a difference in managerial efficiency. The efficiency level, however, was not high, which means that there is much room for improvement in farm resource management. Consequently, when policymakers try to design support measures to develop tourism-related farm diversification, the perspective of the support measures for capacity building should be widened to include identity issues, which helps farmers widen their identity that enable them to be more efficiently acceptable for tourism activity. |
| Keywords: | educational tourism in agriculture, identity, data envelopment analysis, technical efficiency, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:186676&r=agr |
| By: | Mujahid, Irfan |
| Abstract: | This study investigates food trade impacts of the enormous numbers of trade agreements in the world with special focus on developing countries. The Gravity model is used for the empirical analysis and developed in a large panel data setting. The results suggest that both multilateral and regional trade institutions have delivered significant positive impacts of food trade among developing countries. Although the WTO is found to have negative implications on food trade in general, it has increased food trade among developing countries. RTAs are found to have increased food trade among developed countries as well as the developing countries. |
| Keywords: | WTO, regional trade agreement, food trade, food security, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182858&r=agr |
| By: | Galluzzo, Nicola |
| Abstract: | Over the recent years there has been in Italy a growth of organic farms with a positive consequence in increasing the farmer’s income by a direct commercialization of products. The analysis has used a quantitative model of investigation in a dataset of organic and conventional farms belonging to the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The organic farms have underscored an inferior level of efficiency than conventional ones underling as land capital and labor force may be two pivotal variables in improving the level of economic and allocative efficiency in organic farms. |
| Keywords: | Farm Accountancy Data Network, economic efficiency, organic farms, Italian olive farms, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182978&r=agr |
| By: | Siqueira, Tiago Teixeira da Silva |
| Abstract: | This work studies the environmental impacts and economic performances of an Amazonian traditional beef farm, using a production cost and profitability analysis (Matsunaga et al., 1976) and a Life Cycle Assessment Standards Model (ISO 14044, 2006). The results reveal that economic and environmental performances share the same kind of determinants – low productivity of animals and land – which are major problems in Brazilian extensive livestock farms. Better management practices and technical efficiency associated with an “ecological intensification” of the production system could be a “win-win” strategy (Porter, 1991; Porter and van der Linde, 1995) in order to improve both performances. |
| Keywords: | Environmental economics, performance, Amazonian beef farm, win-win strategy, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182921&r=agr |
| By: | Jongeneel, Roel; Polman, Nico; van der Ham, Corinda |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an estimate of costs and benefits of the negative and, to a lesser extent, positive externalities associated with the Dutch agricultural sector. A cost-based approach, rather than a demand-based of full CBA approach has been followed. Implications of methodological assumptions are discussed and some efforts are made to empirically cross-validate cost estimates. Total benefits due to agricultural production, according to available data and research in the Netherlands, are calculated to be €5,533.0 million a year and the total costs are calculated to be €1,885.7 million. Using the available information, total net benefits of agriculture in the Netherlands are estimated to be €3,647.3 million per year for the period 2005 until 2012. The external costs are equivalent to €952 per ha of arable and pasture land and are high relative to estimates found for other countries. |
| Keywords: | cost-benefit analysis, externalities, environment, agriculture, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182705&r=agr |
| By: | Vellema, Wytse; Desiere, Sam; D'Haese, Marijke |
| Abstract: | The Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) was developed to measure household food access, one of the levels of food security. Previous research has shown dietary diversity is related to food security. However, the specific way in which the HDDS measures food security has never been validated. Based on the results of a Rasch model on datasets from Colombia and Ecuador we conclude this indicator in its current form is not internally valid, has limited external validity only in our Colombian data, and is not comparable across cultural settings. More research is warranted into the food groups that make up the indicator as well as the recall period on which it is based. |
| Keywords: | HDDS, Rasch modelling, food security indicators, validity, dietary diversity, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182692&r=agr |
| By: | Tóth, József; Nemes, Anna |
| Abstract: | In 2012 Hungary introduced the two-pillar risk management system. The first pillar refers to an “all-risk” fund, where the participation of agricultural producers is obliged above a certain size. The second pillar is market based voluntary insurance with state-support scheme. Our research question: what are the key factors influencing the insurance decisions of producers? We have unbalanced FADN data of 1395 producers with 7177 observations between 2001 and 2012. Based on random effect panel probit model we have found that income, diversity, concentration and size of area were playing significant role in farmers’ decisions. Naïve expectations were also present. |
| Keywords: | Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182854&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, Yangxuan; Langemeier, Michael; Wise, Kiersten |
| Abstract: | This study used experimental data from West Lafayette, Indiana to examine the economic benefits of applying fungicide to corn. The average improvements in yield, gross revenue, and net return (gross revenue minus fungicide and application cost) were 4 bushels per acre, $19 per acre, and -$9 per acre, respectively. Stochastic dominance was used to compare the fungicide application treatments to a no fungicide application alternative. Individual fungicides were part of the stochastic dominance efficient sets. However, with recent corn prices, the improvement in yields and gross revenue would not be high enough to make the individual fungicides economically viable. |
| Keywords: | Stochastic Dominance, Fungicide Use, Corn Production, Risk Management, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, Q, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196804&r=agr |
| By: | Hermann, Daniel; Musshoff, Oliver; Agethen, Katrin |
| Abstract: | Despite the economic benefits of organic farming, the conversion rates to this production method are low. The reasons for this reluctance are largely unknown; however, they are important for policy recommendations. Therefore, we experimentally investigate and compare the investment behavior of organic and conventional hog farmers. We examine the question of whether the investment behavior depends on the framing of the investment possibility as organic or conventional. The results provide evidence that investment decisions depend on the framing of an investment possibility and thus reveal that current subsidy structures may be inefficient for encouraging farmers to convert. |
| Keywords: | experimental economics, investment behavior, framing, organic farming, hog production, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183084&r=agr |
| By: | Vlaeminck, Pieter; Jiang, Ting; Vranken, Liesbet |
| Abstract: | Using an incentive-compatible framed field experiment, we investigate whether consumers’ food consumption is more eco-friendly when the information about a product’s environmental impact is more easily accessible. Through an online choice experiment, we identify a food label that is perceived to be the most easily accessible for assessing a product’s eco- friendliness among six alternatives. This new graded food label is subsequently tested in an experimental food market embedded in a Belgium supermarket. We find that the presence of the new graded food label leads to more eco-friendly food consumption relative to the label currently used in the supermarket, i.e. the graded label increases the overall eco-friendliness of our subjects’ food consumption by about 10%. |
| Keywords: | Food labelling, Field Experiment, Environmental Information Provision, Consumer Behaviour, Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182742&r=agr |
| By: | Trifković, Neda |
| Abstract: | Using an original dataset from the Vietnamese catfish sector, we study the impact of vertical coordination options on household welfare and the implications of different stages of vertical coordination for the success of the whole sector. The welfare gain from contract farming and employment on processor-owned estate farms is estimated using a maximum simulated likelihood estimator. Our results show positive welfare effects from participating in contract farming, but not from employment on processor-owned estate farms. The results imply that contract farming presents opportunities for economic growth, but additional effort is required to make the contracts more accessible to smallholders. |
| Keywords: | vertical coordination, catfish, maximum simulated likelihood, agri-food transformation, Vietnam, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Political Economy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182677&r=agr |
| By: | Ay, Jean-Sauveur; Chakir, Raja; Marette, Stephan |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how the residents of a French wine-producing region value the attributes of wine. We elicit the willingness-to-pay for organic/non-organic and local/nonlocal wines when providing different informations about the impacts of agricultural practices. Organic and local premiums are estimated using robust M-regressions with clustered standard errors. The analysis shows that there is a significant organic premium associated with local and non-local wines, increasing with information level and decreasing with distance between participants’ dwellings and vineyards. We also ran some policy simulations to compare the welfare effects of regulatory instruments aimed at internalizing the attributes valued by consumers in possession of information. |
| Keywords: | organic premium, local premium, experimental economics, wine consumption, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183075&r=agr |
| By: | Skevas, Ioannis; Zhu, Xueqin; Shestalova, Victoria; Emvalomatis, Grigorios |
| Abstract: | The intensification of the dairy sector and the associated detrimental impacts on the environment has geared agri-environmental policies towards fulfilling environmental objectives. This study examines the impact of such policies and intensification on the hyperbolic efficiency of Dutch dairy farms which provides a measure for their joint technical and environmental performance. The results indicate that the introduction of decoupled payments reduced the hyperbolic efficiency of farms highlighting greater losses in technical than environmental performance, while agri-environmental subsidies have no impact on our efficiency measure. Finally, intensification increases hyperbolic efficiency implying that under appropriate nutrient-management practices, intensification can be sustainable. |
| Keywords: | intensification, agri-environmental policies, hyperbolic efficiency, Dutch dairy farms, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182934&r=agr |
| By: | Caggiano, Monica; Labarthe, Pierre |
| Abstract: | The organization on a regional basis of the public Italian Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS) responds both to historical reasons and to the extreme differentiation of the local farming systems, institutional arrangements, and many other contextual factors. In Italy, each Region has its own law and its own policy on AAS, developing 21different systems with a poor coordination and great regional variety. The main aim of this paper is to explore the dimension of transparency and accountability of decentralization, considering the ASS governance and the coordination structures. The analysis integrates a literature review with empirical researches conducted through in-depth interviews. |
| Keywords: | Italian agricultural advisory service, Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System, decentralization, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182819&r=agr |
| By: | Curzi, Daniele; Raimondi, Valentina; Olper, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the extent to which the reduction of import tariffs ‒ as a measure of import competition ‒ affects the quality upgrading of the food products exported to the EU. This relationship is studied within a ‘distance to the frontier’ model (Aghion et al., 2005) who predicts a non-monotonic relation between competition and innovation. Quality is inferred from trade data using the Khandelwal (2010) method. The results show strong support for the existence of an non-monotonic relationship between competition and quality upgrading, with varieties close to the world frontier more likely to upgrade quality in response to an increase in import competition. |
| Keywords: | Quality Upgrading, Trade policy, Competition, Distance to the frontier, Food Industry, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182756&r=agr |
| By: | Tisboe, Francis; Nalley, Lanier; Dixon, Bruce; Popp, Jennie; Luckstead, Jeff |
| Abstract: | Billions of dollars flow into low-income countries each year to help alleviate poverty. Assessing the effectiveness of these dollars is necessary to measure program success and to allocate such funds among competing projects. This study measures the impact of the first phase of the Cocoa Livelihood Program (CLPI), a current World Cocoa Foundation project sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project seeks to improve the livelihood of over 200,000 small cocoa producers in Sub-Saharan Africa via training, crop diversification and farmer based organizations. Using data collected from 2,048 pre and post CLPI interviews of cocoa producers in Ghana, Cote D’ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon, the economic impact of the CLPI program can be estimated. The results show that yield enhancements attributable to CLPI are 36%, 38%, 49% and 24% in Ghana, Côte D’Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon, respectively. Using a total program cost of $158-$200 per beneficiary and estimated annual benefits of $86-$152 per beneficiary over 25 years, the benefit- cost ratios were estimated to range from $13 to $22 for every dollar spent on human capital development. |
| Keywords: | Cocoa, International Development, Farmer Field Schools, Africa, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, F20, Q16, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:195713&r=agr |
| By: | Yuksel, Hatice; Karantininis, Konstantinos; Hess, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | In 2007-2008, when food prices started to increase dramatically, purchasing power parity of consumers started to decrease automatically. High food prices were argued to cause poverty, hunger, and food riots among urban populations. Henceforward, ‘food crisis’ became a new story line on the current debate. This paper analyzes different media coverage of urban consumers and rural producers under changes in relative incomes for the 2000-2013 period and propounds media bias on the food crisis debate by using content analysis and OLS regression model. |
| Keywords: | food crisis, media bias, content analysis, relative income, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182685&r=agr |
| By: | Nehring, Richard; hallahan, Charlie |
| Abstract: | This study is based on ARMS phase II and COP data supplied by ERS |
| Keywords: | off-farm, technical efficiency, scale efficiency, rice, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2015–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196841&r=agr |