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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2016‒02‒23
39 papers chosen by |
| By: | Gouse, Marnus |
| Abstract: | This study assessed the value of glyphosate in the South African agricultural sector with focus on the 2012/13 agricultural season. Glyphosate is the most used herbicide in South African and in 2012 more than 23 million litres of glyphosate was sold at an estimated value of R641 million. Glyphosate is a highly effective broad spectrum herbicide and the only herbicide on the market with a systemic mode of action. Glyphosate is considered to be, based on numerous scientific studies environmentally and toxicologically safe when used according to label instructions. Glyphosate is marketed under more than twenty trade-names in SA and is extensively used in the timber, horticulture, sugar and viticulture industries. The main users of glyphosate in SA are however maize, wheat and soybean farmers and in 2012 these farmers used 65% of all glyphosate sold in SA. Making use of ‘with and without glyphosate’ scenario comparisons the assessment showed that glyphosate is immensely valuable to the agricultural sector. In monetary terms and depending on rather conservative yield assumptions the value of glyphosate in the maize sector was estimated to be between R525 million and R2.203 billion in 2012 with genetically modified herbicide tolerant and stacked gene maize farmers enjoying the biggest benefit. Assuming a yield loss of 10% in a withoutglyphosate scenario for only farmers who make use of herbicide tolerant maize varieties, the value of glyphosate is estimated at R1.328 billion. Glyphosate’s value for wheat farmers was estimated to be between R123 million and R485 million with the higher adoption usage rate (75%) and 10% potential damage scenario presenting a realistic value estimation of R335 million for the 2012 season. Soybean farmers making use of conservation tillage practises value glyphosate highly and under a withoutglyphosate scenario stand to lose between R148 million and R693 million with the most probable value estimated at around R412 million. Adoption of conservation tillage practises have increased considerably in SA since the introduction of glyphosate tolerant soybeans in 2001 and maize in 2003. Implementation of different degrees of reduced tillage practises have brought about substantial environmental benefits not only infield (soil) but also in the decreased emission of greenhouse gasses. The study showed that by using glyphosate instead of mechanized weed control, maize and soybean farmers (and wheat farmers to a lesser extent) where able to save about 23 million litres of diesel with a yearly CO2 emission equivalent of 12 thousand average cars. Determining the socio-economic impacts of glyphosate us in SA requires a larger and more in-depth assessment. However, the majority of the surveyed large-scale farmers planting HT maize and soybeans indicated the ease of weed control and management as the main benefit. A study of smallscale HT maize adopting farmers also showed the ease of weed control to be a major benefit with especially female household members being able to spend less time doing arduous manual weeding. The confirmed immense value glyphosate has as a production tool in the South African agricultural sector serves as backdrop to the problem of weed resistance to glyphosate. Worldwide 31 weed species have been reported to be resistant to glyphosate. Three of the 31 reported glyphosate resistance weeds occur in South Africa and resistance has been proven in parts of the Western Cape. With increased adoption of glyphosate tolerant crops and increased sector wide use of glyphosate due to its environmental safety, relative affordability and efficacy, responsible use and stewardship have become even more vital to preserve glyphosate’s value for the future. |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:upaewp:206520&r=agr |
| By: | Miron, Liliana; Lup, Aurel |
| Abstract: | The agricultural performances depend, on the one hand, on the volume, structure and quality of the resources allotted, and, on the other hand, on their management, according to the economic system and to the national policies in the field. This article draws a parallel between the two agricultural systems, i.e. the socialist-planned type and the private one, typical of the market economy. The following periods are compared: 1986-1989 for the former type and 2006-2009 for the latter type of agriculture. The comparison targets the main resources: the agricultural real estate (surface, structure and quality), land reclamations and fertilizers. Between 1986 and 1989, the agriculture benefited from generous resources: over three million ha equipped for irrigations, modern orchards and vineyards, large amounts of fertilizers; as a whole, a more intensive technological system in terms of inputs. The yields increased, especially in cereals. Two decades later, i.e. between 2006 and 2009, the agriculture became extensive. Irrigation decreased by 10 times, a large part of the vineyards and orchards were destroyed, the amount of fertilizers was reduced to 1/3 compared to the 1986-1989 period. In terms of performance, the Romanian agriculture became extensive during the market economy, but there are relatively few differences in the results expressed by the yield level. These express the difference in the technological level between the two periods, due to several causes that we are going to analyze in the article. |
| Keywords: | Performances, land reclamation, planed economy, market economy |
| JEL: | Q13 Q15 Q24 Q25 R52 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69326&r=agr |
| By: | Porzecanski, Arturo C. |
| Abstract: | In the 1970s, while a leftist military dictatorship ruled Peru, more than 22 million acres of cultivated or grazing farmland -- one-third of Peru’s total agricultural acreage -- were expropriated from thousands of large owners as part of a property reform intended to benefit up to 400,000 landless peasant families. The compensation provided to landowners was miserly, however: on average, it was less than one-tenth the then-prevailing market price of water-accessible, cultivated land. Moreover, about 85 percent of total recognized land values were settled not in cash but with long-term Agrarian Debt Bonds, which committed future governments to honor fixed coupons on obligations maturing in 20 to 30 years. These bonds became worthless during the 1980s, however, because hyperinflation raged and the Peruvian currency lost most of its value. In the wake of the filing of hundreds of lawsuits seeking judicial redress, in 2001 the country’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the government should resume payment of the land-reform debt after updating its nominal value on an actuarial basis. And yet, successive administrations did not act on this ruling, despite the fact that since the mid-1990s Peru has exhibited vigorous economic growth, significantly strengthened public finances, and substantially improved creditworthiness, such that governments have had more than the necessary ample fiscal resources to redeem the land-reform bonds at their full, original value. This paper examines the evidence and concludes that we are in the presence of a case of blatant unwillingness to pay, one which undermines Peru’s claim to be a nation that is creditworthy, investor-friendly, and respectful of the rule of law. |
| Keywords: | Peru, Latin America, default, debt, sovereign, litigation, land reform, credit rating |
| JEL: | D23 E6 F34 F51 H63 K4 N26 Q15 |
| Date: | 2016–01–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69583&r=agr |
| By: | Somlanare Romuald Kinda (CEDRES - Centre d'Etudes, de Documentation et Recherche Economique et Sciences - Université Ouagadougou) |
| Abstract: | Little is known about the role that foreign aid can play in dampening the effect of climate change. This paper investigates the role of aid in mitigating the adverse effect of climatic shocks on food security in developing countries. Because foreign aid is an important source of revenue for developing countries, it can enable them to face climatic shocks by mobilizing or stabilizing resources for the financing of agriculture production or food imports. Our results show that foreign aid dampens the effect of climatic shocks on food security. Moreover, the dampening effect is higher for countries that are vulnerable to food price shocks. |
| Keywords: | "food security", "climatic shocks","food prices vulnerability", "foreign aid" |
| Date: | 2016–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01260846&r=agr |
| By: | John C. Beghin (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Birgit Meade; Stacey Rosen |
| Abstract: | Abstract: We present a parsimonious demand modeling approach developed for the annual USDA-ERS International Food Security Assessment. The assessment focuses on chronic food insecurity. The approach incorporates price effects, food quality variation across income deciles, and consistent aggregation over income deciles and food qualities. The approach is based on a simple demand approach for four food categories. It relies on the existing sparse data available for the Assessment, complemented by own-price and income elasticities and available price data. Beyond consistent aggregation, the framework exhibits desirable characteristics: food quality is increasing with income; price and income responses become less sensitive with increasing income; and increasing income inequality decreases average per capita food consumption. The proposed approach is illustrated for Tanzania. We then use the calibrated model to decompose the impact of income, prices, and exchange rates on food consumption. Next, we assess future food insecurity in Tanzania using the calibrated model and two alternative characterizations of the income distribution (decile based and continuous). Food-insecure population is estimated as well as the implied distributional gap in calorie per day per food insecure person and in total annual food volume in grain equivalent. The latter gauges the depth of the chronic food insecurity. |
| Keywords: | international food security, PIGLOG demand, aggregation, income inequality, food prices, shocks, food gap, Tanzania JEL codes: F17, Q17, D31 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:14-wp550&r=agr |
| By: | Ajay Gajanan Bhave; Neha Mittal; Ashok Mishra; Narendra Singh Raghuwanshi |
| Abstract: | The need for credible, salient and legitimate climate change adaptation options in the water sector, which target location specific adaptation requirements, is well recognized. In developing countries, the low-hanging fruit; no-regret options, should be identified with stakeholders and assessed against future changes in water availability and demand, for comparing effectiveness and robustness. Such integrated basin-scale assessments, including reservoir catchment and command areas, can suitably inform adaptation decision-making. In this study, we integrate participatory and modelling approaches for evaluation of reservoir catchment and command area no-regret options addressing water availability and demand in the Kangsabati river basin. Through multi-level stakeholder workshops we identify and prioritize options, followed by evaluation of two reservoir catchment options; check dams and increasing forest cover and three reservoir command options; changing cropping pattern, traditional ponds and waste water reuse, using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model. We use four high resolution (~25 km) regional climate model simulations of future climatic factors, along with non-climatic factors affecting water demand, for forcing WEAP. We find that options have varied ability in addressing adaptation requirements. Amongst catchment options, increasing forest cover addresses adaptation requirements more suitably than check dams, while in the command areas we observe mixed abilities of options, leading to the inference that combining complementary options may be a more useful strategy. We conclude by discussing our experiences with this approach in a developing country context, in terms of benefits, limitations, lessons learnt and future research directions. |
| Keywords: | Adaptation requirement; Developing country; Weap; Reservoir catchment; Reservoir command |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65133&r=agr |
| By: | Kuhns, Annemarie; Leibtag, Ephraim; Volpe, Richard; Roeger, Ed |
| Abstract: | Wholesale and retail food price forecasts are useful to farmers, processors, wholesalers, consumers, and policymakers alike, as the structure and environment of food and agricultural economies are continually evolving. USDA's Economic Research Service analyzes food prices and provides 12- to 18-month food price forecasts for 7 farm, 6 wholesale, and 19 retail food categories. In 2011, ERS’s forecasting procedure was updated to employ a vertical price transmission method that incorporates input prices at each stage of production. Where this is not possible, an autoregressive moving average approach is used. This report provides a detailed description of the revised methodology as well as an analysis of the overall accuracy and performance of individual forecasts. The revised forecasting methods show modest increases in forecast accuracy compared with simple univariate approaches previously used by ERS. |
| Keywords: | Food Price Outlook, food prices, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Producer Price Index (PPI), forecasts, vertical price transmission model, autoregressive moving average approach, error correction model, autoregressive distributed lag, univariate moving average approach, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uerstb:206500&r=agr |
| By: | Lucas Bretschger (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Alexandra Vinogradova (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | Soils are often subject to environmental shocks which are caused by negative extern- alities linked to overexploitation. We present a stochastic model of a dynamic agricultural economy where natural disasters are sizeable, multiple, and random. Expansion of agricultural activities raises e¤ective soil units (an index of quality and quantity) but contributes to an aggregate loss of soil-protective ecosystem services, which increases the extent of soil degradation at the time of a shock. We provide closed-form analytical solutions and show that optimal development is characterized by a constant growth rate of effective soil units and crop consumption until an environmental shock arrives causing both variables to jump downwards. Optimal policy consists of spending a constant fraction of output on soil preservation. This fraction is an increasing function of the shocks arrival rate, degradation intensity of agricultural practices, and the damage intensity of environmental impact. Implications for the optimal propensity to save are also discussed. An extension of the model provides a solution for the optimal preservation policy when both the hazard rate and damages are endogenous. |
| Keywords: | Soil conservation, stochastic degradation, agriculture, environment, uncertainty, natural disasters |
| JEL: | Q18 Q54 O13 O44 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:16-232&r=agr |
| By: | CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). |
| Keywords: | Groundwater irrigation; Ecosystem services; Smallholders; Farmers; Agrarian structure; Sociology; Ecology; Wetlands; Research; Hydrology; Geology; Irrigation water; Water use; Water management; Land use; Sustainability; Impact assessment; Living standards; Case studies |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:bosers:h046997&r=agr |
| By: | Petre, Ionut Laurentiu |
| Abstract: | In this study I discussed about the results of the FAO studies, I used certain methods of forecasting supply and demand and Ia presented some solutions. Discussions on FAO results are based on population trends, both general and structured areas, urban and rural. Next I have predicted supply and demand for major food products in different geographic areas. These forecasts were established using economic-mathematical calculation methods. Thus, in terms of demand linear regression model was used predict it simple and to offer trend extrapolation method was used to forecast production and to predict import simple regression linear model. Thus the two main components of the market, supply and demand in each of the areas examined were put in antithesis and each represented by a graph for each main agro-food product. The study concludes with several recommendations with which it can establish a balance between supply and demand; recommendations such as reducing yield gaps, boosting the production and reducing losses. |
| Keywords: | Food security, supply and demand for agricultural products, world population, consumption and production |
| JEL: | Q1 Q11 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69269&r=agr |
| By: | Scherpf, Erik; Newman, Constance; Prell, Mark |
| Abstract: | USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides food and nutrition benefits to low-income households based on a formula that adjusts the benefit amount a household receives based on monthly need. This study assesses the extent to which SNAP reaches the poorest households, also known as benefit targeting, by estimating benefit receipt by annual household income relative to poverty. To conduct this analysis, ERS linked 2008-12 SNAP administrative records from New York State to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), a primary source for national, State, and local information on the use of SNAP and other public assistance programs. The linked data provide better information on SNAP receipt than that which would be estimated by the ACS alone and permit a more complete characterization of SNAP targeting. Study findings show that the assessment of SNAP targeting varies by the three measures of benefit receipt examined. Estimates of SNAP targeting toward low-income households improve when using either of two measures of intensity of SNAP participation relative to measures of ever-in-the-year participation. Replacing survey-based data on SNAP benefit receipt with administrative records of SNAP benefit receipt and adjusting the survey households to more closely reflect administrative SNAP units also improves estimates of targeting to low-income participants. Finally, estimated program targeting is improved by removing sample households that do not report income and for which income is imputed in the survey from the analysis. |
| Keywords: | SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, American Community Survey, New York, SNAP participation, administrative records, SNAP households, food and nutrition assistance programs, benefits targeting, poverty, income imputation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:206417&r=agr |
| By: | Bruma, Ioan Sebastian; Bohateret, Valentin - Mihai |
| Abstract: | High-performance agriculture cannot be done in the absence of modern agricultural holdings, altogether holdings with a legal entity based on private property lands or those on lease, conceded or rented, which meet the agrotechnical request fit for each holding type. In this regard, the General Agricultural Censuses from 2002 and 2010 reveal a series of information that outline the manner in which the agricultural holdings with legal entity engage themselves in using the agricultural lands in Romania. Thus we notice holding groups distributed on size categories and how their holding structure is influenced by the usage category of the lands utilized and also by the geographical particularity of the region. Additionally, there is an improvement regarding the qualitative developments made in order to change the medium size of the agricultural holding with legal entity. The study identifies the current and perspective trends concerning the changes of agricultural holding (with legal entity) structure as effect of the direct relation between the agricultural holdings without legal entity and those with legal entity when using the agricultural lands in Romania. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural holdings with legal entity, medium size of agricultural holding, the usage of lands, holding structures |
| JEL: | Q12 Q13 Q15 R14 R52 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69335&r=agr |
| By: | Kleemann, Linda |
| Abstract: | Smallholders often have to certify according to international standards and produce under contract for large agro-businesses to access the export market. While mostly positive effects for the farmers have been found for contracts and certifications, little is known about the role of individual firm behavior and certifications in shaping farmer-agro-business relationships and contract success. This is what this article does. Data of 386 smallholders in the pineapple export sector in Ghana is analyzed quantitatively and enriched by a detailed case study of a large-scale agro-business in Ghana called Blues Skies. The results show that certification is an agent of change in farmer-agro-business relations. Building trust and aligning expectations of farmers and firms is important for success. Additionally, individual firm behavior matters more than taken into account in previous research. Our case study shows that three 'R', reliability, reputation and respect, constitute the basis for contract relationships that benefit all. |
| Keywords: | contract farming,certification,smallholders,Ghana,firm behavior |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:1997&r=agr |
| By: | Kamal Saggi; Mark Wu |
| Abstract: | An agricultural price range system (PRS) aims to stabilize local prices in an open economy via the use of import duties that vary with international prices. The policy is inherently distortionary and welfare-reducing for a small open economy, at least according to the canonical economic model. We offer an explanation for why a government concerned with national welfare may nevertheless implement such a policy when faced with risk aversion and imperfect insurance markets. We also highlight open questions arising out of the Peru – Agricultural Products dispute for the WTO’s Appellate Body to address in order to clarify how a PRS consistent with WTO rules could be designed. Finally, we discuss the possibility that a WTO member might resort to a free trade agreement (FTA) to preserve its flexibility to implement a PRS and how an FTA provision of this sort ought to be treated in WTO litigation. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, free trade agreement, price range system, WTO law |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2015/58&r=agr |
| By: | Yves Jégourel |
| Abstract: | West African countries, on top of which is Côte d’Ivoire, represent the bulk of the world supply of cocoa beans. From the end of the nineteenth century to their independence, and to recent times, their histories have been marked by boom and bust cycles that were sometimes desynchronized from one country to another, especially for Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, due to differentiated political and economic backdrops. As for now, cocoa producers seem to be insulated from the rout which has hit nearly all the commodities, amidst fears of a shortfall by 2020. |
| Keywords: | Commodities, History, Economy, Markets, Cocoa, Price, Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:ppaper:pb-16/07&r=agr |
| By: | Marc Baudry; Adrien Hervouet |
| Abstract: | Plant Breeders Rights (PBRs) are sui generis IPRs intended to promote plant variety creation. Two characteristics distinguish PBRs from patents: the research and the farmers’ exemptions. This article attempts to assess the impact of these exemption rules on the private value of PBRs. For this purpose, a microeconometric model of PBRs renewals is developed and estimated. This model extends previous models of patents renewals by allowing the use of PBRs-specific variables. It is argued that simple tests on the coefficients associated to key PBRs-specific variables can provide insights into the impact of the two exemption rules. Implementation to PBRs in France over the period 1973-2011 for six major crops suggests that neither the farmers’ exemption nor the research exemption have a clear cut effect on the private value of PBRs. We conclude that there is no evidence to argue in favor of a reform of PBRs. |
| Keywords: | IPRs, Inventors'exemption, Farmers'exemption, Plant variety creation, Renewals. |
| JEL: | O34 Q16 C41 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1602&r=agr |
| By: | E. Perret (METAFORT - Mutations des activités des espaces et des formes d'organisation dans les territoires ruraux - AgroParisTech - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) - VetAgro Sup - Irstea); E. Cahuzac (US ODR - Observatoire des Programmes Communautaires de Développement Rural - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)); P. Cantelaube (US ODR - Observatoire des Programmes Communautaires de Développement Rural - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)); N. Guiffant (METAFORT - Mutations des activités des espaces et des formes d'organisation dans les territoires ruraux - AgroParisTech - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) - VetAgro Sup - Irstea); N. Turpin (METAFORT - Mutations des activités des espaces et des formes d'organisation dans les territoires ruraux - AgroParisTech - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) - VetAgro Sup - Irstea) |
| Abstract: | Protection of soil quality and adoption of practices that could mitigate climate change strongly depends on both farm types and soils threats at local level, but there has been so far no general analysis in France of what combinations are used and where. This paper uses information aggregated from the FADN database and combines it with threats on soils to build a typology of LAU1 French territories regarding their soil protection strategies. We highlight four main paths: Some territories rely on the sets of “good practices” designed from action programs from the Nitrate Directive, and those only. Others have developed interesting combinations of conservation tillage, cover crops and agri-environmental schemes. Some have chosen to combine reduced use of fertilisers and pesticides and the last ones happen to show no obvious protection strategy |
| Abstract: | Les pratiques des agriculteurs visant à protéger les sols de leurs parcelles sont variées et inégalement mises en ½uvre sur les territoires français. La diversité de ces situations n'avait pas fait l'objet d'une analyse poussée sur l'ensemble du territoire. Cet article utilise des informations agrégées du Recensement agricole et les combine avec les menaces sur les sols rapportées à une maille cantonale (LAU1), pour construire une typologie de territoires qui nous permet, à son tour, d'identifier des stratégies différenciées de protection des sols. Cette typologie met en évidence quatre voies différentes pour ces territoires : certains d'entre eux s'appuient uniquement sur les bonnes pratiques imposées par la Directive Nitrate; dans d'autres, les agriculteurs ont développé des combinaisons originales d'agriculture de conservation et de mesures agro-environnementales ; sur certains cantons sont combinées des mesures de réduction d'engrais et de pesticides, tandis que la dernière voie correspond à la mise en place d'aucune stratégie de protection des sols |
| Keywords: | AGRICULTURE,SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,SOIL,PROTECTION,AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES,CLIMATIC CHANGE,DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE,SOL,PRATIQUE AGRICOLE,CHANGEMENT CLIMATIQUE |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01250627&r=agr |
| By: | Vlad, Mihaela Cristina; Nitu, Mihaela |
| Abstract: | Planning is the process of identifying the present situation, setting goals and define ways to achieve the objectives. Planning is the primary function of business management because of time preparing space for all other aspects of management, is considered a link between past and present [2]. Use of computer technology in agriculture will have a significant effect, provided achieving integrated information systems at macro (national agriculture, ministry) and micro (farm, farms etc.). Expanding use of computers in agriculture will ensure rational use of resources, their savings, the provision of complete and operative information on the conditions of production, the supply-sales market, the cost on profitability, etc. Thus, this work demonstrates the need and applicability of computer systems at the level of companies. |
| Keywords: | Informatics, planning, goals |
| JEL: | C02 C61 M15 Q12 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69380&r=agr |
| By: | Drechsel, Pay; Heffer, P.; Magen, H.; Mikkelsen, R.; Singh, H.; Wichelns, D. |
| Keywords: | Water management; Food security; Nutrients; Ecosystem services; Farmers; Soil fertility; Fertilizers |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:bosers:h046806&r=agr |
| By: | Corvellec, Hervé (Gothenburg Research Institute) |
| Abstract: | This article introduces the notion of sustainability objects to label objects that come with a claim to promote a more sustainable mode of living. The purpose is to show that organizations that develop such objects contribute to defining sustainability. A case study of the development of a food waste-based biogas and biofertilizers production facility serves as empirical example of sustainability objects development. The analysis demonstrates that this development has involved situating biogas and biofertilizers socially, entangling them in nets of relations and endowing them with an agency of their own. The study also shows that developing sustainability objects entails constructing performative definitions of sustainability. With sustainability objects embodying local definitions of sustainability, the success or failure of sustainability objects is also the success or failure of these definitions. Asking why sustainability objects gain or lose ground is therefore suggested as a way to understand the state and nature of sustainability transition. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability objects; Food waste; Biogas; Biofertilizers; Sweden |
| Date: | 2015–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhb:gungri:2015_001&r=agr |
| By: | d'Agostino, Giorgio; Scarlato, Margherita; Napolitano, Silvia |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the causal effect of the Child Support Grant (CSG) implemented in South Africa on household food consumption and dietary diversity. The analysis uses the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) covering 2008, 2010-2011 and 2012, and carries out a regression discontinuity design exploiting the increase in the age limit criteria for eligibility for the program. Our results show that the CSG have proved to be effective in increasing total food expenditure per adult equivalent but has not significantly changed the dietary habits of the beneficiary households, nor has the program resulted in any stronger effect for the most vulnerable subgroups of the beneficiary population. To analyse the external and internal validities of the results, a comparison between non-parametric, semi-parametric and parametric estimates is presented. |
| Keywords: | Food security, Cash transfers, Regression discontinuity design, South Africa |
| JEL: | C33 I32 I38 O55 |
| Date: | 2016–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69177&r=agr |
| By: | Lazarus, William |
| Abstract: | This report is a summary of the data contained on the farmland sales portion of the Minnesota Land Economics (MLE) web site (http://landeconomics.umn.edu ) as of February 10, 2016. It is formally reissued each year, as new sales data become available. The present document consists largely of graphs and tables summarizing sales over the past twenty-four years. It provides averages at the multi-county region and at the statewide levels of aggregation. Individual transaction data are available for downloading and analysis at the MLE web site. An electronic version of the current report in fully navigable portable document format (pdf) is also available: http://purl.umn.edu/231119. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umaesp:231119&r=agr |
| By: | Adriana Camacho and Daniel Mejia |
| Abstract: | This paper exploits the variation in aerial spraying across time and space in Colombia and employs a panel of individual health records in order to study the causal effects of aerial spraying of herbicides (Glyphosate) on short term health-related outcomes. The results show that exposure to the herbicide used in aerial spraying campaigns increases the number of medical consultations related to dermatological and respiratory related illnesses and the number of miscarriages. This finding is robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects, which compares the prevalence of these medical conditions for the same person under different levels of exposure to the herbicide used in the aerial spraying program over a period of 5 years. Also, the results are robust to controlling for the extent of coca cultivation of illicit crops in the municipality of residence. |
| Keywords: | Aerial spraying, Eradication policies, health, Plan Colombia, Glyphosate. |
| JEL: | I15 H75 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:408&r=agr |
| By: | Uson, M. |
| Abstract: | Land grabs in the wake of a disaster are nothing new. However this phenomenon gains certain particularities and interest when it happens within the current context of climate change policy initiatives and the global land rush. This nexus produces a new set of political processes containing new actors and alliances, legitimizations, and mechanisms of dispossession that set off a different pace for land grabs. This study explores this nexus which has the potential to swiftly reboot spatial, institutional and political land arrangements in poor communities on a large scale, globally. The gap in the scholarly literature found in the disaster – global land rush – climate change nexus was examined from the perspective of a local community devastated by the 2013 super typhoon Haiyan in central Philippines. Using a political economy lens, the study revealed that along with the dynamics of the structural and institutional environment, the interaction between the pro-reform social and state actors determines the nature, pace, extent and trajectory of the land struggle. The ‘state-society interactive’ approach highlights the political agency of both the state and social actors, particularly how they exercise their autonomy and capacity, and maximize channels within and external to the state to advance their claim. How the interplay of different institutions of climate change mitigation, land grabs and disasters interacts with the political processes of current land grabs is the focus of this study. |
| Keywords: | land grabs, climate change, disasters, Philippines, small islands |
| Date: | 2015–02–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:euriss:77539&r=agr |
| By: | Bikkina,Nalini; Turaga, Rama Mohana; Bhamoriya, Vaibhav |
| Abstract: | Small and marginal farmers in India have been vulnerable to risks in agricultural production. Several organizational prototypes are emerging to integrate them into the value chain with the objectives of enhancing incomes and reduction in transaction costs. One such alternative is Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). We explore the potential of FPOs as collective institutions through a case study of Avirat, one of the first FPOs in Gujarat. Our analysis suggests that FPOs have the potential to provide benefits through effective collective action. The main challenge, however, is to raise sufficient capital that can maximize these benefits. We discuss the implications of our findings to policy |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:13177&r=agr |
| By: | Kuzmin, Evgeny A. |
| Abstract: | The paper deals with pressing issues in food security. The research focus is on defined specifics of a price factors’ influence on a balance in a market. The paper specifies features of food security and there is a conclusion of its division into static and dynamic. The subsequent development of ideas on dynamic security has led to a defined “floating” balance, when the market due to its movement inertia crosses an equilibrium point, from a condition of relative deficit to an account surplus of supply and demand, and vice versa. With an analytical review of known scientific approaches, in the paper, there is an assumption that any national food market is more subject to price volatility than the global market. These and other features have allowed finding a number of sustainable regularities in an influence of changes to prices upon a status of security. |
| Keywords: | food security; price factors; market equilibrium and balance; risks; uncertainty; self-organization |
| JEL: | Q01 Q11 Q17 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68992&r=agr |
| By: | Zhenmin, Z. |
| Keywords: | Optimization; Water allocation; Irrigation canals; Irrigation scheduling; Constraints |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:bosers:h018510&r=agr |
| By: | Jordi Planas (Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain) |
| Abstract: | In the early twentieth century winegrowersin Europe faced a crisis of overproduction, with steeply falling prices and sharp increases in wages and production costs. Since the markets showed no signs of correcting themselves, the winegrowers called for state intervention. In the major wine producing countries such as France and Spain, large winegrowers’ associations were created which lobbied their governments to regulate domestic wine markets through tariffs, quality controls, the creation of regional appellations and bodies investigating fraud in winemaking, and also promoted other measures to increase the consumption of unadulterated wine. However, while winegrowers in France were highly successful in obtaining government support to protect their market interests, in Spain the legislation introduced was much more eclectic; it aimed to satisfy on the one hand the winegrowers and on the other the alcohol producers, wine merchants and exporters, even though the interests of these groups often clashed head on. This paper aims to explain the differences in state intervention and wine market regulation in these two major producer countries in the early twentieth century, by analysing the particular features of their markets and productive systems in the aftermath of the phylloxera plague, as well as the winegrowers’ collective action and the political framework in each country. |
| Keywords: | Palabras clave: state intervention, market regulation, winegrowers, collective action, France, Spain. |
| JEL: | L15 N53 N54 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1503&r=agr |
| By: | Subić, Jonel; Jelonic, Marko; Jovanovic, Marijana; Potrebic, Velibor |
| Abstract: | In the paper will be emphasized the importance of the other profitable activities (OPA) on the family agricultural holdings, according to their economic size within the territory of Republic of Serbia, with special focus on the Vojvodina Region. Economic size of the agricultural holding is recognized by the value of its total standard output (SA). Other profitable activities related to the agricultural holdings include incomes from agricultural products sale, rural tourism, fishery, etc., whether they are performed on or outside the holding. Other profitable activities that are not related to agricultural holdings include activities that do not consume resources of the holding, but only the labor, as like in previous case they may be carried on, or outside the holding. According to gained results, average economic size of the holding in the Republic of Serbia is 5.939 EUR, while the realized economic value on the family agricultural holdings (FAH) is 4.990 EUR. Census of Agriculture in 2012 showed that the highest average economic size of the agricultural holdings has a Vojvodina Region (12.032 EUR), what is 3,5 times higher than the value achieved in other regions. From the total sum of 631.552 agricultural holdings in the Republic of Serbia (family agricultural holdings (FAH), as well as legal entities (LE) and entrepreneurs) only 78.301 holdings possess DPA that are in relation to the holding (where 21% of them are within the economic class in range of 4.000 - 7.000 EUR). At the level of the Vojvodina Region, in total there were registered 147.624 agricultural holdings (AH), where 8.405 of them have OPA in relation to the holding (13,6% are within the class of economic sizes 100.000 and more EUR). |
| Keywords: | Other profitable activities, family agricultural holdings, Vojvodina Region, Republic of Serbia. |
| JEL: | D04 Q12 R11 R22 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69323&r=agr |
| By: | Merk, Christine; Pönitzsch, Gert; Rehdanz, Katrin |
| Abstract: | Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is a climate engineering (CE) method that is reputed to be very effective in cooling the planet but is also thought to involve major risks and side effects. As a new option in the bid to counter climate change, it has attracted an increasing amount of research and the debate on its potential gained momentum after it was referred to in the 5th IPCC report (IPCC 2013). One major objection to SAI and the research done on it is that it could undermine commitment to the mitigation of greenhouse gases (Lawrence & Crutzen 2013; Schneider 2001). Policymakers, interest groups or individuals might wrongly perceive SAI as an easy fix for climate change and accordingly reduce their mitigation efforts. This is the first study to provide an empirical evaluation of this claim for individuals. In a large-scale framed field experiment with more than 650 participants, we show that people do not back-pedal on mitigation when they learn that the climate change problem could be partly addressed via SAI. Instead, we observe that people who have been informed about SAI mitigate more than people who have not. Our data suggest that the increase is driven by a perception of SAI as potentially hazardous. |
| Keywords: | climate engineering,risk compensation,moral hazard,climate change mitigation |
| JEL: | Q54 D19 C93 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2006&r=agr |
| By: | Dittoh, S.; Snyder, K. A.; Lefore, Nicole |
| Keywords: | Gender; Women; Equity; Agricultural policy; Policy making; Agricultural workers; Agricultural production; Natural resources; Poverty; Funding; Socioeconomic environment; Civil society organizations; Local communities; Households; Resource allocation; Case studies |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwt:bosers:h047003&r=agr |
| By: | Lamprakis Avdelas (University of Portsmouth); Leonidas Papaharisis (University of Portsmouth); Sofia Galinou-Mitsoudi (Nireus Aquaculture S.A.) |
| Abstract: | Mussel aquaculture is being conducted for more than 50 years in Greece. Lately, production seems to deteriorate both in terms of quality and quantity, thus negatively affecting economic output. On top, there also exist some evidence of environmental degradation at least at the wider production area at northern Greece. Nevertheless there is only few research available on the costs and the profitability of the sector. The structure of the sector, which consists mainly of micro and small enterprises does not allow for data collection based on published annual balance sheets. To date, the basic variables available under the EU Data Collection Framework, namely annual production and number of production sites, does not allow for any economic analysis of the sector. In this paper, we briefly present the evolution of mussel aquaculture production in Greece mainly based on existing literature, we discuss the challenges presently faced by the sector and we present preliminary results on the cost structure and the profitability of Greek mussel aquaculture companies based on data from an ongoing survey in northern Greece. |
| Keywords: | Mussel aquaculture, cost, profitability, Greece; Mussel aquaculture, cost, profitability, Greece |
| JEL: | Q12 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irf:wpaper:005&r=agr |
| By: | Day, Jorge A. |
| Keywords: | over-production, wine market, Argentina, production, Agribusiness, International Development, |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aawewp:231151&r=agr |
| By: | Chetroiu, Rodica; Călin, Ion |
| Abstract: | The paper presents the research results on milk production, conducted in the goat farm of S.C. AGROFAM HOLDING Feteşti, at the two autochthonous breeds: Alba de Banat and Carpatina, for a period of 3 years, between 2012 - 2014. Thus, the productive levels of the two breeds show very significant statistic differences, Alba de Banat breed being upper than Carpatina with 40.94 to 46.05%. Also, there are productive differences between lactations, the highest milk production being obtained in lactation 3 of each year under study, with an upward trend from the first lactation. After the 3rd lactation, milk production declines, being near the amount of the first lactation. During the period under study, the average farm yields of the both breeds fall on downward curves, due both to the shifting from mechanical milking to manual milking and to decreasing of the lactation duration. Practicing the mechanical milking is a technological factor of prime importance both in terms of achieving increased milk production and for producing a hygienic product and switching from mechanical milking to manual milking is a factor of production decrease, affecting the economic results of the farm. |
| Keywords: | Milk, goats, lactations, breeds. |
| JEL: | D24 Q10 Q18 R32 |
| Date: | 2015–11–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69399&r=agr |
| By: | Scott J. Goetz, Matthew Hansen, Richard A. Houghton, Wayne Walker, Nadine Laporte, and Jonah Busch |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an overview of the state of measurement and monitoring capabilities for forests in the context of REDD+ needs, with a focus on what is currently possible, where improvements are needed, and what capabilities will be advanced in the near-term with new technologies already under development. We summarize the role of remote sensing (both satellite and aircraft) for observational monitoring of forests, including measuring changes in their current and past extent for setting baselines, their carbon stock density for estimating emissions in areas that are deforested or degraded, and their regrowth dynamics following disturbance. We emphasize the synergistic role of integrating field inventory measurements with remote sensing for best practices in monitoring, reporting and verification. We also address the potential of remote sensing for enforcing safeguards on conservation of natural forests and biodiversity. We argue that capabilities exist now to meet operational needs for REDD+ measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) and reference levels. For some other areas of importance for REDD+, such as safeguards for natural forests and biodiversity, monitoring capabilities are approaching operational in the near term. For all REDD+ needs, measurement capabilities will rapidly advance in the next few years as a result of new technology as well as advances in capacity building both within and outside of the tropical forest nations on which REDD+ is primarily focused. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change; Mitigation; Forests; REDD+; Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV); Technology |
| JEL: | Q23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:392&r=agr |
| By: | Ha-Duong Minh (CleanED - Clean Energy and Sustainable Development Lab - USTH - Université des Sciences et des Technologies de Hanoi, CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - CIRAD - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Keywords: | economics,climate change |
| Date: | 2015–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01250007&r=agr |
| By: | Klemetsen, Marit E. (University of Oslo/Statistics Norway); Rosendahl, Knut Einar (School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Lund Jakobsen, Anja (School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impacts of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) on the envi- ronmental and economic performance of Norwegian plants. The EU ETS is regarded as the cornerstone climate policy both in the EU and in Norway, but there has been considerable de- bate regarding its eects due to low quota prices and substantial allocation of free allowances to the manufacturing industry. Both quota prices and allocation rules have changed signicantly between the three phases of the ETS. The rich data allow us to investigate potential eects of the ETS on several important aspects of plant behavior. The results indicate a weak tendency of emissions reductions among Norwegian plants in the second phase of the ETS, but not in the other phases. We nd no signicant eects on emissions intensity in any of the phases, but positive eects on value added and productivity in the second phase. Positive eects on value added and productivity may be due to the large amounts of free allowances, and that plants may have passed on the additional marginal costs to consumers. |
| Keywords: | Tradable emissions quotas; emissions intensity; productivity; propensity score matching; dierence-in-dierences |
| JEL: | C23 C54 D22 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsseb:2016_003&r=agr |
| By: | Kohli, Deepti; Sinha, Pankaj |
| Abstract: | Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in our atmosphere have been increasing steadily due to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, etc. CO2 being a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) has contributed to global warming resulting in the melting of polar ice caps and glaciers leading to a rise in the sea levels and finally culminating in the submerging of coastal and low-level areas all around the world. Thus, with the intention of controlling global warming and the rising CO2 emissions, the Kyoto Protocol was set up in 2005 to compel the developed countries to lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions thus giving rise to the concept of carbon credits, devised to reduce global carbon emission levels. However, the first phase of the sole international agreement to cut GHG emissions came to an end in 2012. The Kyoto Protocol has not been qualified as an absolute success seeing that it has not produced any demonstrable reduction in emission levels, and global temperatures are still rising at an alarming rate. A miscarriage of the treaty can also be sensed through the demeanor of countries like Canada, which pulled back from the treaty in 2011; Japan and Russia, who would not commit themselves beyond 2012 while the United States remains aloof. This study reviews the climate change regime and explores the concept of carbon credits, how carbon trading is occurring presently and also identifies some key issues concerning the same. The reasons for the unsatisfactory results of the Kyoto Protocol and prospects in mitigating climate change have also been discussed here. |
| Keywords: | carbon credits, carbon trading, clean development mechanism, emissions reduction, greenhouse gases, joint implementation, Kyoto Protocol |
| JEL: | Q01 Q5 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–07–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69455&r=agr |
| By: | ARVATE, Paulo; FALSETE, Filipe Ortiz; RIBEIRO, Felipe Garcia; SOUZA, André Portela |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect of lighting on violent crime reduction. We explore an electrification program (LUZ PARA TODOS or Light for All - LPT) adopted by the federal government to expand electrification to rural areas in all Brazilian municipalities in the 2000s as an exogenous source of variation in electrification expansion. Our instrumental variable results show a reduction in homicide rates (approximately five homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) on rural roads/urban streets when a municipality moved from no access to full coverage of electricity between 2000 and 2010. These findings are even more significant in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil, where rates of electrification are lower than those of the rest of the country and, thus, where the program is concentrated. In the north (northeast), the number of violent deaths on the streets per 100,000 inhabitants decreased by 48.12 (13.43). This moved a municipality at the 99th percentile (75th) to the median (zero) of the crime distribution of municipalities. Finally, we do not find effects on violent deaths in households and at other locations. Because we use an IV strategy by exploring the LPT program eligibility criteria, we can interpret the results as the estimated impact of the program on those experiencing an increase in electricity coverage due to their program eligibility. Thus, the results represent local average treatment effects of lighting on homicides. |
| Date: | 2016–01–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:eesptd:408&r=agr |