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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2018‒08‒27
sixty-six papers chosen by |
| By: | von Braun, Joachim |
| Abstract: | Hunger has become ever more complex, and therefore efforts to sustainably eradicate hunger and malnutrition depend on policies and programs that match these complexities. Innovations are critical for progress. However, they require increased public and private investments as well. Key elements of inclusive policies and partnerships are agricultural development in the hunger-affected rural areas and communities to improve productivity will remain a Major part of solutions. Farmers’ own innovation capacities need strengthening. Investment in Food and agricultural research and development (R&D) is an important tool for broad-based innovation, for instance, related to improved seeds. Digital technology is a game changer for food and nutrition security. Innovations for improved market functioning and avoidance of price shocks require information and early warning systems, as well as better preparedness with improved trade and food reserves policies. The environmental and climate change aspects of agricultural and land and water use change need more attention for sustainable hunger reduction. More attention to innovative social protection and direct nutrition intervention programs is needed, including addressing the micronutrient deficiencies in rural and urban areas. Hunger in complex emergencies needs to bring together development policy with diplomacy and security policy. Innovation initiatives like any development Investments must follow principles of good governance, achieving investment at low transaction costs, sound financial practices, and avoidance of diversions of funds. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2018–04–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubonwp:271348&r=agr |
| By: | Otoo, Miriam; Lefore, Nicole; Schmitter, Petra; Barron, Jennie; Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria |
| Abstract: | This report outlines a business model approach to assessing the feasibility and for encouraging investment in smallholder solar pump irrigation. It also proposes a new methodology for mapping the suitability of solar energy-based irrigation pumps. The proposed business model framework and the methodology for suitability mapping are applied to Ethiopia as a case study, based on data from existing case studies and reports. A brief analysis outlines the regulatory and institutional context for investment in solar pump irrigation, and the ways in which it both constrains and attempts to support investment. The report identifies and outlines three business model scenarios that present opportunities for investing in smallholder solar pump-based irrigation, which would contribute towards sustainable intensification for food and nutrition security. The business model scenarios are based on the value proposition of supplying water to smallholder farmers for irrigated agricultural production. Analysis of potential gains and benefits suggests that direct purchase of solar pumps by farmers is feasible, and that out-grower schemes and pump supplier options with bundled financing offer promising solutions. The potential constraints that different investors may face in up-scaling the business models are also discussed, particularly within institutional, regulatory and financial contexts. The report provides development actors and investors with evidence-based information on the suitability and sustainability of solar pump irrigation in Ethiopia, as well as suggestions for helping to enable smallholders to invest in individually-owned, smallholder photovoltaic (PV) solar pumps. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–03–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iwmirp:273354&r=agr |
| By: | Byishimo, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Climate change, one of the challenges facing the world today, is increasingly affecting people‟s livelihood in Rwanda like in other developing countries. This research assesses the impacts of climate change on yields of major food crops and analyzes adaptation measures perceived and undertaken by smallholder farmers in Rwanda. Secondary data obtained from Ministry of Agricultural and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and 16 stations under Rwanda Meteorological Agency (RMA) were collected to describe the trends in climatic and non- climatic variables and assess the impact of climate change on crop yield. In addition, a household survey of 350 households was conducted in 4 districts (Bugesera, Gicumbi, Nyabihu and Nyamagabe) to examine socio-economic characteristics that influence the choice of actual adaptation measures. To assess the impacts of climate change on crop yields, regression model was used after obtaining lagged values of model variables. Heckman probit selection and outcome models were employed to analyze farmers‟ perception on climate change in the first stage and farmers‟ adaptation to climate change in the second stage. Moreover, multinomial logistic regression model was used to determine the factors that influence farmers‟ choice of climate change adaptation option in the study area. Results from the analysis of time series data show that area harvested and annual rainfall are positively and significantly related to yields of selected crops while maximum temperature have a negative impact on beans, maize and Irish potato yields. Climatic variable like minimum temperature found to have a negative effect only on maize yield. Micro-level findings substantiate that farming experience and access to information on climate change have a positive and significant influence on farmers‟ perceptions of climate change at 1% level of significance. Other variables such as education, farm size and livestock ownership are positively and significantly related to the choice of adaptation measures. Further interventions should focus on how the knowledge of farmers about climate change can be increased and the established adaptation measures by government can be owned and maintained by farmers through their different mechanisms such as farmer cooperatives and other social capital mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:265578&r=agr |
| By: | Wafula, Teresia Nekesah; Okello, Julius Juma; Otieno, David Jakinda |
| Abstract: | Use of inoculant-based technologies in legume production has been practiced for over a century but in Africa, the technology is relatively new and especially to smallholder farmers. The introduction of these technologies has enabled increased legume productivity as well as increased soil fertility in other countries. The inoculant-based technologies have been disseminated in Western Kenya by various organizations and projects including: Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume cropping systems for food security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project through the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)-Kakamega and Embu, Nitrogen 2 Africa (N2AFRICA), United States Department of Agriculture- National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), and Non-governmental organizations such as Appropriate Rural Development Agriculture Program (ARDAP). The dissemination targeted several counties including Bungoma, Busia and Kakamega. While past studies have assessed the adoption of inoculant technology as a single package, the effect of different inoculant- based technologies on bean yield remains unknown. There is also lack of information on the role inoculant-based technologies on bean output market participation. This study examined the use and effect of inoculant-based technologies on smallholder field bean farm households in western Kenya. A multivariate probit (MVP) model was applied to assess factors affecting farmers‟ decision on use of alternative inoculant-based technologies. In v addition, a Tobit regression was estimated to assess the effect of the use of inoculant-based technologies on household output commercialization, measured by the share of sales, among project participating households and non-participating households. Data was collected from 248 farmers stratified by participation in projects that promote inoculant-based technologies. The information was collected in August and September 2014 and included farm and farmer characteristics; household endowment with physical, financial, social and human capital; market participation and institutional factors; field bean production and input usage; and farmer knowledge/awareness and information sources. Descriptive results indicate that years of experience, total value of non-land assets and distance to the road significantly and positively affected adoption at 1percent, 5percent and 10percent error level respectively. Out of the five inoculant-based technologies demonstrated to farmers, only three were found to be widely adopted. These are: inoculant only, inoculant and farm yard manure and inoculant and fertilizer. Results from the multivariate probit regression analysis showed that the distance to agricultural extension office, group membership, project participation, wealth (proxied by the total value of non-land assets), age and gender significantly affected the use of the inoculant-based technologies. The Tobit regression analysis results showed that transaction costs (proxied by the distance to group office and group and project participation), age, years of schooling, totals assets, access to information (proxied by extension visits) and total bean production area significantly influenced the commercialization of beans by the small holder farmers. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2017–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unaaed:269392&r=agr |
| By: | Jayson Beckman; Carmen Estrades; Manuel Flores; Angel Aguiar |
| Abstract: | Export taxes, despite being applied by several countries, have not received the same scrutiny in multilateral trade negotiations as other trade barriers. This work seeks to provide more detail into the linkages between export taxes, trade, food prices, and poverty in the agriculture sector. We first focus on how export taxes have impacted trade and international prices, applying a dynamic econometric-based gravity framework. Results show that export taxes do not have a widespread impact on international prices, but rather that the impact is concentrated in a few goods, mainly dairy products, live plants, vegetables, oilseeds and oils. We then use a computable general equilibrium model to examine the impacts to trade and poverty if export taxes were to be removed. These results indicate that a removal of export taxes would not have a significant impact on global prices. However, regions that apply export taxes would have an increase in production and exports if they are removed. Some regions, mainly those that currently export commodities taxed in other countries, could be harmed by the removal of export taxes due to the increased competition of exports in international markets. Consumers would benefit from a fall in domestic prices. |
| JEL: | F1 F13 Q17 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24894&r=agr |
| By: | Kanyamuka, Joseph S.; Dzanja, Joseph K.; Nankhuni, Flora J. |
| Abstract: | Key Findings and Recommendations • Cassava productivity has increased over the past decade partly due to introduction of improved high yielding and pest and disease resistant varieties but yields still fall short of the potential. • Some of the factors constraining productivity growth include: over-recycling of seed among farmers and poor agronomic practices due to limited extension services. • Demand for cassava and associated products is increasing due to increasing urbanization where cassava offers one of the sources of cheap carbohydrates. The crop’s drought tolerant nature also offers one of the adaptation strategies to the impacts of climate change that Malawi is facing. • Cassava has a wide range of products that can be processed, including High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), whose potential for wheat import substitution in the confectionary and brewery industries has not been fully exploited. Developing the cassava processing industry can contribute to reduction in Malawi’s high importation bill. • To improve Malawi’s cassava value chain, the following recommendations are made: significant investments in seed systems, greenhouses, irrigation, post-harvest, value addition and agro-processing technologies in response to identified market and industry needs; investments in research and extension on improved varieties, good agronomic practices, and pest and diseases prevention and control; and investments to link farmers, farmer organizations and processors through contract farming arrangements. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2018–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffpb:275675&r=agr |
| By: | Moranga, Lawrence Ongwae; Otieno, David Jakinda; Oluoch-Kosura, Willis |
| Abstract: | Climate change poses serious economic challenges including low quality and yield of produce and high post-harvest losses leading to low incomes among smallholder tomato farmers. Recent literature shows possible ways of managing climate change, including innovatively altering the timing of farming operations to avoid adverse weather conditions and or taking advantage of favorable conditions. However, available literature on farmers’ decision-making behaviour and the main factors that influence their willingness to adopt innovative management strategies is scanty. The current study addressed this knowledge gap by analyzing factors affecting smallholder tomato farmers’ willingness to adopt innovative timing approaches to manage climate change effects in Taita Taveta County. Three innovative timing approaches, namely, off-season production, transportation of produce during cool periods of the day and processing of tomatoes to extend shelf life were identified at three nodes of the tomato value chain. A twostage sampling technique was used to randomly select 196 smallholder tomato farmers who were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and a Multinomial Logit (MNL) model were applied in data analysis. Results from the study show that farmers are coping with climate change through practices such as early preparation of land, changing planting dates, increasing the frequency and timeliness of weeding and using early maturing crop varieties. The MNL analysis showed that gender, access to credit, group membership, age and income are the main factors that determine farmers’ willingness to adopt innovative timing approaches. These findings offer useful insights for improving the planning of investments in the tomato value chain, for enhanced stability of farm incomes among farmers. In particular, interventions that would help to boost farmers’ uptake of off-season production include improving farmers’ access to credit through lowering interest rates and simplifying application and disbursement procedures of financial service providers, as well as formation of farmer groups to enhance processing of their produce. |
| Date: | 2016–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unaaed:269270&r=agr |
| By: | Gebreselassie, Samuel; Haile, Mekbib G.; Kalkuhl, Matthias |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a general overview of the current status and key challenges of the Ethiopian wheat value chain. Wheat is an important staple food crop in Ethiopia. Improving wheat production and productivity is therefore a key part of the agenda in the Ethiopian government’s food security policy programs. Policy interventions that aim at improving wheat production or agricultural production for that matter, however, require interventions beyond the farm—at the whole wheat value chain. Both domestic production and import—the two key sources of wheat grain supply to the Ethiopian wheat value chain—have shown a substantial increase since the mid-1990s. Yet, a steady increase in domestic wheat consumption has resulted in rising wheat and wheat product prices over the past two decades. For instance, wheat grain, wheat flour as well as wheat bread prices have all more than doubled between 2000 and 2013. Using a qualitative survey of selected wheat value chain actors and a review of existing literature, this study provides an overview of the wheat value chain, institutional and marketing arrangements, and trader behaviour of wheat value chain actors in Ethiopia. The wheat value chain consists of multiple actors that include several smallholder farmers and the Ethiopian grain trade enterprise (EGTE) at the upstream and urban and rural consumers at the other end. The study stresses the need for formulation of market-enhancing policies, such as quality control and dispute settlement mechanisms as well as better access to market information, to improve wheat productivity as well as marketing efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–08–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubonwp:261290&r=agr |
| By: | Gregor Schwerhoff; Johanna Wehkamp |
| Abstract: | The forest conservation policy instrument REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is designed to compensate governments of tropical countries for their efforts to conserve forests. Food insecure countries that are specialized in agriculture and have weak institutions, are likely to face difficulties to enforce forest conservation. This article explores how far export tariffs on agricultural goods combined with public investments, could be used as a forest conservation policy mix in such contexts. We first show empirically that structural constraints to forest conservation policies are particularly pronounced in one third of countries where REDD+ programs are planned to be rolled out. We then develop a two sector competing land use model with a domestic food producing and an exporting agricultural sector. We show that it is possible to combine export tariffs with public investments such that deforestation decreases, while agricultural production levels and food prices remain constant. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–04–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:256060&r=agr |
| By: | Gamboa, Cindybell; Schuster, Monica; Schrevens, Eddie; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | The recent attention for quinoa as a highly nutritious “superfood” and the consequent increase in international quinoa trade is changing the production and consumption of quinoa among smallholder farmers in Andean regions, where the crop originates from. Quinoa is converting from a common staple and subsistence crop into a high-value cash crop. The rapid rise in international quinoa prices creates a concern about quinoa consumption – and consequent implications for nutrition – among Andean farm-households. In this paper, we estimate the own price elasticity of consumption of quinoa for quinoa-producing farm-households in the Peruvian Andes. We rely on the seminal Barnum-Squire farm-household model to explain the effects of food price changes that simultaneously affect farm-households’ consumption and production decisions. We apply the theoretical model to original farm-household survey data from Junín, a traditional quinoa producing region in Peru. The estimates show that a 1% increase in the quinoa price results in a 0.429% increase in quinoa production and a 0.238% increase in its consumption. Our finding of a positive own price elasticity of consumption of quinoa suggests that the global quinoa boom did not adversely affect the nutritional intake of smallholder quinoa producers. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2017–06–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:257840&r=agr |
| By: | Lecoutere, Els |
| Abstract: | Does increased cooperation between spouses in agricultural households lead to more efficient farming? This working paper describes an experiment in Uganda in which were given either couple seminars or randomly encouraged for an intensive coaching package or did not receive any treatment. First, the experiment found that intensively coached couples did better on joint management of food crops and cash crops than couples in the couple seminars group. Secondly, they were more likely to change towards more food security by growing crops with a more reliable harvest. Thirdly, intensive coached couples tended to adopt more sustainable and efficient farming practices for cash crops such as coffee as compared to the group without treatment. Fourthly, the intensive coaching resulted in a higher income from livestock as compared to the group without treatment; and while coffee income generally decreased over time, it decreases less among the intensively coached couples than among the couple seminar group. Fifthly, couples who received couple seminars bought or acquired more land than the group without treatment. And finally, couples from both the intensively coached and couple seminars groups reported they perceived their economic wellbeing as higher than couples who did not receive any treatment. Women seem to have particularly benefitted in terms of being better informed about the household income – which will help for their intrahousehold bargaining power – and in terms of subjective wellbeing and household food security. There is still little evidence of positive impact on household income or asset accumulation, but it may have been too soon for such impact to realise. |
| Keywords: | Uganda; intrahousehold cooperation |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:201807&r=agr |
| By: | Kavery Ganguly, Ashok Gulati, Joachim von Braun |
| Abstract: | Innovations are fast changing the agricultural landscape driven by the increasing need to shift towards sustainable practices without sacrificing the productivity and profitability of farming. Innovations in technology, institutions, processes, and products have contributed to the growth of agriculture, globally and in developing countries including India and Africa, as observed in the cases of green revolution in cereals; and gene revolution in cotton. More recently, innovations in farm mechanization, micro irrigation, digital technology driven farm and crop management, financial services, energy efficient post-harvest management including LED and solar driven logistics, among others are gaining momentum. These have considerable potential to impact farmers’ livelihood through higher productivity, better returns, more employability and in turn catalysing the shift towards sustainable agricultural practices through optimal utilization of resources. In addition to these, innovations in business models – “uberization” of agri-mechanization, direct firm-farm linkages, aggregation of farmers through producer organizations, etc. that make agricultural technology more affordable and adoptable for smallholder farmers are critical for economic and human development of people who depend on agriculture for their income and livelihood security and in effect impact poverty alleviation. For the developing world, innovations must infuse inclusive growth and deliver maximum benefits to the smallholder farmers. The present study involves an extensive stocktaking exercise of the types of innovations that have emerged globally and in India in particular, and their increasing impact on the agricultural sector. The stocktaking exercise is based not only on peer-reviewed research from the academic fields, but also draws on recent corporate studies. This is done because we observe an accelerated innovation process in which business and startups (for instance in digital services) play an important role. The important trends and therein the lessons learnt which can be adapted to suit the local conditions in India are captured. The study also looks into the policy and institutional reforms that will catalyze the introduction and adoption of the advanced technology solutions in the context of Indian agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017–07–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubonwp:259006&r=agr |
| By: | Maksud Bekchanov |
| Abstract: | Under increasing demand for water, fertilizer and energy, waste and wastewater treatment can be potential options for considerably enhancing not only the supply of these valuable economic assets but also for improving sanitation and ecological conditions. Effluents and treated wastewater are important for meeting water demands for agricultural irrigation, landscape irrigation, and environmental system enhancement. Fertilizer and nutrients recovered though recycling organic waste and filtering wastewater, or embedded in effluents can be essential inputs for increasing crop biomass, timber output, and production of aquatic crops and marine species such as fish. Similarly, energy recovered from waste and wastewater recycling (including dry manure for cooking and heating) is important for enhanced energy supply especially in remote rural areas of the developing countries. Yet, the utilization of the waste and wastewater resources for additional gains should consider the accepted safety measures in order to prevent environmental and health risks. Focusing on potential benefits from resources recycling and recovery yet being cautious on their external effects, this review critically assesses the available waste and wastewater treatment options, and their economic, environmental and health benefits and risks. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2017–05–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubonwp:257517&r=agr |
| By: | Kirui, Oliver K.; Kozicka, Marta |
| Abstract: | The study analyzes the current state of Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) in Africa and presents its challenges and opportunities. A review of the ATVET in selected Sub- Saharan Africa countries shows that there are far too few training opportunities for young people and that often, the training offered does not match the needs of the private sector and of local administrations. ATVET trainings focus primarily on production skills and on producers themselves with too little practical training. ATVET needs to be adapted to the context of increasingly commercial and technical 21st century agricultural systems. We use the German dual ATVET system as a case study for best practices. The study concludes that an effective reform of ATVET in Africa would require policies and initiatives that tackle the general challenges as well as taking advantage of country-specific opportunities. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubonwp:274536&r=agr |
| By: | Mywish K. Maredia, Robert Shupp, Edward Opoku, Fulgence Mishili, Byron Reyes, Paul Kusolwa, Francis Kusi, and Abdul Kudra |
| Abstract: | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Low effective demand is often cited as a major reason for the lack of private-sector involvement in the seed system for legume crops in developing countries. The viability of these seed systems depends on whether farmers perceive the seed product as a quality planting material, and whether they are willing to pay a premium for the seed relative to grain. To evaluate these issues, double blind field experiments and experimental auctions were conducted with more than 500 bean and cowpea farmers in northern Tanzania and northern Ghana. The experiments were designed to gauge the relative demand for three types of seed products: certified, quality declared (QDS), and recycled (i.e., grain saved from previous harvest). These three types of seeds differ in seed input (i.e., which generation of seed is used to produce them), the level of regulatory supervision they receive during production, and the technical conditions under which they are produced. Whether the production cost differential across these types of seeds makes them qualitatively different products as reflected in their perceived or actual performance of the plant, and whether that translates into sufficient price premiums paid by farmers for these better quality seeds are the research questions addressed by this study. Overall, the results of the field experiments indicate that, all else equal (i.e., the variety and management practices), plots planted with certified seed performed better on measures of objective indicators (i.e., yield, seed quality, and agronomic traits). However, the actual yield difference between the different bean plots in Tanzania was much smaller than the yield differential observed for the cowpea plots in Ghana. Irrespective of the magnitude of the yield differences (or yield deterioration observed over each generation of seed production), an important implication of this finding is that to increase productivity, it is not sufficient to promote only the adoption of improved varieties, but it is likely also necessary to promote the use of higher quality seed as an input. In both countries, plots planted with certified seeds were perceived, based on the observations of plots at the flowering and harvest stages, to be of the best quality by a majority of farmers. All else equal, farmers were willing to pay a premium for the higher quality seeds. The relative difference in farmers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for different seed types was highly correlated with the relative difference in their perceived quality. This willingness to pay a premium for quality legume seed by smallholder farmers is encouraging and indicative of the existence of an effective demand for self-pollinated crop seeds (as opposed to recycled grain) like beans and cowpeas. While a significant portion of farmers in the study (35-40%) were willing to pay a large enough premium to cover the higher production costs of certified seed, across both crop/country case studies, we found the rest of the legume growing farmers’ willingness to pay premium for quality seed was below the current local price of certified seed. Indeed, for a sub-set of these farmers in Tanzania (25%), the willingness to pay for quality seed was even lower than the local grain price. The implication of these findings is that there is no one-sizefits-all strategy to meet the seed needs of all the farmers. Current efforts to encourage the private sector to produce and supply certified seeds through agro-dealers can potentially meet the seed needs of at most 35-40% of farmers (if the quality of those seeds is substantially superior to recycled grain, and the seed is of a preferred variety). Clearly, more research and discussion is needed to assess the seed needs of the remaining (majority) farmers whose WTP for quality seed appears to be less than the current market price of certified seed. One avenue of research is to investigate mechanisms to lower the cost of producing quality seed, without reducing the incentives for seed producers, so that quality seed can be provided at prices closer to that of grain. While cost-reducing strategies through policy, programmatic and technological options should remain a high priority for governments and donor-supported programs such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), this study also indicates the need for continued support for innovative and smart subsidy-based approaches to meet the needs of the 15-20% of farmers whose WTP for seed is so low that for-profit seed production/marketing models will not work. In drawing this implication, we have not taken in to consideration the varietal preferences of farmers and how their absolute WTP for quality seed might be influenced by the type of variety, which was held constant in the experiments. More research is needed to understand farmers’ varietal preferences and their demand for seed that embodies both their preferred traits and quality. Across the two countries, results indicate that seed quality matters, and that on average certified seeds consistently outperformed both the QDS and recycled seeds. In Ghana, on average the QDS outperformed the recycled seed, but in Tanzania the QDS and recycled seed performed similarly. Community based QDS production and sale is often promoted as a lowcost option for increasing farmers’ access to quality seed within a community. However, if the lower cost also comes with lower quality, then the sustainability of QDS seed systems is questionable since farmers may not be willing to pay the price premium required. That said, this study also illustrates that when the advantages of planting better quality seed in place of recycled seed can be demonstrated, a significant portion of farmers appear to be willing to pay more, indicating that private sector seed systems can be viable. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2018–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:270988&r=agr |
| By: | Mertens, Kewan; Jacobs, Liesbet; Maes, Jan; Poesen, Jean; Kervyn, Matthieu; Vranken, Liesbet |
| Abstract: | Natural hazards have a large impact on household livelihoods worldwide, especially in the Global South. Yet, literature on the adoption of risk reduction measures at household level remains scattered and inconclusive. This study combines geographical data with an original cross-sectional household survey to investigate the relation between individual land use plans and both exposure to and experience with a natural hazard. Regressions are used to test the protection motivation theory (PMT) and to investigate the link between intentions to plant trees to reduce landslide risk and past experiences, actual exposure, perceived threat and perceived capacity to prevent the occurrence of landslides. The results show that respondents in our study area in Uganda are well aware of landslide risk and believe trees are effective in landslide susceptibility reduction. Yet, those farmers that would benefit most from reducing landslide susceptibility by planting trees have the lowest intention to do so. A low self-efficacy among exposed farmers is proposed to explain this result. This finding has important implications for disaster risk reduction and land use policies and leads to recommendations on how governments and development agents should communicate about landslide risk. |
| Keywords: | Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:265433&r=agr |
| By: | Holland, Jacqueline; Widmar, Nicole; Widmar, David; Gunderson, Michael |
| Abstract: | Farm management is a series of complex processes incorporating a variety of dynamic factors, including biological production systems, resource allocation and management, and the management of increasingly complex financial and economic systems. Farm managers are constantly required to prioritize and allocate management effort and attention amongst these factors and evaluate tradeoffs. This analysis elicited from commercial producers the relative ranking of five critical farm management focus areas, namely, managing production; managing land, equipment, and facilities; controlling costs; managing output prices; and managing people. Out of a total of 2,247 commercial farms in this study, the largest mean shares of importance were placed on controlling costs (28.6%) and managing production (27.3%). Producers, on average, emphasized the management areas of controlling costs and managing production, relative to managing land, equipment, and facilities; managing people; and managing output prices, for farm success. Correlations between the farm management focus areas studied were estimated from producer-specific share of importance estimates resulting from a random parameters logit model; the strongest correlation observed was the negative relationship between managing production and controlling costs. Implications for self-identified success factors, or critical areas of management focus, of commercial farms are far reaching, potentially influencing sales, marketing, and decision support for these operations, as well as driving research and programmatic focus to provide relevant information to these producers moving forward. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:puaewp:246902&r=agr |
| By: | Chamberlin, Jordan; Jayne, T. S. |
| Abstract: | This study attempts to evaluate the impact of farmland concentration on rural productivity growth within smallholder households in Tanzania. Conceptually, farmland concentration occurs when relatively few farms have relatively large shares of the arable land resources in a given area. If large farms bring benefits that spillover to surrounding smallholders, then we would expect positive impacts of greater land concentration on growth. If, on the other hand, a small set of large farms dominates production, then growth multipliers may be lower than for areas with more egalitarian land distributions. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:264402&r=agr |
| By: | Theriault, Veronique; Smale, Melinda; Haider, Hamza |
| Abstract: | Achieving food security in Sub- Saharan Africa depends on raising the productivity of smallholder farmers, and in Burkina Faso, there is no option for enhancing crop productivity other than intensification. The soils in the Sahel and Savanna of West Africa are old, deep and poor in soil organic matter, with low capacity to retain nutrients, while this region is also the most densely populated in the continent. Yet, as in other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, the national agricultural research system formulated fertilizer recommendations during the 1970s and 1980s, but these did not, and still do not, take differing agro-ecologies into account. The heterogeneity of agro-ecological and soil conditions has led to a diversity of farming systems and cropping patterns. This heterogeneity, along with incomplete input markets, creates highly variable economic incentives for smallholder farmers. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:263194&r=agr |
| By: | Mutanyagwa, Ange Pacifique |
| Abstract: | Improved maize seed varieties are bred with characteristics such as drought and disease tolerance which may not capture farmers’ preference. It is therefore, imperative to consider attributes that are preferred by farmers in developing maize seed varieties. This research was conducted to determine attributes that are most preferred by smallholder maize farmers in Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed to (i) characterize smallholder farmers’ preferences for improved maize seed varieties depending on their socio-economic characteristics, (ii) assess the heterogeneity of farmers’ preferences for improved maize seed varieties and (iii) determine factors that influence farmers’ choice of the most preferred improved maize seed varieties. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. The study findings revealed that majority (74.7%) of the households were male-headed and (83%) were married. About 90 percent of the farmers had no access to extension services that is supposed to play an important role in agricultural information dissemination. The most preferred improved maize varieties in all zones were PAN6549, SC 627, SC 713, STAHA, KILIMA and DK 8371due to higher production potential. A Logit model showed that agro-ecological zones, farm size, household size and yield positively influenced the likelihood of farmers’ choice of improved maize seed varieties. Based on these findings, it is recommended that researchers and suppliers of seed should consider the attributes of farmers’ preference in the production of improved maize seeds and put more emphasis on facilitating the delivery of agricultural extension services for more effective uptake of agricultural technologies. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:265536&r=agr |
| By: | Johnson, Andrew; Abdoulaye,Tahirou; Ayedun,Bamikole; Fulton, Joan R.; Olynk Widmar, Nicole; Adebowale,Akande; Bandyopadhyay, Ranajit; Manyong, Victor |
| Abstract: | Aflatoxin is a potent mycotoxin that can cause cancer, stunted growth, and (in extreme instances) rapid death. Aflatoxin can contaminate many staple crops, including maize and groundnuts. As many as 4.5 billion people in the developing world may be chronically exposed. Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Resource Service, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and African Agricultural Technology Foundation have developed a biological control product called Aflasafe. IITA is currently working with the AgResults initiative to promote widespread adoption of Aflasafe in Nigeria and with the Aflasafe Technology Transfer and Commercialization Program to promote Aflasafe adoption in 11 African countries. In the fall of 2016, 902 oral surveys were administered to smallholder maize farmers in Nigeria. The survey was developed to obtain data regarding farmer awareness of aflatoxin and Aflasafe. At least 88% of farmers who head heard of aflatoxin claimed to recognize the negative health impacts of aflatoxin consumption on human and animal health. Private sector players were critical sources of information about Aflasafe for farmers. First-time users of Aflasafe persisted more frequently in purchasing the product in future growing seasons in some states than others. Stronger relationships between farmers and input suppliers seemed to increase the likelihood a farmer would repurchase. Farmers who purchase Aflasafe bundled with other inputs appeared more likely to repurchase than farmers who purchase Aflasafe stand-alone. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–05–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:puaewp:257178&r=agr |
| By: | Lemeilleur, Sylvaine; Subervie, Julie; Presoto, Anderson Edilson; de Castro Souza, Roberta; Macchione Saes, Maria Sylvia |
| Abstract: | We survey Brazilian coffee farmers’ preferences for attributes of voluntary sustainability standards using a choice experiment. We collected original data from 250 coffee farmers who live in the state of Minas Gerais who were asked to choose from several hypothetical buying contracts for eco-certified coffee. Our results suggest that both cash and non-cash payments may motivate farmers to participate in sustainability standard certification schemes that require improved agricultural practices. Preferences for non-cash rewards such as long-term formal contracts or technical assistance, however, appear highly heterogeneous. Results more-over show that the minimum willingness-to-accept for the adoption of composting is twice as high as the maximum price premium for certified coffee in the current context, which may partly explain why most coffee farmers continue to be reluctant to enter the most stringent eco-certification schemes such as the organic standard. French abstract : Dans cet article, nous étudions les préférences des producteurs de café brésiliens pour les attributs des standards volontaires de durabilité, par une méthode d’expérimentation des choix. Nous avons collecté des données originales auprès de 250 producteurs de café de l'État du Minas Gerais, invités à choisir parmi plusieurs contrats d'achat hypothétiques exigeant l'amélioration des pratiques agricoles. Nos résultats suggèrent que les paiements monétaires et non monétaires peuvent inciter les agriculteurs à participer à des standards de durabilité certifiés. Néanmoins, les préférences pour les récompenses non monétaires, tels que les contrats formels de long terme ou l’assistance technique, apparaissent très hétérogènes. De plus, les résultats montrent que la prime de consentement à adopter le compost comme moyen de fertilisation est deux fois plus élevé que la prime maximum actuelle pour le café certifié. Ceci peut expliquer en partie la raison pour laquelle la plupart des producteurs de café continuent d'être réticents à entrer dans des systèmes de certification exigeant comme le standard d’agriculture biologique. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inramo:245867&r=agr |
| By: | Mbowa, Swaibu; Nakazi, Florence; Nkandu, Joseph |
| Abstract: | Predictions demonstrate that climate change is likely to stifle the coffee development program in Uganda at three levels: (i) by reducing survival rate of coffee seedlings to expand coffee acreage; (ii) exacerbate productivity challenges in an inherently constrained rain-fed low input coffee production system; and (iii) contributing to reduction in quality of coffee beans (specifically bean size) produced leading to losses in absolute value in export earnings. This is likely to slow down the low middle-income status by 2020 target of exporting 20 million (60 Kg bags) annually. The farmers’ ownership model piloted by the National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE), where a smallholder farmer is guaranteed premium prices for value addition, offers a strategy to sustainably invest in climate smart agriculture 1 (involving use of irrigation and fertilizer)1in coffee production. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcpb:265772&r=agr |
| By: | Hendriks, Sheryl L |
| Abstract: | KEY FINDINGS It is essential that NAIPs: • Establish the pathways to change and link these to impact indicators; • Align and consider international, African and regional instruments and declarations as well as domestic priorities; • Establish appropriate technical and political structures that avoid duplication and complexity; and • Ensure that clear coordination, supervision, monitoring, evaluation and reporting structures and frameworks are set out in a coherent and integrated manner. Key messages regarding the zero draft of the Nigeria NAIP2: • There is a disconnect between the APP, Agriculture Food and Nutrition Security Strategy and the NAIP2. • The zero draft NAIP2 is intended to be the implementation plan for the APP. The Agriculture Food and Nutrition Security Strategy is intended to be the food security pillar of the APP but is not included in the design of the NAIP2. • The conceptual framework, governance and implementation modalities and monitoring and evaluation sections would benefit from significant revision to align these with internal purposes and to the Malabo commitments and indicators. • Benchmarks, pathways to change and appropriate indicators for monitoring and achieving progress on the Malabo commitments are missing. • The elements on food security, nutrition, and gender are inadequate to achieve the CAADP Malabo commitments and contribute to the achievement of the ERGP and the APP. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2018–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffpb:275669&r=agr |
| By: | Waweru, Caroline Waithira; Nyikal, Rose; Busienei, John R |
| Abstract: | Kenya‟s dairy sector has been reported as a success story, with over 70 percent of the gross marketed output produced in smallholdings. Despite the celebrated success which has seen a number of processing plants established, and the export market opportunities coming up, the sector is not without problems. At the primary level, one of the biggest challenges among many is variations in milk supply attributable to over-reliance on foliage produced under uncertain rainfall conditions, exacerbated by climate change. These challenges and uncertainties bring about the element of risk in Kenya‟s dairy farming. Farmers‟ mitigation strategies, however, are not clear. This study therefore set out to determine the risk attitude of farmers, the risk management strategies that they use and the socio-economic factors affecting their choice of Risk Management Strategies (RMS). This is in a bid to understand how best to reduce the effects of the risks and in turn reduce the adverse agricultural output and income instabilities. The study was carried out in Murang‟a County where 212 households were interviewed. The Certainty Equivalent approach was used to determine the farmers‟ risk attitudes while descriptive analysis and factor analysis were used to assess the major RMS. Factor analysis was also used to assess farmers‟ perception of the most important RMS and Probit regressions were applied to evaluate socioeconomic factors that determine choice of RMS. Results indicate that 73 percent of the farmers were risk averse, 22 percent were risk loving while 5 percent were risk neutral. The major RMS used by dairy farmers were found to be income diversification, training and financial interventions. The 5 strategies the dairy farmers perceived as most important are financial strategies, training strategies, income diversification strategies, labour strategies and insurance strategies. The results further indicated that choice of income diversification RMS was determined by gender of the household head, distance to the v tarmac road, perception on financial strategies and perception on the importance of income diversification strategies. The choice of training RMS was found to be determined by membership to a farmer group, access to extension services, credit access, agro-ecological zone, household size, wealth index, distance to the tarmac road and perception on the importance of training strategies. The choice of using financial RMS was found to be significantly influenced by membership to a dairy cooperative, gender of the household head, credit access, risk attitude, total land size, perception on the importance of financial strategies and perception on the importance of labour strategies. The study recommends that extension officers together with financial service providers should develop women training programs aimed at disseminating information on good financial risk management strategies within the dairy industry. This will increase farmers‟ knowledge on risk management which will consequently increase farmers‟ uptake of the RMS. In addition, extension officers in collaboration with dairy cooperatives could help in establishing farmer groups through which the extension officers can use to disseminate agricultural information that is related to risk management. This will enable farmers have better access to information and will help influence the uptake of training RMS and financial RMS. Finally, the results indicate that majority of the farmers are risk averse therefore they would be potential clients for insurance packages whose uptake would help in stabilizing incomes. These recommendations would help the dairy farmers in managing risk which in the long run would lead to higher and more stable incomes as well as improved agricultural output that would serve to improve the food security status in the County |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness |
| Date: | 2017–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unaaed:271063&r=agr |
| By: | Mwesigye, Francis; Sserunjogi, Brian; Mbowa, Swaibu |
| Abstract: | Uganda’s agricultural growth has stagnated at about 2 percent for almost two decades yet the sector employs about 70% of the working population and contributes 40 percent of export earnings. On the other hand, Uganda’s population growth rate remains very high, above 3 percent per annum, signaling the likelihood of food insecurity and increase in poverty incidence. It is thus clear that the current state of agriculture cannot support the country’s target of attaining the lower-middle income status by 2020. A number of policies, programs and interventions have been implemented with no success in transforming the sector. These include: Structural Adjustment Programmes, Economic Recovery Program, Poverty Action Eradication Plan, and Plan for Modernization of Agriculture, among others. Indeed, the sector is at crossroads because while it is clear of what needs to be done to transform the sector, the current institutional set up seems weak and uncoordinated to effectively implement the required transformative interventions. Approaches that enhance institutional coordination, promote agricultural research and strengthen extension service provision would aid in revamping agricultural performance. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2017–07–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcpb:262885&r=agr |
| By: | Martina Bozzola; Emanuele Massetti; Robert Mendelsohn; Fabian Capitanio |
| Abstract: | This research investigates the potential impact of warming on Italian agriculture. Using a detailed dataset of 16,000 farms across Italy, the study examines likely warming impacts in different regions and for different sectors of Italian agriculture. The study finds that farm net revenues are very sensitive to seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation. Livestock and crop farms have different responses to climate as do rain-fed farms and irrigated farms. The overall results suggest mild consequences from marginal changes in climate but increasingly harmful effects from more severe climate scenarios. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–06–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:257878&r=agr |
| By: | Dube, Biru Gelgo |
| Abstract: | Ethiopia’s agricultural sector accounts to 40 percent of national Gross Domestic Product. This shows that the sector is important in improving the livelihoods of the bulk of the population. Despite its importance, the agricultural sector in Ethiopia is characterized by low productivity. To improve this and overall economic growth, the Ethiopian government has focused on promotion of organic fertilizer use. However, adoption of organic fertilizer remains low in most parts of Ethiopia including Shashemene district. This study therefore aimed at identifying the major constraints of organic fertilizer adoption and its income effect with specific objectives being determining transaction costs associated with adoption of organic fertilizer, factors influencing adoption and use intensity and impact of organic fertilizer use on households’ farm income. The study used primary data which was collected from 368 smallholder farmers. The analytical framework incorporated descriptive statistics, double hurdle model and propensity score matching. The results showed that the average transaction costs through bargaining, searching for information and transportation were 68.23 ETB, 53.33 ETB and 124.53 ETB respectively. Policing and enforcement costs were non-existent among the farmers. The household size, livestock number, extension contacts, access to information media and membership to farmer groups significantly influenced the decision to adopt organic fertilizer. The farm income, size of the cultivated plot, membership to farmer groups and application frequency of organic fertilizer significantly influenced the intensity of organic fertilizer use. Propensity score matching revealed that the adoption of organic fertilizer increased farmers per hectare farm income by between 2661 ETB and 2959 ETB. Thus, farmers should be encouraged to adopt organic fertilizer. This could be possible if the government and other stakeholders gave more attention to provision of better extension services and better access to information related to organic fertilizer adoption as well as making availability of this fertilizer to farmers easier. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2016–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:265573&r=agr |
| By: | Sitko, Nicholas J.; Jayne, T.S.; Burke, William J.; Muyanga, Milu |
| Abstract: | Ongoing transformations of agri-food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are garnering considerable attention from policy-makers, researchers, and development partners. While a growing body of literature has examined transformations occurring within the farm production, processing and retail segments of the food systems, there has been surprisingly little attention to the so-called middle segments—trading and wholesaling. Beneficial changes in African grain markets hold considerable potential to improve livelihoods in the region, because grain-marketing costs typically account fo r 50-60% of the price paid for staple foods by African consumers (Jayne et al. 2010). This lack of empirical attention, particularly for staple cereals, is an important blind spot in our knowledge of recent transformations of these food systems. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:263195&r=agr |
| By: | Katunze, Miriam; Kuteesa, Annette; Mijumbi, Theresa; Mahebe, Denis |
| Abstract: | Warehouse Receipt Systems (WRS) allow farmers and traders to access markets and financial Systems. While this system is not new in Uganda, as seen through both public and private efforts since 2004 during its pilot, little is known as to why it failed to ensure market access and credit. With the Uganda Warehouse Receipt System Authority in place, the government of Uganda seeks to reinstate the public warehouse receipt system with a concentration on the electronic-WRS. This study, therefore, critically reviews the evolution of the WRS, reviews the current policy support for the WRS and documents the perceived benefits and challenges of private sector stakeholders of the WRS in Uganda. This paper relies on both quantitative and qualitative analyses to respond to the objectives. The Agricultural Technology and Agribusiness Advisory Services (ATAAS) database by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is used for quantitative analysis, while the Structure Conduct Performance (SCP) framework is used for qualitative analysis. The results reveal that while the market structure and conduct of the pilot WRS was implemented as theorized, it faced various barriers that led to poor market performance. Overall, the actors perceive that the benefits of the WRS are numerous, including stable and high prices, thereby reducing price exploitation, especially on smallholder farmers. They also perceive that the system will enable access to secure and stable markets using a secure and transferable warehouse receipt. However, the actors perceive that more people will be attracted to the WRS if there is mass sensitization and a revision of the costs of storage, cleaning, and other marketing costs. This paper highlights an important policy implication for the implementation of the WRS, including the need for the government to spearhead the promotion of standards, strengthen the capacity of collective action, and stress the importance of increasing the sensitization of all aspects of the WRS. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2017–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcrs:260019&r=agr |
| By: | Ashimwe, Olive |
| Abstract: | Agriculture remains a major source of livelihood in Rwanda. However, the sector is faced by many covariate risks. A major component of covariate risk in Rwandan agriculture is weather-related production risk. Weather index-based crop insurance is one tool used to improve risk management practices in many drought-prone countries including Rwanda. Despite the existence of crop insurance as a mechanism to mitigate weather-related losses, its impact on household income in Rwanda remains unknown. This study assessed the impact of farmer participation in a crop insurance scheme on household income in Huye District. A multi-stage random sampling strategy was used to collect primary data using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 246 households. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the patterns of farmer participation and uptake of crop insurance in the study area. Propensity score matching (PSM) was then used to assess the impact of farmer participation in crop insurance on household income. This involved an analysis of factors influencing farmer participation in the insurance scheme using a logit model. The results of the logit model showed that cooperative membership (p=0.001), use of irrigation (p=0.060), crop diversification (p=0.001), years of experience with crop insurance (p=0.000), distance to a paved road (p=0.01), and wealthy category (p=0.004) significantly influenced farmer participation in the crop insurance in Huye District. The Nearest Neighbor Matching, Radius Matching and Kernel-Based Matching algorithms showed that the matching process was justified among participants and non-participants in the insurance scheme. An average treatment effect of US$100 was found as the difference between participant and non-participant household income. This shows that the weather index-based insurance had a positive impact on participants’ incomes in Huye District. Accordingly, the study recommends the promotion of the crop insurance among non-participants through educational and awareness campaigns by the Ministry of Agriculture and insurance companies. The government of Rwanda in partnership with Rwanda Cooperative Agency should persuade more farmers to join cooperatives through regular and targeted campaigns. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2016–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:265675&r=agr |
| By: | Maredia,Mywish K.; Suvedi,Murari; Pitoro,Raul; Ghimire,Raju |
| Abstract: | The Cambodia Helping Address Rural Vulnerabilities and E cosystem Stability (Cambodia HARVEST) was a five -year (December 2010 -June 2016) USAID Feed the Future (FTF) initiative implemented in selected districts across four provinces of Cambodia – Battambang, Pursat, Siem Reap, and Kampong Thom. HARVEST program interventions focused on increasing incomes to influence nutrition outcomes. This was achieved through an approach that integrated activities from a range of sectors —agriculture, fisheries, forestry, nutrition and more —to help families in rural areas grow, p urchase, and prepare more nutritious foods. Cambodia HARVEST was rolled out in phases over the 5 1/2-year period, which ended in June 2016. Over that time, the project’s strategy evolved as activities were scaled up, but the overall approach remained guided by the principles of linking agriculture and nutrition to achieve some of the overarching development goals of reducing poverty and malnutrition. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:262393&r=agr |
| By: | Kanyamuka, Joseph S.; Nankhuni, Flora J.; Jayne, Thomas S.; Munthali, Moses W. |
| Abstract: | Key Messages • Fertilizer use can be made more profitable with the inclusion of complementary interventions such as integrated soil fertility management practices that include integrating legumes in farming systems, crop rotation, application of organic manure in combination with inorganic fertilizers, and application of lime on acidic soils, among others. • By raising the efficiency of fertilizer use, these complementary interventions can expand the effective demand for fertilizers in a sustainable manner without dependence on subsidy programs. • Extension programs featuring good agronomic practices such as timely planting, correct and timely fertilizer application, timely weeding and proper plant spacing will also raise the efficiency of fertilizer use. • Effective implementation of these interventions will require public investments in agricultural research and responsive extension systems. • While typically considered outside the range of fertilizer promotion policies, public investment in road, rail-way and rural infrastructure and competitive behavior of the Malawi transport sector is another powerful way to boost fertilizer access by farmers. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2018–05–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miffpb:275670&r=agr |
| By: | Mistry, Malcolm N.; Wing, Ian Sue; De Cian, Enrica |
| Abstract: | Global gridded crop models (GGCMs) are the workhorse of assessments of the agricultural impacts of climate change. Yet the changes in crop yields projected by different models in response to the same meteorological forcing can differ substantially. Through an inter-method comparison, we provide a first glimpse into the origins and implications of this divergence—both among GGCMs and between GGCMs and historical observations. We examine yields of rainfed maize, wheat, and soybeans simulated by six GGCMs as part of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project-Fast Track (ISIMIP-FT) exercise, comparing 1981-2004 hindcast yields over the coterminous United States (U.S.) against U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) time series for about 1,000 counties. Leveraging the empirical climate change impacts literature, we estimate reduced-form econometric models of crop yield responses to temperature and precipitation exposures for both GGCMs and observations. We find that up to 60% of the variance in both simulated and observed yields is attributable to weather variation. Majority of the GGCMs have difficulty reproducing the observed distribution of percentage yield anomalies, and exhibit aggregate responses that show yields to be more weather-sensitive than in the observational record over the predominant range of temperature and precipitation conditions. This disparity is largely attributable to heterogeneity in GGCMs’ responses, as opposed to uncertainty in historical weather forcings, and is responsible for widely divergent impacts of climate on future crop yields. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–09–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:263480&r=agr |
| By: | Gauly, Sarah; Müller, Andreas; Spiller, Achim |
| Abstract: | Public interest in livestock farming is increasing, as is general criticism regarding the welfare of farm animals. In this context, husbandry systems for pigs especially are perceived very negatively. Despite rising concern for animal farming, most people lack detailed knowledge of modern agricultural production processes, as well as direct contact with agriculture. With regards to public demand for transparency of production quality and animal welfare standards, farmers and farmer associations in several countries have begun installing webcams in dairy, pig and poultry farming operations. Along with informational texts, pictures from webcams are publicly available on the internet and are used as a new type of communication tool aimed at increasing the acceptance of livestock farming by providing farming-specific information. However, there are currently no existing studies quantitatively investigating the effect of webcam pictures from stables and accompanying informational texts on the broader public. In a randomized between-subject experimental design, we presented two webcam pictures from conventional pig barns (pig fattening barn and sow farrowing pen) to the broader public, along with two different informational texts (one written directly by farmers and one neutrally written by the authors). Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine 1) if the attitude towards pig farming changes after having seen the webcam pictures, 2) if different informational texts alter the evaluation of webcam pictures, 3) if there are differences in the perception of webcam pictures of a pig fattening barn and a sow farrowing pen, and 4) how people evaluate the use of webcams as a public relations tool that can be used to provide transparency. It was determined that the majority of respondents display a more negative attitude after viewing the webcam pictures and informational texts, and this is especially true for participants reading the neutrally written texts. Further, the farrowing pen is evaluated substantially more negatively than the pig fattening pen. Regarding the overall evaluation of webcams, people seem to appreciate that farmers show real pictures from their stables, although a rather low interest in the usage of webcams in agriculture can be observed. Thus, although transparency may be enhanced through the use of webcams, our findings suggest that webcams generally do not show the desired effects on the public and are likely to be unable to improve the image of pig farming by simply providing information via pictures and texts. Finally, the application of webcams as a communication tool cannot be recommended, at least not for the husbandry systems investigated within this study. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gadadp:260769&r=agr |
| By: | Kirui, Oliver K.; von Braun, Joachim |
| Abstract: | This study provides an overview on the patterns and dynamics of mechanization in African agriculture over the 10 year period (2005-2014). Farm level and value chain related mechanization are considered. This study looks in to pattern of agricultural mechanization along the entire value chain (production, post-harvest, processing, transport and storage) and compares it with the annual average agricultural output over the same time period. Clusters of countries are identified by grouping countries into those that have simultaneously experienced high growth rate in agricultural machinery and also in agricultural output, including; Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia. On the opposite side of the spectrum are countries with low growth in machinery and in agricultural output, and include for instance Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Egypt. In general, there is a positive correlation (of 0.52) between agricultural machinery growth and agricultural output growth in Africa, which is a classical two – way relationship, not to be interpreted as a causal one. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2018–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubonwp:273522&r=agr |
| By: | Alice Favero; Robert Mendelsohn; Brent Sohngen |
| Abstract: | It is well known that the forestry sector is sensitive to climate change but most studies have examined impacts only through 2100 and warming of less than 4°C. This is the first timber analysis to consider possible climate change impacts out to 2250 and warming up to 11°C above 1900 levels. The results suggest that large productivity gains through 2190 lead to a continued expansion of the global timber supply. However, as carbon fertilization effects diminish and continued warming causes forestland to continue to shrink, warming above 8°C is predicted to become harmful to the forest sector. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:263162&r=agr |
| By: | Cesar Blanco (Central Bank of Paraguay); Xavier Raurich (Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The differences in labor productivity between developed and developing countries are substantially larger in agriculture than in non-agriculture. We argue that structural change within agricultural sectors explains part of these differences. We consider two agricultural sectors that are differentiated only by the capital intensity of the production function. As capital accumulates, the price of the non-capital intensive agricultural sector relative to the price of the capital intensive agricultural sector increases. This price change drives a process of structural change within agriculture that depends on the value of the elasticity of substitution among agricultural goods. When this elasticity is large, we show that this structural change driven by capital accumulation implies (i) a reduction in the number of farmers; (ii) an increase in the average farm size; (iii) an increase in the capital intensity of the agricultural sector relative to the non-agricultural sector; and (iv) an increase in the labor productivity of the agricultural sector relative to the non-agricultural sector. We highlight that if the elasticity is low then the sectoral composition within the agricultural sector remains constant, which implies that capital intensity does not increase, the increase in the average farm size is small and, hence, the increase in the labor productivity of the agricultural sector is also small. We conclude that structural change within agriculture contributes to explain the fast increase in agricultural productivity. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:772&r=agr |
| By: | Charity, Nabwire Ephamia Juma |
| Abstract: | Geographical indication (GI) identifies a product as originating from a given territory, region or country. This form of product-labelling signifies reputation for quality, safety and authenticity. It is a form of value-based label that can curb honey adulteration through enabling product traceability. This study analyzed honey consumers’ awareness of GI and their willingness to pay for quality attributes of honey in Kenya. A quantitative experimental research design; choice experiment (CE) based on a D-optimal design was used. Primary data was collected through consumer surveys using structured questionnaires. Respondents were drawn from three urban centres: Nairobi, Nakuru and Kitui. In addition, consumers’ awareness and preferences for geographical and quality honey attributes were analyzed using probit and random parameter logit models, respectively. Results reveal that consumers have limited knowledge of GI. Factors that influence GI awareness are consumers’ perceptions, trust, gender, education level and information. Therefore, there is need to increase the spread of GI knowledge and its benefits through consumer education forums. Furthermore, consumers prefer local honey that is organic, with specific origin labels and produced in semi-arid areas. The study therefore recommends stringent labelling of honey with its specific region of origin and organic certification. Consequently, consumers are willing to pay a premium to improve the authenticity of current honey labels: origin and botanical labels for traceability and organic for food safety. Consumers also prefer a joint public-private regulation. There is a niche market for thick honey labelled with its GI, organic, botanical source and certified by both public and private body. This consumer segment would pay up to 430% premium. This study recommends for consumer education across gender and age and implementation of GI labelling for food products trusted by consumers. Stakeholders should be enabled to implement GI labels in Kenya because of high consumer preferences. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2016–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:265574&r=agr |
| By: | Mertens, Kewan; Vranken, Liesbet |
| Abstract: | The poor and vulnerable tend to be increasingly exposed to natural hazards like landslides. Land markets are one of the channels through which farmers get exposed to such hazards. This paper investigates the consequences of land transactions for the (un)equal distribution of exposure to landslide risk and of total land holdings in a rural area in Western Uganda. We propose and empirically test a mechanism through which land holdings and exposure to landslide risk evolves over a farmer’s lifetime. A structured household survey and detailed information on land transaction as well as georeferenced information on plots was used to construct a panel dataset of land transactions. Regressions with household fixed effects were run to identify how landholdings and exposure to landslide susceptibility evolves over a farmer’s lifetime. We find that farmers that are initially more exposed to landslides manage to reduce their average exposure to some extent by acquiring plots outside landslide prone areas. This goes at a cost, as farmers that are initially highly exposed acquire land more slowly than farmers that have a lower exposure on their first plot. Over a lifetime, in our case study, land transactions therefore have a somewhat levelling effect on inequality in exposure to landslide susceptibility, but increase the inequality in land ownership. As such, one of the ways through which unequal risk exposure contributes to propagating inequality in total land ownings is theoretical and empirically identified. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2017–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:265432&r=agr |
| By: | Zucaro, Raffaella; Manganiello, Veronica |
| Abstract: | The European Union has adopted a comprehensive strategy to prevent and fight agro-food frauds (AFFs).This strategy is based on many Regulations focusing in several aspects of AFFs. The most important are:- Regulation (EC) n.178/2002, setting up the general principles and requirements of a food law, establishing the European Food Authority (EFSA) and laying down procedures regarding matters of food safety. In addition, it has set up a regulatory system according to the principles of subsidiary principle and risk analysis. From this regulation, a set of EU regulations has emerged under the so-called the “hygiene package”; - Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011, setting the rules for the provision of food information to consumers, harmonizing the various national laws and overcoming the requirements of the previous Directive 2000/13/EC; - Regulation (EU) no. 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs produced with designation of origin, geographical indication or traditional speciality. This Regulation, known as “Quality Package”. After a general overview, the main normative issue of two important sector are analysed: the wine and olive oil sectors. Both of them are regulated by several regulations, law and decree in order to coverage all the aspect of value chain to prevent and fight agro foods frauds. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Industrial Organization |
| Date: | 2017–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea17:261260&r=agr |
| By: | Kone, Mankan M. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cafp17:253641&r=agr |
| By: | Campus, Daniela |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the empirical evidence on the gender differences in agricultural productivity. Using detailed household and individual data from the Uganda LSMS-ISA (2009-10; 2010-11) we estimate the value of productivity of crops grown per acre of harvested land at the household level, based on the gender of the land manager. Results from the Tobit model with fixed effects confirm the findings of the existing literature: controlling also for socio-economic variables and plot characteristics (soil quality, topography, distance from the homestead), as well as for the use of inputs (both labour and other inputs than labour) female managed plots are less productive than plots managed by men. Better individual agricultural data disaggregated by gender may allow to better identify the reasons of such productivity gap. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2017–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea17:261259&r=agr |
| By: | Vollmer, Elisabeth; Hermann, Daniel; Mußhoff, Oliver |
| Abstract: | The identification of the optimal selling time of stored goods is among the most essential eco- nomic decisions on a farm. Beyond monetary aspects, behavioral factors may influence farm- ers’ selling behavior. In financial economics, the disposition effect is a commonly observed phenomenon. It indicates that investors hold losing stocks too long, while they sell stocks that have increased in value too early. In the context of agriculture, this behavioral bias has not been analyzed thoroughly yet. To close this research gap, we conducted an incentivized online experiment with 112 farmers in Germany. The experimental design was based on well-proven experiments from financial economics and adapted to an agricultural decision context where stored goods must be sold. Farmers were provided information on the uncertain price devel- opments. In addition, lotteries were conducted to elicit farmers’ risk attitude, probability weighting, and loss aversion. Results indicate that there is a robust disposition effect in farm- ers’ selling behavior. Furthermore, more loss-averse farmers exhibited a higher disposition effect. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Financial Economics |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gadadp:260767&r=agr |
| By: | Jalang’o, Dorcas Anyango; Otieno, David Jakinda; Oluoch-Kosura, Willis |
| Abstract: | Supermarkets and other high value markets are rapidly expanding, offering lucrative prices for suppliers of fresh produce. Participation in high value markets holds potential for raising smallholder farmers’ income and reducing poverty in rural areas. However, access to such markets has been a challenge to many smallholder farmers. Despite a growing literature on farmers’ participation in supermarkets, there is limited documentation on the analysis of smallholder African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) farmers’ involvement in Kenya. Besides that, there is no literature on other emerging high value domestic markets such as hospitals, schools and hotels. In order to address this knowledge gap, this study examined the factors that influence smallholder AIVs farmers’ participation in such markets in rural Kenya. In order to address this knowledge gap, the present study analyzed data from a random sample of 150 AIVs farmers in Siaya County, Kenya. Descriptive methods were used to characterize smallholders while a binary logit model was applied to assess factors that influence market participation. The results showed that production is dominated by female farmers using conventional farming methods and inputs. The traditional marketing system is dominant with less than 13% of the farmers selling their vegetables to high value markets. The results of the logit model show that the years in formal education, household income, price, output and access to credit had a positive and significant influence on farmers’ participation in high value markets. However, distance had a negative influence on market participation. Based on these findings, the study recommends policy interventions targeting investments on access to non-restricted credit especially from group-based informal member schemes. Moreover, interventions targeting enhanced access to better production technologies of AIVs would be a milestone in improving quality and quantity of output. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2016–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unaaed:269269&r=agr |
| By: | Steffen, Christoph; Yu, Xiaohua |
| Abstract: | While there is rich literature covering theoretical concepts of transaction costs very few empirical strategies have been provided to estimate them. The theoretical framework proposed in this paper is based on a unit value decomposition and defines transaction costs as the difference between a unit value and a frontier value realized in a situation without transaction costs. Estimates of transaction costs are obtained by means of stochastic frontier models with the data from Kenyan maize farmers. We find a magnitude of 12-18% for maize transactions in rural Kenya and identify drive time, market distance, education and counterparts in negotiations as main determinants. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, Industrial Organization |
| Date: | 2018–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gadadp:274537&r=agr |
| By: | Kenkel, Phil; Crossman, Zack |
| Keywords: | Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2017–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ncer17:265445&r=agr |
| By: | Olivier Deschenes; Kyle C. Meng |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the application of quasi-experimental methods in environmental economics. We begin with two observations: i) standard quasi-experimental methods, first applied in other microeconomic fields, typically assume unit-level treatments that do not spill over across units; (ii) because public goods, such as environmental attributes, exhibit externalities, treatment of one unit often affects other units. To explore the implications of applying standard quasi-experimental methods to public good problems, we extend the potential outcomes framework to explicitly distinguish between unit-level source and the resulting group-level exposure of a public good. This new framework serves as a foundation for reviewing and interpreting key papers from the recent empirical literature. We formally demonstrate that two common quasi-experimental estimators of the marginal social benefit of a public good can be biased due to externality spillovers, even when the source of the public good itself is quasi-randomly assigned. We propose an unbiased estimator for the valuation of local public goods and discuss how it can be implemented in future studies. Finally, we consider how to preserve the advantages of the quasi-experimental approach when valuing global public goods, such as climate change mitigation, for which no control units are available. |
| JEL: | C21 H23 H41 Q50 Q51 Q52 Q53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24903&r=agr |
| By: | Massetti, Emanuele; Mendelsohn, Robert |
| Abstract: | Estimated Ricardian models have been criticized because they rely on mean temperatures and do not explicitly include extreme temperatures. This paper uses a cross sectional approach to compare a standard quadratic Ricardian model of mean temperature with a fully flexible daily temperature bin model of farmland values in the Eastern United States. The flexible bin model leads to smaller damages from warming than the quadratic mean specification, but the difference is not statistically significant. Although weather panel studies find high temperature events lead to large annual damage, high temperature events have no harmful effect on farmland values. The results are robust to alternative model specifications and data sets. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–09–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:263482&r=agr |
| By: | Fabio Gaetano Santeramo |
| Abstract: | Several studies, focused on the understanding of price volatility determinants in agricultural commodity markets, revealed that the joint influence of a plethora of causes is able to generate market instability. We investigate the contribution of endogenous and exogenous factors to global price volatility of four major grain (wheat, rice, corn, barley), adopting a Seemingly Unrelated Regression Equations model. We analyze global volatility, to conclude on short-run and long-run dynamics of markets instability. Our paper builds on existing literature by proposing a richer set of determinants of grain price volatility. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea17:261255&r=agr |
| By: | Shayegh, Soheil; Bosetti, Valentina; Dietz, Simon; Emmerling, Johannes; Hambel, Christoph; Jensen, Svenn; Kraft, Holger; Tavoni, Massimo; Traeger, Christian; Van der Ploeg, Rick |
| Abstract: | Over the last few decades, integrated assessment models (IAM) have provided insight into the relationship between climate change, economy, and climate policies. The limitations of these models in capturing uncertainty in climate parameters, heterogeneity in damages and policies, have given rise to skepticism about the relevance of these models for policy making. IAM community needs to respond to these critics and to the new challenges posed by developments in the policy arena. New climate targets emerging from the Paris Agreement and the uncertainty about the signatories’ commitment to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are prime examples of challenges that need to be addressed in the next generation of IAMs. Given these challenges, calculating the social cost of carbon requires a new framework. This can be done by computing marginal abatement cost in cost-effective settings which provides different results than those calculated using constrained cost-benefit analysis. Here we focus on the areas where IAMs can be deployed to asses uncertainty and risk management, learning, and regional heterogeneity in climate change impacts. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cpaper:273369&r=agr |
| By: | Bell, Kendon |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar17:269521&r=agr |
| By: | Koester, Ulrich |
| Abstract: | The EU has signed new agreements with Ukraine, Moldavia, and Ukraine, the so-called Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). This policy brief only focuses on Georgia to exemplify the mythology and some important specifics of the participating countries that differ somewhat, but are important for assessing the impact. The agreement with Georgia became effective in September 2016; therefore, accurate estimation of the quantified effects was delayed for some time. This policy brief focusses on the free trade agreement on agricultural products. Georgia benefits from trade preferences for import to the EU and the EU likewise from exports to Georgia. It is foreseen that tariffs will be abolished completely in the future, but at present it is only Georgia which has abolished tariffs for imports from the EU. The EU has only reduced the World Trade Organization (WTO) bounded rates and, in addition, it still applies the so-called entry price system and even quotas for imports of garlic. Effects on trade might be important because the EU still highly protects agricultural imports and thus the standard of living for the 50 percent of Georgians living mainly from farming may improve. The findings are that Georgia may gain in total, if traders live in Georgia. The gain results from both redirection of Georgian exports from other destinations and additional exports of Georgian products. These additional exports to the EU may be replaced by additional imports from low price suppliers on the world market. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2017–08–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamopb:261679&r=agr |
| By: | Burtt, Andrew; Sluys, Carly; Fung, Lindsay; Pearse, Tony; Newman, Matthew; Muller, Carla; Mathers, Diana; Halliday, Angela |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar17:269526&r=agr |
| By: | Mbowa,Swaibu; Odokonyero, Tonny and; Munyaho, Anthony |
| Abstract: | The fishery sub-sector is the second largest foreign exchange earner in Uganda’s economy (estimated at US$ 135 million) after coffee. However, declining trends in annual fish production are a real threat in terms of the loss of potential foreign exchange earnings, household income and food security. This study demonstrates that favourable international fish prices have supported steady foreign exchange earnings in Uganda amidst declining fish volumes. To enable Uganda to take advantage of this opportunity, innovations capable of overcoming supply-side constraints will play a critical role. We find that aquaculture has tremendous potential to stir growth of the fishery industry as well as generate employment. The results demonstrate that innovative technology such as floating cage culture is a more productive system in comparison to capture fishery - a farmer using floating cage technology produces 12 times more tonnage per annum than his or her counterparts practising capture fishery. Therefore, to increase fish production, adoption of cage farming technology must be expanded. We identified policy gaps that delimit the development of aquaculture in Uganda, which must be remedied. Policy lessons are drawn from China and Egypt – with the most successful stories in aquaculture technology and support services, which enormously increased fish farming productivity and exports. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2017–07–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcrs:262886&r=agr |
| By: | Bailey, Alison; Perrier, Thomas |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar17:269527&r=agr |
| By: | Alston, Julian M.; Pardey, Philip G. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umaesp:253948&r=agr |
| By: | Makau, Joyce Mumbua; Irungu, Patrick; Nyikal, Rose; Kirimi, Lillian |
| Abstract: | One of the most outstanding economic issues concerning input subsidies in many third world countries is their effect on commercial fertilizer purchases. This is particularly so in countries like Kenya where subsidized fertilizer distribution exists side-by-side with commercial market outlets. The objective of the national fertilizer program designed in 2009 in Kenya was mainly to encourage fertilizer use through public support to local fertilizer manufacturers and strengthening local fertilizer distribution channels. However, the effect of the subsidy program on commercial fertilizer market outlets in general is not known. This study assessed the level of displacement of commercial fertilizer sales by subsidized fertilizer as well as the factors affecting the quantity of subsidized fertilizer received by households in the North Rift region of Kenya. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 1,023 households. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the fertilizer market in the North Rift of Kenya. A double-hurdle model was employed to assess the effect of subsidized fertilizer on farmer participation in commercial fertilizer market outlets. Results show that most of the subsidized fertilizer went to the wealthier, male-headed, more educated households with more land and higher non-farm incomes. This means that the beneficiaries of the national fertilizer subsidy were households with the resources to purchase fertilizer from commercial sources in the absence of a subsidy. Reducing the quantity of subsidized fertilizer to the bare minimum is likely to make wealthy households shy away from the subsidized fertilizer thereby allowing poorer households to acquire the subsidized fertilizer. xiii In addition, households with strong social networks with the chair of the village fertilizer subsidy vetting committee received significantly more subsidized fertilizer. This is an indication that the process of identifying the beneficiaries of Kenya’s national fertilizer is prone to substantial capture by social elites through rent-seeking and exclusivity. Access to subsidized fertilizer reduced households’ probability to participate in commercial fertilizer market in the North Rift of Kenya by 29 percent. This indicates that the national fertilizer subsidy is suppressing commercial fertilizer outlets. On average, an extra kilogram (kg) of subsidized fertilizer displaced 0.22 kg of commercial fertilizer, ceteris paribus, indicating that the national fertilizer subsidy has a potential to crowd out commercial fertilizer. This may not augur well in a liberalizing economy such as Kenya’s. The study recommends that the government of Kenya should consider strengthening the current National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Program (NAAIAP). A program targeted to resource-poor households where farmers access fertilizers through vouchers that can be redeemed from the agro-dealers like in Nigeria. This will enhance the transparency, equity and inclusiveness of the subsidy program which the current one does not. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2016–12–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:unaaed:269894&r=agr |
| By: | Burggraf, Christine; Volkhardt, Ina; Meier, Toni |
| Abstract: | The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes melitus, and other diet-related chronic diseases is increasing worldwide due to the global rise in overweight and obesity. Numerous ways to communicate nutritional information to consumers can be considered to effectively improve eating habits, thereby counteracting this development. Traffic light labels have been discussed in Germany as a possible tool to communicate easy-to-understand information about the nutritional value of food products. However, the design of traffic light labels discussed to-date is aimed only at reducing the intake of fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar, and salt. The aspect of consuming adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre has been neglected so far. Traffic light labelling including information on this aspect of a healthy diet would significantly improve the potential for promoting healthier diets. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–12–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamopb:265812&r=agr |
| By: | Colin A. Carter; Sandro Steinbach |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of U.S. trade remedy (TR) actions on agricultural trade from 1990 to 2014. Most previous studies of the effects of TR actions have left out agricultural products. We use a four-country oligopolistic trade model to study the impact of TR duties on imports from non-named countries, and we improve on methodological issues present in earlier studies. Our empirical results show that TR investigations benefit non-named foreign exporters and U.S. imports from non-named countries increase even before the implementation of a TR duty. The extent of trade diversion is positively related to the size of the duty. Moreover, we find evidence of an initiation effect revealed by a significant increase in imports from non-named countries that did not previously trade the relevant product with the United States. The considerable extent of trade diversion in agriculture provides robust evidence for leakage effects of TR laws which has a detrimental impact on their protective effect. |
| JEL: | F12 F14 Q17 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24745&r=agr |
| By: | Römer, Ulf; Mußhoff, Oliver |
| Abstract: | In recent years, the application of credit scoring in urban microfinance institutions became popular, while rural microfinance institutions, which mainly lend to agricultural clients, are hesitating to adopt credit scoring. The present study aims to explore whether microfinance credit scoring models are suitable for agricultural clients, and if such models can be improved for agricultural clients by accounting for precipitation. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gadadp:260766&r=agr |
| By: | Bir, Courtney; Widmar, Nicole; Wolf, Christopher; Thompson, Nathan |
| Abstract: | Management strategies in the dairy industry, including those involved in dairy cattle reproductive management, continue to evolve as new technologies are introduced. In June of 2014, 2,980 surveys were sent to dairy farms in the United States. The survey was developed to obtain data regarding management and performance of currently operating dairy farms. Most of the operations were owned by a single operator, but the management team often incorporated other individuals such as other family members, nutritionist(s) or veterinarian(s). Although many operators still used paper records and did not include written contracts when dealing with suppliers, many used sophisticated reproductive management programs. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:puaewp:253034&r=agr |
| By: | Featherstone, Allen M.; Erickson, Kenneth W.; Nehring, Richard N.; Harris, J. Michael |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2017–10–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nc1117:263898&r=agr |
| By: | Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Jayne, Thomas; Muyanga, Milu; Sanou, Awa |
| Abstract: | Studies based on data from the 1980s and 1990s found that African farmers faced declining incentives to use fertilizer in the post-structural adjustment period, which was characterized by the elimination of crop price supports to farmers and skyrocketing fertilizer prices associated with currency depreciation and the curtailment of input subsidy programs (Kherallah et al. 2002). As a result, fertilizer use in Sub-Saharan Africa stagnated throughout the 1990s at roughly 10 kilograms (kgs) per cultivated hectare (Kherallah et al. 2002). Much has changed since then. Over the past decade, world food and fertilizer prices have risen dramatically and become highly unstable. Soil conditions have changed with an increasing proportion of the region’s population living on farmland characterized as degrading (Barbier and Hochard 2016). However, since Kherallah et al. (2002) (which is based on data ending in the 1990s), there has been no comprehensive as sessment of trends in African farmers’ incentives to use fertilizer. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:263634&r=agr |
| By: | Fogarty, James; Polyakov, Maksym; Iftekhar, MD Sayed |
| Abstract: | In this research we argue that for jurisdictions where desalinated water has been introduced as a major supply source such that long run marginal cost is rising, marginal cost pricing is: (i) efficient; (ii) delivers revenue sufficiency; and (iii) is more equitable than traditional pricing approaches. To illustrate our result we compare outcomes under different pricing structures in Western Australia, a jurisdiction where desalinated water is responsible for almost half total potable water supply. We also show that a pure volumetric charge for wastewater services is more equitable than property value based charges or a uniform tariff. The results are based on analysis of water charges for over 700,000 individual households. |
| Keywords: | Public Economics |
| Date: | 2017–11–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uwauwp:264780&r=agr |
| By: | Schweiss, Kristi |
| Keywords: | Financial Economics, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ncer17:265441&r=agr |