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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2018‒09‒03
94 papers chosen by |
| By: | Bergvinson, David |
| Abstract: | Digital agriculture encompasses a value chain framework that supports smallholder farmers’ access to services, knowledge and markets. This helps to unlock the economic potential of agriculture, preserve natural resources and accelerate equitable economic growth in rural communities. Digital agriculture is already the nerve centre for modern food systems. It enables democratisation of information and distillation of big data analytics to provide timely and targeted insight for farmers, input suppliers, aggregators, processors and consumers. These insights are now delivered to the location of a decision (e.g. a farmer’s field on a smart phone) on how to optimise profitability, increase value chain efficiency and support consumer awareness on food and its impact on their nutrition, the rural economy and the environmental footprint of agriculture. Digital tools have the potential to compress value chains and reduce transaction costs, thus moving more value to the farmers’ end for improving incomes and livelihoods. Through ‘big data’ and systems biology, the nutritional quality of crops can be improved by gaining a deeper understanding of the interaction of food, nutrition and human health. Spatial Data Infrastructure combined with unique digital identification can support an ecosystem of integrated services to better serve the needs of farmers – whether it be access to inputs, credit, insurance or markets. Downscaled observed weather data are critically important to support all actors along the value chain, given that agriculture is a solar- and water- driven industry. Maintaining the trust of farmers and consumers is vitally important, so policies to manage personal identification information are essential. However, data also needs to be granular to support precision agriculture practices. An ecosystem of different tools and platforms supported by pragmatic and visionary policies and institutions will position countries to uniquely unlock the power of digital technology to accelerate agricultural development and ultimately enable us to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals – one country at a time. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp17:266625&r=agr |
| By: | Mikémina, Pilo; Gerber, Nicolas; Wünscher, Tobias |
| Abstract: | West African farmers are among those most likely to suffer from climate change, partly due to the agro-climatic characteristics of the regional system and to their limited scope for coping with shocks. Climate change adaptation has thus been touted as a necessary path for rural poverty reduction and development in the region. Yet, do farm households who implemented climate change adaptation earn higher income compare to those who did not? We attempt to answer this question in the context of crop and livestock income in the Savana region of Togo. To that end, we build a bio-economic model based on farm household model theory. Using survey data collected from a representative sample of 450 savanna farm households of the agricultural year 2014/2015, we identify farm-household types through cluster analysis and apply them in the simulation model. From the simulation results, we conclude that at their current costs, soil and water conservation techniques and irrigation practives can on average provide higher income even under climate change, since they are able to mitigate at least 63 % of the impacts of climate change on crop and livestock income. By contrast, reducing the quantity of applied fertilizer, mentioned as an adaptation option by farmers, increases the farm households’ vulnerability to climate change. The policy message we draw from this study is to encourage Soil and Water Conservation techniques and sustainable irrigation as sound strategies for higher income under climate change in the region. These are “no regret options” with a positive impact on livelihoods while preserving the resource base. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:271152&r=agr |
| By: | Herrero, Mario |
| Abstract: | Information about the global structure of agriculture and nutrient production and its diversity is essential to improve understanding of food production patterns, agricultural livelihoods, and food chains and their linkages to land use and their associated ecosystems services. We used existing spatially-explicit global datasets to estimate the production levels of crops, livestock, and aquaculture and fish products. We also estimated the production of vitamin A, vitamin B12, folate, iron, zinc, calcium, calories and protein. Furthermore, we estimated the relative contribution of farms of different sizes to the production of different agricultural commodities and associated nutrients, as well as how the diversity of food production, based on the number of different products grown per geographic pixel and distribution of products within this pixel (Shannon diversity index [H]), changes with different farm sizes. Globally, small and medium farms (≤50 ha) produce 51–77% of nearly all commodities and nutrients examined here. However, important regional differences exist. Large farms (>50 ha) dominate production in North America, South America, and Australia and New Zealand. By contrast, small farms (≤20 ha) produce more than 75% of most food commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, south-east Asia, south Asia and China. The majority of vegetables (81%), roots and tubers (72%), pulses (67%), fruits (66%), fish and livestock products (60%) and cereals (56%) are produced in diverse landscapes (H>1·5). Our results show that farm size and diversity of agricultural production vary substantially across regions and are key structural determinants of food and nutrient production that need to be considered in plans to meet social, economic and environmental targets. At the global level, both small and large farms have key roles in food and nutrition security. This analysis is crucial to design interventions that might be appropriately targeted to promote healthy diets and ecosystems in the face of population growth, urbanisation and climate change. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession |
| Date: | 2017–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp17:266623&r=agr |
| By: | Healey, Madaline |
| Abstract: | Agriculture employs over 70% of the workforce in Laos, one of the least developed countries in the world, and provides approximately 27% of total GDP. Intensifying vegetable production will increase plant pest and disease pressure and significant on-farm losses for the majority of subsistence and smallholder cooperative farmers. Intensification is likely to happen if Laos is to meet the World Trade Organization Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the ‘SPS Agreement’) requirements for exports to the ASEAN economic community and international markets. This will be a major challenge in the horticultural production areas of Savannakhet and the Bolaven Plateau because there is little capacity in crop health there to support farmers. In collaboration with Provincial Government authorities and the Australian Government volunteer program (AVID) managed by Scope Global, the Crawford Fund has committed to a long-term program to build capacity in crop health, biosecurity and food safety in Laos since 2009. Engaging volunteer early-career scientists to deliver insect and disease diagnostics training has increased the capacity of local counterparts to provide crop protection advice. Placements provide context-specific training and longer-term sustainability through gradual training, while also giving volunteers an opportunity to engage in a career in international agricultural development. Crawford e-mentors support volunteers in five countries with advice and pro-bono laboratory services – a unique feature of the program. Crop management strategies have already been implemented on key farms with the help of local staff, leading to reduced crop loss and increased yields. This long-term commitment will contribute to rural economic development of the smallholder farm sector in Laos, and facilitate trade in rural commodities. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, International Development |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257222&r=agr |
| By: | Ludwig, Till |
| Abstract: | On-farm production diversity of smallholder farmers can improve the nutrition security of the household. The objective is to determine the significance and relevance of this relationship by considering the different degrees of separability between both the commercial and consumptive production of food. A household-level survey covering socioeconomic, agricultural and nutritional data was conducted in three regions of India from January to June 2017 including 1324 households in 119 villages. Various regression specifications (OLS, Poisson, Probit, IV / non-IV) were used to estimate the effect of production diversity on dietary diversity. Average yearly rainfall since 1981 is the excluded instrument. A positive association is estimated (ß: 0.417 / 0.016 | IV / non-IV). Access to markets improve dietary diversity on average by 0.5 food groups. The increase is significant only for a few food groups (dairy products, nuts and vegetable) and primarily, it is the higher income groups that benefit from market integration. In conclusion, production diversity does improve nutrition security, but the positive market effect is stronger for farming households that have a higher income. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–01–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:270846&r=agr |
| By: | Gulati, Ashok |
| Abstract: | Globally, about one-third of food produced for human consumption every year (approximately 1.3 billion tonnes) is either lost or wasted while moving from farm to fork. In developing countries, like India, losses occur more from poor supply chains because of poor infrastructure, while in developed countries it is wasted at the retail and consumer end because of higher standards or sheer neglect. Apart from leading to less food available for all, food loss and wastage entail loss of precious scarce resources – water, land, energy, labour, capital – and adversely affect the environment with greater greenhouse gas emissions, leading to global warming and climate change. Both sets of countries need to do a lot to transform this situation, and save precious natural resources. It is much more cost-effective and sustainable to save the food already produced rather than to keep producing more and more to rot. This can be done by building strong, efficient, compressed and reliable value chains in developing countries through investment in infrastructure, institutional changes and innovation in technology, products, practices and policies. Particularly, the role of packaging at the farm level before moving the produce to processing units/wholesalers/ retailers needs to be recognised in a country like India where packaging is minimal and the absence thereof causes qualitative and quantitative food losses. The situation in industrialised countries requires better production management, de-emphasising appearance standards, more explanatory date marking systems, and raising awareness among consumers about better buying, cooking and recycling methods. This can save food wastages at the retail and consumer levels. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257224&r=agr |
| By: | Lin, Biing-Hwan; Anekwe, Tobenna D.; Buzby, Jean C.; Bentley, Jeanine |
| Abstract: | ERS’ Loss-Adjusted Food Availability (LAFA) data and Federal dietary intake surveys supply key data for monitoring Americans’ food and nutrient consumption. The LAFA data provide estimates for more than 200 food commodities back to 1970. The data are for the Nation as a whole and are not disaggregated by food source (at home and away from home). The dietary intake surveys, conducted by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in conjunction with the National Center for Health Statistics, provide detailed data on food obtained and eaten by Americans at various locations. ARS has developed databases, in conjunction with ERS, to translate foods reported in dietary intake surveys into ERS food commodities. These databases enable ERS researchers to disaggregate LAFA availability data by demographics and by food source in this study. Consistent with ERS data indi - cating that the at-home market accounts for 58 percent of food expenditures and 68 percent of caloric intake, over half of all food commodities acquired over 1994-2008 were for at-home use. On average, over 80 percent of total fruits, dairy, and nuts—and 61 percent of all meats and fish—were acquired for at-home use. The at-home share of some commodi - ties (e.g., berries, fluid milk, caloric sweeteners, and nuts) rose over 1994-2008 while the share for others (e.g., chicken and wheat flour) declined. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2016–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:262188&r=agr |
| By: | Beckman, Jayson; Sands, Ron; Riddle, Anne; Lee, Tani; Walloga, Jacob M. |
| Abstract: | Increasing global population and demand for food have led to rising agricultural production and demand for land; expanded agricultural land has often come from tropical deforestation. These forests support biodiverse ecosystems and further benefit the environment through carbon storage. This report analyzes patterns of deforestation in select countries to examine which commodities contribute most to “tropical” deforestation. ERS researchers use historical data on production and international trade patterns of four forest-risk commodities: palm oil, soybeans, beef, and forest products. Trade links for these commodities are quantified between the United States and six major exporting countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Deforestation in Argentina and Brazil is linked with production of beef and soybeans, while deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia is linked with production of palm oil and timber. A global economic model is used to assess two potential policies that could affect tropical forest loss. Results indicate that removing tariffs on these forest-risk products could increase deforestation, while prohibiting exports of illegally logged wood could reduce deforestation. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–04–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:262731&r=agr |
| By: | Key, Nigel; Prager, Daniel; Burns, Christopher |
| Abstract: | Farm income is highly variable, and this variability can affect household welfare, agricultural production, and environmental quality. Federal agricultural policies have long sought to shelter farmers from income fluctuations. The 2014 Farm Act focused attention on risk reduction by creating new programs tied to fluctuations in prices, yields, and revenues. ERS researchers use a large panel dataset created from 18 years of the USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) to provide new information about the extent of farm household income variability. Analysis compares total income volatility of farm and nonfarm households; for farm households, it compares the volatility of farm and off-farm income and examines how income volatility differs across types of producers and farms of different sizes. A regression analysis explores the determinants of household income volatility and identifies trends in volatility over time. Researchers disaggregate total household income variability into farm, off-farm, and other components to trace how each component contributes to the overall volatility. Lastly, researchers look at the effects of U.S. Government programs on farm household income variability and estimate the risk-reducing benefits of these programs. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–02–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:256710&r=agr |
| By: | Cheryl J. Wachenheim; John Devney |
| Abstract: | Long-term and widespread wetlands conservation within agricultural working lands remains tenable. There exists a need to identify alternative options for incentivizing wetland maintenance on private property. The objective of this research is to facilitate development of viable options by developing an understanding of how landowners view conservation, including that specifically targeted towards maintenance of wetlands, and what influences their decision regarding conservation program participation. Landowners in the five-state Prairie Pothole Region were surveyed. Most landowners supported use of incentives for wetlands conservation. Fewer supported the options of incentivized regulation, easements, and regulation. Landowners identified contract attributes including payment level and guaranteed source of income as important in their decision-making regarding conservation program participation. Effect of program participation on soil quality and erosion control were also considered important. Other program attribute and external effect factors were of moderate importance, and impact on neighboring properties was not considered important. Revealed decision criteria differed between groups defined by operation as including livestock, residence as on-farm, gender, previous or current participation in the Conservation Reserve Program, and support of various policy options for wetlands conservation. Attitudinal questions revealed that landowners in general agreed that they should be consulted on wetlands programs, promoting healthy ecosystems is a landowner’s responsibility, and landowners have the right to decide land use, should be compensated for land use choices that benefit the environment, including for maintenance of wetlands, and should be able to farm wetlands. They agreed that wetlands are important for wildlife and their conservation is important, although agreement that it is important to protect wetlands on private and public lands and especially that small wetlands benefit their operations tended toward neutral. Landowners were neutral on whether current conservation programs are effective and there should be regulations to control the conversion of naturally-occurring wetlands on agricultural land. Landowners with a CRP contract history were more supportive of the role of and need to protect wetlands, and had a lower level of agreement that decisions on land use are their right and that landowners should be able to farm their wetlands than those without. Members of general and crop-specific farm organizations were more strongly in agreement with landowners’ rights than non-members and less supportive of the role of wetlands and the need and policy tools to protect them. Members of Farmers Union and three crop commodity organizations also more strongly agreed that farmers should receive compensation when land use choices benefit the environment than non-members. Alternatively, conservation organization member agreement was higher than that of non-members that small wetlands benefit their operations, that it is important to protect wetlands, and that conservation of wetlands is important, and was lower for statements reflecting landowner rights. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nddaae:267904&r=agr |
| By: | Beckman, Jayson; Sands, Ronald D.; Riddle, Anne A.; Lee, Tani; Walloga, Jacob M. |
| Abstract: | Increasing global population and demand for food have led to rising agricultural production and demand for land; expanded agricultural land has often come from tropical deforestation. These forests support biodiverse ecosystems and further benefit the environment through carbon storage. This report analyzes patterns of deforestation in select countries to examine which commodities contribute most to “tropical” deforestation. ERS researchers use historical data on production and international trade patterns of four forest-risk commodities: palm oil, soybeans, beef, and forest products. Trade links for these commodities are quantified between the United States and six major exporting countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Deforestation in Argentina and Brazil is linked with production of beef and soybeans, while deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia is linked with production of palm oil and timber. A global economic model is used to assess two potential policies that could affect tropical forest loss. Results indicate that removing tariffs on these forest-risk products could increase deforestation, while prohibiting exports of illegally logged wood could reduce deforestation. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:262185&r=agr |
| By: | Hoffmann, Vivian; Magnan, Nicholas; Garrido, Gissele Gajate; Kanyam, Daniel Akwasi; Opoku, Nelson |
| Abstract: | Food safety hazards arising at the farm level affect the health of agricultural households as well as access to high value markets, which typically require that produce meets strict quality and food safety standards. Smallholder farmers face a number of barriers to improving the quality and safety of their produce, including a lack of awareness about safety and quality standards, the cost of equipment required to improve these, and the failure of premium prices to pass through to farmers. In this paper, we examine how lifting each of these barriers affects Ghanaian groundnut farmers’ adoption of post-harvest practices that reduce aflatoxin contamination. Aflatoxins are carcinogenic secondary metabolites of certain molds, which cause serious health problems including liver cancer. Common in groundnuts and maize, staple foods in much of Africa, aflatoxins pose a major threat to food safety and hinder the development of local agricultural value chains and export markets. Aflatoxin contamination can be substantially reduced through low-tech, low-cost post-harvest practices. We conducted a randomized control trial in northern Ghana with 1,005 farmers over the course of two seasons to test the imapct of three interventions to improve post harvest practices and reduce aflatoxin levels: (1) farmer training on aflatoxin and its prevention, (2) distribution of free drying tarps, and (3) a price premium for groundnuts found to comply with the local aflatoxin regulation. Training farmers substantially improves post-harvest practices. Tarp receipt further improves some practices, particularly with regards to drying surface. Surprisingly, we find that the price premium had little effect on reported or observed practices, and few farmers even sold nuts at this premium despite achieving compliance. Relative to training alone, tarp distribution reduced afaltoxin contamination by approximately 50 percent in the region and year when background levels were highest. The market premium also reduced aflatoxin levels, although to a lesser extent. |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:266297&r=agr |
| By: | Freebairn, John |
| Abstract: | Potential effects of alleged monopsony pricing of farm food products by supermarkets on farm product prices, quantities, incomes and land values are assessed relative to competitive behaviour. A comparative static equilibrium model is used. For export products and the few import competing products, the effective food input supply curve facing the supermarkets is close to perfectly elastic and this limits monopsony behaviour. For the non-traded food products, the ease of reallocating the fixed supply of aggregate agricultural land between traded and non-traded food products means a highly elastic food supply function for non-traded food products, and very limited monopsony effects. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Industrial Organization |
| Date: | 2017–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare17:258667&r=agr |
| By: | Smart, Jenny Cairns; Tschirley, David; Smart, Francis |
| Abstract: | Robust income growth combined with the highest urban population growth in the world is driving very rapid changes in the food system of Sub-Saharan Africa. Demand is increasing for higher quality foods, including fresh produce, meat and dairy products as well as more processed foods, with poorer nutritional value. The overweight and obesity epidemic that first began among developed nations is not sparing the expanding middle classes within developing countries, leading to a double burden of over and under nourished populations in these areas. As rapidly expanding towns and cities proliferate across Sub-Saharan Africa, urban areas can also become deserts for fresh or less-processed nutritious foods. Urban farming has been one way that the food desert challenge in urban areas is ameliorated, and in Mozambique, even in the largest city center of Maputo, one in ten households owns their own farm land. In the context of rapid urbanization and income growth in Mozambique, this paper finds that both growing incomes and the consumption of processed foods are associated with a worsening of negative factors in the diet. Furthermore, urbanization, controlling for income, is associated more strongly with a worsening of negative factors than with an improvement in positive factors in the diet. However the effect on nutrition of owning one’s own farm, controlling for the share of others in the household’s area that have a farm, is positive and significant for urban households, primarily driven by these households purchasing fewer unhealthy foods. These findings have important implications concerning the role of urban farming for improving dietary quality. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–08–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea18:276052&r=agr |
| By: | Raimondi, Valentina; Curzi, Daniele; Arfini, Filippo; Olper, Alessandro; Aghabeygi, Mona |
| Abstract: | The European Agricultural Policy tries to achieve sustainable agriculture by paying appropriate subsidies. EU makes agri-food chains more competitive by developing quality policy through the definition and promotion of food quality schemes which consider the area of production as credence good. Those products are classified as Geographical Indication (GI) and include PDO and PGI products. In particular, the generated effects of GIs on territorial level are not clear. The objective of this research is to evaluate the socio-economic impacts of GIs on the territory of origin indicated in the product specification. The research considers all the NUTS 3 regions of Italy, France and Spain during 1993 – 2014 in a framework of dynamic panel model. The results shown that an increase of the number of GI products generate a positive socio-economic impact in a short and long run. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea18:275648&r=agr |
| By: | Saint-Cyr, Legrand D. F. |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the impact of agricultural policies on structural change in farming. Since not all farmers may behave alike, a non-stationary mixed-Markov chain modeling (M-MCM) approach is applied to capture unobserved heterogeneity in the transition process of farms. A multinomial logit specification is used for transition probabilities and the parameters are estimated by the maximum likelihood method and the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. An empirical application to an unbalanced panel dataset from 2000 to 2013 shows that French farming mainly consists of a mixture of two farm types characterized by specific transition processes. The main finding is that the impact of farm subsidies from both pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) highly depends on the farm type. A comparison between the non-stationary M-MCM and a homogeneous non-stationary MCM shows that the latter model leads to either overestimation or underestimation of the impact of agricultural policy on change in farm size. This suggests that more attention should be paid to both observed and unobserved farm heterogeneity in assessing the impact of agricultural policy on structural change in farming. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2017–06–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:258013&r=agr |
| By: | Adebayo M. Shittu, Dare Akerele and Mekbib Haile |
| Abstract: | Beside the mixed evidences on transmission of international food price volatility to local markets and the desirability or otherwise of reliance on stabilisation policy to cushion the effects, very little is known about the key drivers of price spikes and volatility in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper is an attempt to bridge this gap, by focusing on the patterns, drivers, and policy responses to food price spikes and volatility across in Nigeria. The study was based on 16 years panel data on average monthly prices (2001:1 – 2016:12) of major food commodities across local markets in the 36 States of Nigeria, supplemented with monthly series of relevant domestic policy variables, and international prices, among other factors. Data analysis was mainly within the framework of fixed effects models. Findings suggest that food price upsurges in an average Nigeria market is more strongly related to spikes than volatility. International factors such as crude oil price, international food prices, and global beginning stock to use of coarse grains, and domestic policy variables such as real exchange rates, monetary policy rates and narrow money are strong influencers of spikes in the price of one or more food commodities in Nigeria’s local markets. Higher petrol price and food production variability may substantially advance price instability in local food markets. Government policy actions at addressing volatile food prices immediately after the 2007/2008 food crises appeared to enhance food price stability. These findings call for greater attention on management of monetary policy, including the exchange rates, ensuring stable petrol price, limiting food production instability, mitigating spill-over of price upsurges from international markets and building farmers and consumer’s resilience against food price changes, among others, as important pathways to address short and medium-term food price upsurges. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2017–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:263293&r=agr |
| By: | Zhang, Jing; Brown, Colin; Waldron, Scott |
| Abstract: | The paper extends on the literature assessing China’s current “policy-oriented” agricultural insurance crop system to understand and to investigate the factors influencing the relative merits and potential demand for weather index crop insurance as a means for individual farmers in rural China to cope with weather-related production risks. Using the case of Huojia County in Henan Province, an empirical analysis is conducted of information collected from households’ survey and interviews with local village leaders. The key finding is that there is a significant potential demand for weather index crop insurance product as households seek time-efficient risk management strategies although this demand is influenced by generally poor awareness of insurance, small areas, and relatively low profitability of crop production. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare17:258683&r=agr |
| By: | Bentley, Jeanine |
| Abstract: | This report examines the amount of food available for consumption and related food trends in the United States from 1970 to 2014 using the food availability data in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service’s Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System. By comparing the loss-adjusted food availability data (a proxy for food consumption) with the dietary recommendations in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the report also estimates whether Americans, on average, are at, above, or below dietary recommendations for fruit, vegetables, grains, protein foods, dairy, added fats and oils, and added sugars and sweeteners. The loss-adjusted food availability data are derived from the food availability data by adjusting for food spoilage, plate waste, and other losses to more closely approximate per capita consumption. The findings indicate that Americans' consumption, on average, is below the dietary recommendations for fruit, vegetables, and dairy and above the recommendations for grains, protein foods, added fats and oils, and added sugars and sweeteners on the basis of a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet. To meet these recommendations, Americans would need to lower their consumption of added fats, refined grains, and added sugars and sweeteners, and increase their consumption of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, seafood, and low-fat dairy products. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:253947&r=agr |
| By: | Costa, Simon |
| Abstract: | We are part of a world where an estimated 925 million people are undernourished as a result of ongoing hunger. One in every three children suffers stunted growth, and nearly one in every two deaths in children under five is hunger-related. Such alarming statistics seem incongruous with the fact our world actually produces sufficient food to feed all 7 billion people. Our world’s agricultural research funding is mainly dedicated to increasing food production, yet we continually overlook the causal factors of insufficient food supply, emanating from ineffective post-harvest handling and preservation practices. If hunger (responsible for more deaths every year than war or disease, and the loss of more lives than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined) is not attributable solely to inadequate production of food but rather to insufficient availability of food, why is more not being done to reduce the shameful levels of food loss occurring in developing countries? This presentation highlights how these significant food losses are a clear indication of a poorly functioning and inefficient food system. The area of highest concern (where the greatest percentage of crop losses are recorded) is pre-farm gate, where poor harvesting, drying, processing and storage of crops occurs. Recent large-scale practical implementation work with farmers has achieved very significant results in sustainably reducing food losses in sub-Saharan Africa. This has seen reductions in food losses of up to 98% for over 50,000 farming families. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257225&r=agr |
| By: | Headey, Derek; Hirvonen, Kalle; Hoddinott, John |
| Abstract: | Stunting, or chronic undernutrition, affects 160 million pre-school children around the world, and imposes significant costs on a child’s health, cognitive development, schooling and economic performance. Most stunting materializes in a very specific age range of 6-23 months when, among other things, children are first introduced to solid foods. But while stunting in this period has been closely linked to generic indicators of dietary diversity, biological studies increasingly link child growth and development to intake of high quality animal-sourced foods (ASFs) rich in protein and other growth-stimulating nutrients. Surprisingly, however, very little experimental research has assessed the impact of ASF consumption on child growth, or explored why ASF consumption is low but also high variable in developing countries. In this paper we redress these knowledge gaps through an analysis of 112,887 children aged 6-23 months from 46 countries. We first document distinctive patterns of ASF consumption among children in different regions, notably the varying importance of dairy and fish in different parts of Africa and Asia, and generally low levels of meat and egg consumption in these regions. We then test how ASF consumption affects child stunting in multivariate models saturated with control variables. We find strong associations with a generic ASF consumption indicator as well as with fish and dairy consumption. Finally, we explore why ASF consumption is low but also so variable across countries and regions. We show that non-tradable ASFs (fresh milk, eggs) are a very expensive source of calories in low income countries, and that caloric prices of these foods are strongly associated with consumption patterns. A host of other demand-side factors are also important, but the strong influence of prices implies an important role for agricultural policies – in production, marketing and trade – to improve the accessibility and affordability of ASFs in poorer countries. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing |
| Date: | 2017–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:264958&r=agr |
| By: | Davidson, Rachael |
| Abstract: | The global dairy market has been adversely affected by increased milk supply in Europe, the US and the Southern hemisphere. This, amidst a reduction in demand for imported dairy commodities by China and Russia, has seen a global downturn in milk prices. New Zealand dairy farmers have been faced with depressed milk price in the last few seasons, and in response to the financial pressures, have been forced to consider farm system changes to minimise the impact. Many of the system adjustments being implemented to manage the current downturn have led to improved efficiency and are similar to those that will help farmers meet existing and proposed environmental limits being enforced by regional councils. Could the adjustments being made have lasting environmental benefits for farmers and the industry? This study aims to identify the changes in farm systems and their management as a consequence of lower milk prices, and whether these changes have improved environmental outcomes. It also aims to identify whether these outcomes are likely to last once milk price recovers, thus determining whether the current period of low milk price has a silver lining. The key adjustments made to dairy farm systems in response to low milk price were reductions in cow numbers, fertiliser use and supplementary feed use. The methodology used to determine the environmental impacts of these adjustments involved creating typical regional farms and modelling the changes experienced from a drop in milk price in Farmax and Overseer. These adjustments had subsequent impacts on milk production. The changes observed had slight implications for environmental outputs, including nitrogen leaching and greenhouse gas emissions. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2017–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare17:258664&r=agr |
| By: | Adu-Baffour, Ferdinand; Daum, Thomas; Birner, Regina |
| Abstract: | After many years of neglect, there is a renewed interest in agricultural mechanization in Africa. Since government initiatives to promote mechanization, e.g., by importing and subsidizing tractors, are confronted with major governance challenges, private-sector initiatives offer a promising alternative. This paper analyzes an initiative of the agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere and its dealership partner AFGRI to promote smallholder mechanization in Zambia through a contractor model. The analysis focuses on the impact of this initiative on smallholder farmers who receive tractor services and on the demand for hired labor. The analysis is based on a survey of 250 smallholders and focus group discussions using Participatory Impact Diagrams. The results of a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) analysis indicate that farmers who access tractor services for land preparation can almost double their income by cultivating a much larger share of the land that they own. The analysis also suggests that the increased income is used for children’s education and for purchasing more food, but does not result in increased food diversity. The findings indicate that the demand for hired labor increases due to the expansion of the cultivated area and due to a shift from family labor, including that of children, to hired labor. Questions that require further investigation are identified, including policies and strategies to increase the incentives of tractor owners to provide services to smallholders, to use mechanization more effectively to increase land productivity, and to avoid new forms of dependency of agricultural laborers that may result. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2018–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:273521&r=agr |
| By: | Claassen, Roger; Bowman, Maria; Breneman, Vince; Wade, Tara; Williams, Ryan; Fooks, Jacob; Hansen, LeRoy; Iovanna, Rich; Loesch, Chuck |
| Abstract: | Conservation Compliance ties eligibility for most Federal farm program benefits to soil and wetland conservation. To be eligible for farm program benefits, farmers must apply an approved soil conservation system on highly erodible cropland (Highly Erodible Land Conservation, or HELC) and refrain from draining wetlands (Wetland Conservation, or WC). Conservation Compliance is effective when the incentive—the farm program benefits that could be lost due to noncompliance—exceeds the cost of meeting soil and wetland conservation requirements. HELC significantly reduced soil erosion on highly erodible cropland and may have also encouraged erosion reduction on land not subject to HELC. Compliance incentives (farm program benefits) under the Agricultural Act of 2014 are found to (1) vary widely across farms with cropland in HEL (highly erodible land) fields, (2)approximate the overall level of incentive that would have been provided under an extension of the 2008 Farm Act (although incentives changed significantly on many farms), and (3) be significantly lower on many farms if crop insurance premium subsidies were not subject to Conservation Compliance. Compliance incentives for WC, although measured only in the Prairie Pothole region of the Northern Plains, are clearly larger than Compliance costs for an estimated 75 percent of wetlands that are already cropped or have characteristics (e.g., productivity, topography) that are favorable to crop production. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:261814&r=agr |
| By: | Getahun, Tigabu; Baumüller, Heike; Nigussie, Yalemzewd |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether investment in the agriculture and food sectors in Africa significantly increases overall economic growth and, hence, reduces food and nutrition insecurity. To this end, the study examines the causal link between agricultural growth, food production, quality of governance, and overall economic growth using panel data compiled from 44 African countries for a 53-year period from 1961 to 2014. The estimation result from the fully modified least squares, the panel cointegration, and Granger causality tests suggest that agricultural growth, government commitment, and quality of governance Granger causes overall economic growth. The study also identifies the 10 African countries where investment in the agriculture and food sectors is expected to yield the highest returns and the 10 African countries having the lowest returns in terms of reducing food insecurity and poverty. The result indicates that Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, and Sierra Leone are the top 10 African countries where such an investment is expected to yield the highest returns. Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Libya, Mauritania, and Somalia are the bottom 10 countries where such investment is expected to yield the lowest return. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2018–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:271153&r=agr |
| By: | Kireum, Mercy |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a sector that is sensitive to climate variability and extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods. The occurrence of these events is predicted to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change. These events have adverse effects on agriculture especially rain-fed agriculture which is significantly exposed to weather leading to food insecurity for millions of people. As a result, it is necessary to determine approaches that ensure better estimation and management of resources needed given the occurrence of these extreme weather events. This is important for better financial risk management and consequently enhancing sustainable growth of the agricultural sector. In this study, we explore the application of Value at Risk (VaR) method in estimating financial loss as a result of drought. Agricultural loss as a result of rainfall variability and drought is calculated. Extreme Value Theory (EVT) is used to model the distribution of the agricultural loss. The VaR method is used to determine the catastrophic risk. Future actions will be proposed with a view enhancing financial risk management in the agricultural sector. This has the potential to enhance resilience to disasters. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2016–08–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar16:260800&r=agr |
| By: | Calvin, Linda; Jensen, Helen; Klonsky, Karen; Cook, Roberta |
| Abstract: | This case study investigates food safety practices and costs for seven firms participating in the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), formally known as the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement. All firms incorporated additional food safety practices into their food safety plans beyond LGMA requirements, for their own convenience, risk management needs, and/or to satisfy buyer requests. It was difficult to quantify food safety costs; the analysis concentrated on costs for five food safety practices. The cost-share for each practice—the cost of the individual practice divided by the total cost of the five practices—provides insight into the relative cost of food safety practices. The value of the food safety staff (including clerical staff) time in food safety tasks was relatively large—38 percent of the five costs. Another 32 percent of costs was for the food safety time of harvest foremen. Audits accounted for 17 percent, product unharvested due to animal intrusion for 11 percent, and water testing for 2 percent of costs. This analysis can increase understanding of the relative food safety costs for firms under the Food Safety Modernization Act. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession |
| Date: | 2017–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:259719&r=agr |
| By: | Letort, Elodie; Dupraz, Pierre; Piet, Laurent |
| Abstract: | Nitrate pollution remains a major problem in some parts of France, especially in the Brittany region, which is characterized by intensive livestock production systems. Although farmers must not exceed a regulatory limit of nitrogen contained in manure per hectare, many farmers in this region exceed this limit. Therefore, they must treat the excess of manure that they produce or export it to be spread in neighbouring farms and/or areas, inducing fierce competition in the land market. Another adaptation strategy consists of modifying production practices or the production system as a whole, i.e., changing the structure of the farm. In this paper, a spatial agent-based model (ABM) has been developed to assess policy options in the regulation of manure management practices. The objective is to highlight the potential effects of these policies on the farmland market and the structural changes that they induce. Our results show that the different policies, which result in similar environmental benefits, induce different changes in the land market and in agricultural structures. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:253784&r=agr |
| By: | Daryanto, Arief; Sahara |
| Abstract: | Food loss occurs along the entire food chain, including losses at wholesale and retail markets. Among retail markets, supermarkets have important roles in food chains since they are located close to the end of the food chain. In developing countries, supermarkets are increasing, and are making a significant contribution to national retail food sales. Along with rapid development, food loss occurs in significant amounts in supermarkets since they sell large quantities of food. This paper aims to review and estimate food loss and food waste in Indonesian supermarkets focusing on fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and meat products. First we review food loss in supermarkets from the previous literature. Then we report on a case study conducted with a leading supermarket in Indonesia in order to estimate its food loss and its efforts to prevent the amount of food loss. Reducing food loss in supermarkets is an important issue in terms of the efforts to increase profit in supermarkets, to increase income for small farmers supplying to supermarkets, and to improve food security in urban areas, as well as avoid environmental problems caused by food waste. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, Industrial Organization |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257228&r=agr |
| By: | Bareille, François; Bonnet-Beaugrand, Florence; Duvaleix-Treguer, Sabine |
| Abstract: | Members’ commitment lessens when agricultural cooperatives grow larger. Their organization becomes more complex and their membership more heterogeneous, which threatens their sustainability and leads them to implement specific mechanisms for collective decisions. We explore how the alignment of objectives between a multi-purpose cooperative and its members influences member commitment. We estimate a multinomial probit model on a cross-section sample of 3,205 members from a large agricultural cooperative in France. We assess the determinants of member commitment through four factors: the offer of new agricultural practices, the availability of outlets and supplies to members, the farm distance to the cooperative headquarters and the farm governance. We show that the adoption of new agricultural practices has a small but significant effect. The availability of outlets and supplies has the strongest effect on the economic involvement of the farmers. Other determinants, such as farm governance or geographical distance to the cooperative headquarters, also reinforce member commitment. |
| Date: | 2017–05–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:257252&r=agr |
| By: | Issanchou, Alice; Daniel, Karine; Dupraz, Pierre; Ropars-Collet, Carole |
| Abstract: | There is a growing public concern for soils and the maintenance or enhancement of soil quality. Actually, soil resource plays a central role in issues regarding food security and climate change mitigation. Through their practices, farmers impact the physical, biological and chemical quality of their soils. However, in a strained economic environment, farmers face a trade-off between short term objectives of production and profitability, and a long term objective of soil resource conservation. In this article, we investigate the conditions under which farmers have a private interest to preserve the quality of their soil. We also characterize the optimal management strategies of soil quality dynamics. We use a simplified theoretical soil quality investment model, where farmers maximise their revenues under a soil quality dynamics constraint. In our production function, soil quality and productive inputs are cooperating production factors. In addition, productive inputs have a detrimental impact on soil quality dynamics. It appears that in some cases, farmers have a private and financial interest in preserving the quality of their soil at a certain level, since it is an endogenous production factor cooperating with productive inputs. However, situations can occur wherein the cooperative production benefits of soil quality and productive inputs are smaller than the marginal deterioration of soil quality due to productive inputs. In this case, one cannot draw conclusions about the existence of an equilibrium. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:273053&r=agr |
| By: | Perekhozhuk, Oleksandr; Glauben, Thomas |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the impact of the Russian food and agricultural import ban on import of meat, the structural changes of trade pattern and reallocation of import flows of meat and meat products, and the price development in the import market and its impact on producers and consumers market for cattle, pork and poultry meat in the Russian Federation (RF). There is empirical evidence that the collapse of meat exports to Russia and, hence, the increase of meat prices happened even long before the import ban was introduced. The structure of Russian import market for meat has significantly changed. Brazil became the largest meat exporter in the Russian meat import market achieving market share in the total meat import of the RF almost 50% in 2015-2016. The structural changes of the Russian import market suggests that the beef and pork exporters are not price-takers on the one hand. On the other hand, they may be able to discriminate prices in the Russian import markets. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamodp:269555&r=agr |
| By: | Raghav Gaiha and Shantanu Mathur |
| Abstract: | Abstract The objective of this study is to examine the relationships between agricultural research, technology and nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), drawing upon a rich and insightful literature. African agriculture has the lowest productivity compared with other regions of the world. Huge productivity gains are possible and accrue where governments allocate the necessary resources to agricultural research and development. In SSA, however, public investment in agriculture is still far lower than needed. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates show a rise in hunger globally as well as in Africa. The deterioration has been most severe in SSA. Agricultural development has enormous potential to make a significant contribution to reducing malnutrition and associated ill health. An assessment is carried out through a review of a large number of studies. These examined the factors determining adoption of innovative agricultural technology; their benefits and the underlying mechanisms; sustainability of the benefits; empowerment of women farmers and child nutrition; and the prospects of youth employment in agriculture and elsewhere. A case is then made for greater investment in agricultural research. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwp:bwppap:292018&r=agr |
| By: | Jong, Joanita Bendita da Costa |
| Abstract: | Food loss and waste in Timor-Leste has been identified as a critical factor contributing to human undernutrition. Our project enhances natural scavenging systems by improved poultry production, with improved management, vaccination against Newcastle Disease (ND) and logistical support. We are working with the University of Sydney to implement the sustainable use of heat tolerant ND vaccine, administered as eye drops triennially by trained paraveterinarians. The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources conceived and jointly manages the project with the Timor- Leste Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. They provide training in national biosecurity and biosecurity practices applicable to village poultry. Management systems are supported with locally made shelter to protect from predation. With the help of Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory we are improving cold chain management and vaccine potency verification. The project is funded by the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Increased poultry production with these improved systems leads to improved scavenging systems – more hens equals more effective searching for scraps, insects and other invertebrates as they fend for themselves with minimal carbohydrate input provided by their owners. In return more hens are available to produce eggs for sale or chickens for consumption. Each of these activities results in better availability of balanced protein and bioavailable micronutrients for growing and lactating humans. Once households observe that their flock dynamics are no longer subject to dramatic decreases, the consumption of eggs becomes an option rather than prioritising them for hatching to obtain replacement birds. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257227&r=agr |
| By: | Mastronardi, Luigi; Giaccio, Vincenzo; Marino, Davide; Romagnoli, Luca; Mazzocchi, Giampiero; Palmieri, Margherita |
| Abstract: | Alternative Food Networks are increasingly becoming a modality of economic and social reconnection between agricultural producers and consumers. They are inserted within a broader spectrum of dynamics concerning the new relations between the city and the countryside, particularly with regard to the processes of territorialization of food systems. The types of AFN are varied and have different characteristics, and also for this reason the relationships between producers and consumers have not yet been sufficiently analyzed. In this paper we have investigated such relationships, analyzing some of the characteristics of the consumers who buy in one or more AFNs, focusing, in particular, on spendings, motivations and socio-demographic profiles. The study covered a total sample of 1200 individual questionnaires, administered to the customers of 34 Short Food Supply Chains organizations, in 5 different urban areas: Rome, Lecce, Pisa, Turin and Trento. The methodology employed is multilevel regression analysis, that allows to deal with data with a nested structure. From the emerged results, we were able to depict some findings: most important motivations in purchasing decision are the perceived quality as well as the comfort in the sense of location of the markets, organization, variety of offered products and delivery methods. Other interesting results relate to the presence of children in the families and the role of women in the choice of quality food. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea18:275645&r=agr |
| By: | Oyinbo, Oyakhilomen; Chamberlin, Jordan; Vanlauwe, Bernard; Vranken, Liesbet; Kamara, Alpha; Craufurd, Peter; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | Agricultural extension to improve yields of staple food crops and close the yield gap in Sub-Saharan Africa often entails general recommendations on soil fertility management that are distributed to farmers in a large growing area. Site-specific extension recommendations that are better tailored to the need of individual farmers and fields, and enabled by digital technologies, could potentially bring about yield and productivity improvements. In this paper, we analyze farmers‟ preferences for site-specific nutrient management recommendations provided by an ICT-based extension tool that is being developed for extension services in the maize belt of Nigeria. We use a choice experiment to provide ex-ante insights on the adoption potentials of site-specific advisory services from the perspective of farmers. We control for attribute non-attendance and account for class as well as scale heterogeneity in preferences using different models, and find robust results. We find that farmers have strong preferences to switch from general to ICT-enabled site-specific soil fertility management recommendations which lend credence to the inclusion of digital technologies in agricultural extension. We find heterogeneity in preferences that is correlated with farmers‟ resource endowments and access to services. A first group of farmers are strong potential adopters; they are better-off, less sensitive to risk, and have higher preferences for investing in farm inputs. A second group of farmers are weak potential adopters; they have lower incomes and fewer productive assets, are more sensitive to yield variability, and prefer less capital and labor intensive production techniques. Our empirical findings have implications for the design, targeting and potential uptake of ICT-based extension tools to meet the needs of different farmers. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession |
| Date: | 2018–08–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:276175&r=agr |
| By: | Headey, Derek; Hirvonen, Kalle; Hoddinott, John |
| Abstract: | Stunting affects 160 million pre-school children around the world, and imposes significant costs on a child’s health, cognitive development, schooling and economic performance. Stunting in early childhood has been linked to poor dietary diversity, notably low intake of animal-sourced foods (ASFs) rich in high quality protein and other growth-stimulating nutrients. Surprisingly, however, very little economic research has focused on ASFs and child growth. In this paper we redress this omission through an analysis of 112,553 children aged 6-23 months from 46 countries. We first document distinctive patterns of ASF consumption among children in different regions, particularly highly variable patterns of dairy consumption, low consumption of eggs and meat, and surprisingly frequent consumption of fish in several poor regions of Africa and Asia. We then examine how ASF consumption is associated with child stunting in multivariate models saturated with control variables. We find strong associations with a generic ASF consumption indicator as well as with fish and dairy consumption. Finally, we explore why ASF consumption is low but also so variable. We show that non-tradable ASFs (fresh milk, eggs) are a very expensive source of calories in low income countries, and that caloric prices of these foods are strongly associated with children’s consumption patterns. A host of other demand-side factors are also important, but the strong influence of prices implies an important role for agricultural policies – in production, marketing and trade – to improve the accessibility and affordability of ASFs in poorer countries. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2017–12–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:265863&r=agr |
| By: | Bruckner, Martin; Giljum, Stefan; Fischer, Günther; Tramberend, Sylvia; Börner, Jan |
| Abstract: | A rapidly growing share of global agricultural areas is devoted to the production of biomass for non-food purposes. The derived products include, for example, biofuels, textiles, detergents or cosmetics. Given the far-reaching global implications of an expanding non-food bioeconomy, an assessment of the bioeconomy’s resource use from a footprint perspective is urgently needed. We determine the global cropland footprint of non-food products with a hybrid land flow accounting model combining data from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the multi-regional input-output model EXIOBASE. The globally interlinked model covers all cropland areas used for the production of crop- and animal-based non-food commodities for the years from 1995 to 2010. We analyse global patterns of raw material producers, processers and consumers of bio-based non-food products, with a particular focus on the European Union. Results illustrate that the EU is a major processer and the number one consumer region of non-food cropland, despite being only the fifth largest producing region. Two thirds of the cropland required to satisfy EU non-food consumption are located in other world regions, giving rise to a significant dependency on imported products and to potential impacts on distant ecosystems. With almost 29% in 2010, oilseed production, used to produce, for example, biofuels, detergents and polymers, represents the dominant share in the EU’s non-food cropland footprint. There is also a significant contribution of more traditional non-food biomass uses such as fibre crops (for textiles) and animal hides and skins (for leather products). Our study emphasises the importance of comprehensively assessing the implications of the non-food bioeconomy expansion as envisaged in various policy strategies, such as the Bioeconomy Strategy of the European Commission. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–04–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:271062&r=agr |
| By: | Mark, Tyler B.; Burdine, Kenneth H.; Cessna, Jerry; Dohlman, Erik |
| Abstract: | The Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers is a voluntary risk-management program for dairy farmers—it offers protection when the national average margin (the difference between the U.S. all-milk price and the estimated average feed cost) falls below a level selected by the dairy farmer. This study examines the potential impact of the program on average margins and risk at different levels of coverage for both the protected margin ($4.00-$8.00 per hundredweight) and the percentage of production history covered (25-90 percent). Margins are constructed for 13 major production regions, and risk-reduction levels are assessed using regional milk and feed prices as though the program had been in place during 2002-13. Results suggest that small operations (those with a 4-million-pound production history) would have seen increases in average margins and reductions in downside margin risk with more milk covered at higher coverage levels. Larger operations (those with a production history of 20 or 40 million pounds) would have generally seen increases in average margins when protected up to the $6.50 level, with margins being maximized at $6.00 coverage. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2016–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:262192&r=agr |
| By: | Abuelhaj, Tareq (Maastricht University); Gassmann, Franziska (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University); O'Donoghue, Cathal (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University, and National University of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | Distortions resulting from consumption subsidies or rationing systems often lead welfare analysts to use market price opinions, where household budget survey respondents are asked to provide their opinions of equivalent market prices of subsidized or rationed goods, to value consumption of the rationed goods. This is because prices paid by households for rationed goods do not represent the true marginal utility from consumption of these goods. This is the case in household budget surveys undertaken in Iraq, for example, where rationed food items received through the Public Distribution System are valued at market prices using price opinion data rather than at official prices facing households. Despite the fact that most Living Standards Measurement Surveys conducted in countries that maintain consumption subsidies collect market price opinions, little evidence exists to support the notion that respondent opinions on market prices adequately approximate shadow prices of subsidized or rationed commodities. This paper explores the adequacy of market price opinions of subsidized food commodities using data from Iraq. The evidence presented here suggests that price opinions of subsidized food commodities are influenced by the importance of the subsidy in the household economy - a reflection of household welfare levels and preferences. This leads to the conclusion that price opinion data for subsidized goods distorts the estimated transfer value of the PDS food subsidy and biases welfare analysis, particularly affecting the ability to monitor trends over time. |
| Keywords: | Subsidies, rationing, prices, welfare, poverty analysis |
| JEL: | I32 D63 D45 D41 H23 |
| Date: | 2018–08–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2018033&r=agr |
| By: | Nicholas-Davies, P.; Fowler, S.; Midmore, P. |
| Abstract: | European agriculture continues to face a complex range of economic, environmental and social challenges, particularly so in the UK in the face of Brexit. Within this context of uncertainty, the stories or narratives of four Welsh sheep and beef farmers are analysed to develop an understanding of their critical decision making process and how this might impact on farm resilience. Narrative analysis enables researchers to gain an in depth understanding of the rationale surrounding farmer decision making when faced with change, uncertainty and risk and how farmers manage critical decision points in their farming businesses. This understanding is crucial not only for developing an understanding of the resilience attributes of family farming businesses but also for developing the tools and policy measures needed to support the UK agriculture sector going forward. The responses to risk and uncertainty identified in the study range from management changes in existing enterprises to maintain output (indicating robustness of the system), seeking out alternative sources of income to supplement the farm business (indicating adaptability) and changing the core of the farm business to something that is completely new (indicating transformability). Succession, either in its planning or after it has happened, is identified as a critical turning point affecting the future resilience of the farm businesses studied. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea18:275643&r=agr |
| By: | Farquharson, Bob; Ramilan, Thiagarajah; Thar, So Pyay; Than, Shwe Mar; Aung, Nay Myo |
| Abstract: | The underperformance of cereal crops in Myanmar is closely related to inadequate supply of nutrients, particularly nitrogen (N). Although other crop management practices can limit crop yields, management of nutrients for crop production is an important contemporary issue. Myanmar rice growers have changed from being mainly subsistence to semi-subsistence, and there are also good prospects for increasing rice exports. Therefore there are incentives to improve rice yields and profits. Similarly for maize, as a higher value crop, there is a strong incentive to improve production and profits. But smallholder options to increase crop fertility must be considered in the social and economic context of their farming systems and village livelihoods. With small farm sizes, indebtedness, potentially high borrowing costs, and aversion to risk, their personal perspectives must be identified, discussed and incorporated into development activities. The decision to use more fertiliser is an investment with potential benefits and costs, which must be considered in the family and village contexts in which the decision is made. Smallholder personal (subjective) beliefs about crop yield improvements from added fertiliser are important in considering such decisions. An economic framework is available for evaluating such decisions (marginal analysis of returns from incremental N applications with a high target rate of investment return), which can be used in conjunction with field demonstrations of crop yield responses to fertiliser. But further study of social aspects such as understanding smallholder perspectives, motivations and limits to action will be undertaken in conjunction with agronomic and economic assessments. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2017–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare17:256192&r=agr |
| By: | Ver Ploeg, Michele; Larimore, Elizabeth; Wilde, Parke E. |
| Abstract: | Low access to food retailers selling healthy and affordable foods may lead to reliance on food retail venues that carry a limited range of foods. Reliance on smaller retail stores and restaurants may result in a poor diet and diet-related health problems. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey contains abundant data for examining how access to food retailers influences where households get their food, including stores and restaurants, and how much they spend at each place. This research looks at households that do not use their own vehicle to travel to a store and live more than 0.5 mile from the nearest SNAP-authorized supermarket or superstore, likely barriers to accessing food. Using a national sample and a low-income subsample that includes participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the authors find evidence that access-burdened households have some distinct shopping patterns. They are less likely to visit a large store (supermarket, supercenter, or warehouse store) than households with a vehicle or close access (77 percent compared with 87 percent). While those with burdened access who do visit these venues do so less frequently, both groups average over two shopping events at these stores (2.4 events for access-burdened households compared with 2.8 for those with sufficient access). The differences in shopping frequency do not translate to less spending at these large stores as both access-burdened and sufficient-access households spend about 58 percent of their food budget there. Access-burdened households spend a greater share of their budget at food-at-home sources (73 percent) and a smaller percentage of their food at restaurants of all types (27 percent) than households with better access (63 and 37 percent, respectively). Overall spending patterns are similar for both SNAP participating and low-income nonparticipating households that are access-burdened compared with those who have sufficient access. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2017–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:264600&r=agr |
| By: | Villamor, Grace B.; Guta, Dawit; Djanibekov, Utkur; Mirzabaev, Alisher |
| Abstract: | The water-energy-food security nexus concept is a widely recognized analytical approach to consider and achieve sustainable development goals. However, the water-energy-food security nexus concept has mostly been analyzed at higher scales in a top-down manner, while examples of bottom-up and local scale applications remain limited. Breaching this gap, the research presented in this paper describes and assesses the water-energy-food nexus from a smallholder farm household perspective in the context of rural Ethiopia through a gender-specific lens. We adopted the “Actors, Resources, Dynamics and Interactions” participatory approach to co-develop a mental model of this nexus concept. Using this approach, we were able to examine the key elements and interlinkages among major nexus related resources that affect management according to gender. The results indicate that there are four aspects that differentiate between male and female farm household management with respect to the water-energy-food nexus. These differences include gender specific productive roles, perceptions of target resources, access to external actors, and decision making with respect to target resource management and utilization, which may affect the dynamics and governance of important components of the water-energy-food nexus. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:273120&r=agr |
| By: | Uzun Vasily (RANEPA); Shagaida Natalia (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Gataulina Ekaterina (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Yanbykh Renata (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | In 2017, the harvest of cereals, including wheat, Russia’s top agricultural export commodity, hit its record high. This happened mostly due to a significant rise in wheat harvest against the three previous years (Tables 34, 35). At the same time, the record-high harvest caused problems with the transportation of grain from the regions of the Siberian Federal District. Agricultural producers also note a decline in the profitability of agricultural production (on the average, by 8.4 percent, to 12-14 percent[1]) due to the accelerated growth in the prices of inputs by comparison with that of the sales price of grain, which lagged behind because of the record-high harvest. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, agricultural production |
| JEL: | Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:ppaper:ppaper-2018-308&r=agr |
| By: | Friedrich Heinemann |
| Abstract: | The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was set up in a time when the memory about post-war food shortage was fresh, Europe was a large net importer of agricultural products, agricultural production was still highly labour-intensive, food was a major item in a typical consumer basket and significant shares of the work-force received their major income from the agricultural sector. The CAP objectives enshrined in Art. 39 TFEU clearly reflect this historical situation. When the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, it was understandable that the standard of living of the agricultural workforce was a major issue and that "reasonable prices" for consumers were regarded as a matter of social stability. Today, Art. 39 objectives are outdated. At the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, agricultural production is capital-intensive with a low share of total labour employed. European agricultural production is highly competitive leading to a net-export situation for important agricultural commodities and a low food spending share in consumer baskets. Read in this paper by network member Friedrich Heinemann/ZEW, prepared with support of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, what has (not) been achieved by reforms, why CAP in its current size is part of the problem and which conclusions should be drawn. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:econwp:_4&r=agr |
| By: | Burns, Christopher; Kuhns, Ryan |
| Abstract: | This study uses data from the Census of Agriculture and the Agricultural Resource Management Survey to investigate the well-being and changing organization of U.S. midsize farms from 1992 to 2014. During this period, changes in midsize farms reflect a farm economy experiencing rapid technological development, rising costs of produc - tion, and the increasing profitability of larger farms. While the number of midsize farm operations has declined slightly since 1992, they constituted 21 percent of total production in 2014. During the study period, total production on midsize farms has shifted toward grain and oilseed crops, hogs, and poultry and away from dairy and high-value crops. The households operating midsize farms have been transformed as well, enjoying more diversified income portfolios and much higher net worth. Moreover, midsize farms have less debt relative to their assets. Using census data from 2007 and 2012, the authors find that one-third of midsize farms saw their income increase or decrease by more than 50 percent. During this same period, Government payments played a small but positive role in the survival of midsize cash-grain and oilseed farms. One common growth pathway for these farms that increased in size from 2007 to 2012 was renting greater amounts of land. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Industrial Organization |
| Date: | 2016–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:262190&r=agr |
| By: | Heerman, Kari E.R.; Zahniser, Steven |
| Abstract: | We explore several scenarios under which NAFTA preferences for agriculture are rolled back using a systematic heterogeneity general equilibrium (GE) gravity model. In the systematic heterogeneity model, the distribution of productivity within the agricultural sector is linked to land and climate characteristics. The set of agricultural products in which a country is likely to have comparative advantage is then influenced by these characteristics. A country’s production and bilateral trade response to changes in a competitor’s trade costs is thus larger (smaller) for competitors that are more (less) likely to have comparative advantage in a similar set of products. We find that rolling back NAFTA agricultural preferences depresses North America consumer demand for agricultural products and decreases producer competitiveness, both within and outside North America. As a consequence, NAFTA members’ exports decline in North America and globally. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2017–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:265401&r=agr |
| By: | Li Gao; Wendong Zhang (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); Yingdan Mei; Abdoul G Sam; Yu Song; Shuqin Jin |
| Abstract: | We examine how land tenure arrangements affect Chinese crop farmers’ adoption of straw retention, a key conservation practice promoted by the Chinese government in part to curb rising air pollution. Using data from a 2016 farmer household survey covering 1,659 crop plots in Henan Province in central China, we analyze whether farmers are less likely to adopt straw retention on rented plots compared to own-contracted plots. To address the potential endogeneity of the choice of renting from others, we use an instrument exploiting the role of remittance income from household members migrated to cities in a bivariate probit model and a control function approach, respectively. Our main results reveal that the Chinese crop farmers’ likelihood of adopting straw retention were almost cut in half on rented plots compared to their owned plots, assuming the assumptions for biprobit or control functions hold. This suggests greater attention is needed to examine the spillovers across agricultural and environmental policies as China pushes for both a nationwide land rental market and more sustainable agricultural practices. |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:18-wp584&r=agr |
| By: | Brooks, Karen |
| Abstract: | Reduction of food loss and waste has received increased attention in recent years. Several spikes in food prices since 2008 have highlighted the hardship that poor people, and especially poor children, face when food is priced out of their reach. With as many as 800 million people still undernourished, of whom about 160 million are stunted young children, the fact that as much as 30% of food is lost or wasted appears unconscionable. Surely the loss could be recovered and channelled towards the hungry! Much of the discussion of food loss and waste has been predicated on this assumption, with the related conclusion that better management and distribution of existing supplies could substitute for investment in increased productive capacity. The assumption is in part borne out by empirical evidence but, as is often the case, the full picture is more complex. Moreover, discussion of food loss and waste in terms of feeding the hungry misses the environmental benefits associated with better management of existing production. Food systems that lose and waste less will generate fewer greenhouse gases and contribute less to global warming. The economics of reduced loss and waste creates both winners and losers, but the environmental calculus has only winners. The policy and institutional arrangements of food systems that generate less loss and waste would look quite different from our present systems. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257219&r=agr |
| By: | Cipollaro, Maria; Sacchelli, Sandro |
| Abstract: | The projections for climate change in the coming decades highlight that European and Mediterranean forests will have to deal with negative biotic and abiotic impacts. Extreme meteorological events seem to be one of the main source of risk. Financial strategies can be a form of risk management. In this framework the work analyse the Willingness to Stipulate forest insurance schemes at national level by owners and managers of stands, based on owners characteristics, forest typology and localization as well as Willingness To Pay. Results are also defined at spatial level (macroregions for Italy: northern, central and southern regions) in order to be compared with premium. Preliminary results confirm how WTP is related with both statistical and perceived risk of damage. Moreover, forest owners appear more available to pay for insurance in case of high forest (in particular coniferous) in respect to coppices. Among motivations for not stipulating insurance, the main reason seems to be the preference for alternative form of risk management (e.g. post-event public compensation or silvicultural interventions). The paper stresses the difference between premium and WTP depicting the area where public subsidy could have a greater impact for insurance diffusion. Finally, discussion for future improvements and integration of the research are performed. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea18:275647&r=agr |
| By: | Higgins, Nathaniel; Hellerstein, Daniel; Wallander, Steven; Lynch, Lori |
| Abstract: | Economic experiments can help inform the design and implementation of government policies, especially newly conceived or novel policies. This report reviews experimental methods, with a focus on when and how they can be effectively used to inform agricultural program decisions. To illustrate the capabilities of experimental methods, five case studies are presented. First, a laboratory study examines whether it is possible to improve the cost-effectiveness of auctions similar to those used in voluntary land retirement programs. A second laboratory study, with both students and farmers, illustrates how a combination of targeting and bonuses may be able to improve environmental outcomes by encouraging coordination among conservation program enrollees. The third study, conducted in the field to more closely mimic real-world conditions, measures how farmers trade off current income against future income and finds farmers will accept less money if paid today rather than in the future. The fourth and fifth studies are randomized controlled trials testing the marketing of USDA programs; these show how outreach letters can increase participation in the Conservation Reserve Program and in county committee elections. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2017–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:262456&r=agr |
| By: | Latruffe, Laure; Dakpo, K Hervé; Desjeux, Yann; Justinia Hanitravelo, Giffona |
| Abstract: | With a sample of farms in the European Union (EU) and Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data completed by additional data, we illustrate how the effect of farm subsidies on technical efficiency changes when environmental (good or bad) outputs are incorporated in the calculation of technical efficiency. Results indicate that the effect of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) operational subsidies on farm technical efficiency changes when environmental outputs (in this study: greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen balance and ecological focus areas) are taken into account in the efficiency calculation: some effects change significance, and more importantly, some effects change sign. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2017–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:266259&r=agr |
| By: | Searles, K.; Münchhausen, S.; Kirwan, J.; Chiswell, H.; Maye, D.; Prosperi, P.; Vergamini, D.; Minarelli, F.; Tsakalou, E. |
| Abstract: | The development of values-based supply chains for fish and fish products from fisheries and aquaculture is a strategy to add value to the fish. This benefit refers to the double meaning of ‘value’; premium prices for high-value products and at the same time, the incorporation of environmental, social, cultural or ethical values based on a sustainable use of resources. Although small-scale fish production and fisheries have a long tradition in many regions of the European Union, fishermen and fish farmers face strong competition with industrialized fishery fleets as well as imports from low- costs aquaculture. At the same time, European consumer surveys prove evidence that a consumers show an over- average Willingness to Pay (WTP) for fish produced locally and according to sustainability standards. With this paper, we aim to identify and discuss fish farmers’ and fishermen’s strategies ensuring the viability of their businesses by add- ing value to their fish utilizing this so far often unused market potential. Four case studies serve as the basis for the analysis. The German case studies examined traditional carp pond farming in Franconia and recirculation aquaculture systems in northern Germany. The Italian case studies focus on saline aquaculture (marine and on-shore) in Tuscany and mussel farming (inshore) in the Emilia-Romagna region. The English, Italian and Greek study cases analysed the situation of small-scale coastal fisheries in Cornwall, Tuscany and the Kavala region. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea18:275654&r=agr |
| By: | Khataza, Robertson R.B.; Hailu, Atakelty; Kragt, Marit E.; Doole, Graeme |
| Abstract: | Determining the value of legumes as soil-fertility amendments can be challenging, yet this information is required to guide public policy and to incentivise prescribed land-management practices such as conservation agriculture. We apply a directional distance function to data from Malawi, to estimate shadow prices for symbiotic nitrogen and the technical efficiency for mixed maize-legume production systems. The shadow prices reflect the trade-off between fertiliser-nitrogen and symbiotic-nitrogen required to achieve a given quantity of output. Our results reveal considerable technical inefficiency in the production system. The estimated shadow prices vary across farms and are, on average, higher than the reference price for commercial nitrogen. Our results suggest that it would be beneficial to redesign the current price-support programs that subsidise chemical fertilisers and indirectly crowd-out organic soil amendments such as legumes. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2017–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare17:258672&r=agr |
| By: | Sen, Pham Thi |
| Abstract: | Farmers in the Son La region of north-west Vietnam are working together with ACIAR to produce high quality vegetables, supplying emerging retail markets in Vietnam. The market for high quality vegetables in Vietnam is expanding rapidly. Project farmers in Moc Chau supplied 690 tonnes of VietGAP-accredited safe-to-eat vegetables in 2016. That was 65% more than in the previous year. ACIAR projects AGB/2009/053 and AGB/2014/035 have identified the smart use of data as a key factor in helping Vietnamese farmers supply emerging retail vegetable markets. Data management has been used for: 1. Maintaining farm records. Farmers must keep records about agronomy and use of chemicals so they can trade VietGAP-certified vegetables to lucrative retail markets. 2. Value chain reporting. Analysis of vegetable input costs, prices and throughput data using specific software (MonQi® Fresh Studio) is used to inform farmers of the most profitable crops and when to produce them, and to measure their net farm income. 3. QR codes. Farmers are now using QR codes to help trace the origin of vegetable crops supplied to retailers back to the individual farms where they were produced. QR codes are ideal for developing countries because they do not require special barcode readers and software systems. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp17:266637&r=agr |
| By: | Petrick, Martin; Kloss, Mathias |
| Abstract: | We examine the plausibility of four established and innovative identification strategies for agricultural production functions using farm-level panel datasets from five EU countries. Newly suggested proxy and dynamic panel approaches provide attractive conceptual improvements over received Within and duality models. Even so, empirical implementation of such advancements does not always live up to expectations. This is particularly true for the dynamic panel estimator, which mostly failed to identify reasonable elasticities for the (quasi-) fixed factors. Less demanding proxy approaches represent an interesting alternative for agricultural applications. In our EU sample, high production elasticities for materials prevail. Hence, improving the availability of working capital is the most promising way to increase agricultural productivity. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2018–04–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamodp:271870&r=agr |
| By: | Kragt, Marit E.; Gibsona, Fiona L.; Maseyk, Fleurk; Wilson, Kerrie A. |
| Abstract: | Governments worldwide have implemented climate change mitigation policies that aim to encourage abatement by changing agricultural practices. In Australia, farmers can gain carbon credits for sequestering carbon or reducing emissions. In addition to mitigation, these 'carbon farming' activities often generate ancillary (co-)benefits, such as creating native habitat or preventing erosion. This paper presents results of an Australia-wide choice experiment, conducted to estimate community values for climate change mitigation and the co-benefits of carbon farming. Values for carbon farming benefits are shown to depend on respondent’s opinions about climate change. Respondents who do not believe that climate change is happening have a lower willingness to pay for reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions than people who believe climate change is (at least partly) caused by human actions. On average, respondents’ were willing to pay $1.13/Mt of CO2-e reduction. Respondents were willing to pay around $19/ha increase in the area of native vegetation on farmland. Value estimates for reducing soil erosion were not significant. Our results demonstrate that the community benefits from carbon farming extend beyond their effects on climate change mitigation. Future policies should take these positive values for co- benefits into account. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uwauwp:276116&r=agr |
| By: | Wallace, K.J.; Kim, M.K.; Rogers, A.A.; Jago, M. |
| Abstract: | Understanding values and their interaction is fundamental to the wise conservation and use of natural resources. However, a confusing mixture of value classifications is applied in natural resource management. This is unhelpful where the aim is to implement values-based planning through group deliberative processes. At the same time, classifications described in the literature are rarely supported by explicit criteria and assumptions. Thus, their conceptual basis may be obscure, and they are therefore difficult to interpret and apply in practice. To address these issues, we develop two classifications of values grounded on clearly stated assumptions and criteria that facilitate interpretation, application, and adaptation. These classifications involve two distinct, but related, concepts of values: ‘end state values’ such as recreational satisfaction, spiritual-philosophical contentment, and adequate resources of food and water; and ‘principles’, which are the preferred ethical properties of human behaviour such as ‘honesty’, ‘fairness’, and ‘prudence’. The proposed classifications are compared with a representative sample of alternative approaches including those based on ‘needs’, ‘capabilities’, and various socio-psychological constructs. The outputs are designed to support group deliberative processes including expert analysis. At the same time, this work contributes to resolving the confusion of approaches described in the literature. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uwauwp:276174&r=agr |
| By: | Sukkarieh, Salah |
| Abstract: | For over 10 years the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) at the University of Sydney has been developing novel mechatronic and software systems for the Australian agriculture industry. The aim is to support farmers with the research, development and commercialisation of digital tools that would help them increase yield and productivity and reduce input costs. In 2015 the ACFR received philanthropic funding to look at designing similar technology for smallholder farmers. The hypothesis is that with an appropriate education and training program coupled with low-cost on-farm mobile platforms and digital tools adapted from more precise technology, a system and methodology could be developed that delivers food and nutrition security and encourages next-generation growers to adopt digital agriculture techniques. These requirements led to the development of the Digital Farmhand. The Digital Farmhand comprises a small mobile platform that can be hand towed, remotely controlled, or set into autonomous mode. On the mobile platform exists a smartphone, sensors, and computing. Collectively the system can undertake precision seeding, spraying and weeding. Through the digital capability of monitoring and analysing individual plants the system has the potential to support better on-farm decision making, helping growers increase yield and productivity, reduce input costs, and maximise nutrition security. The Digital Farmhand has been trialled amongst small farm holders in Australia as well as in Indonesia and will be trialled next year in the Pacific Islands. The objective of these trials is to close in on the requirements that would meet the needs of those communities. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp17:266635&r=agr |
| By: | Flores Tenorio, Pedro |
| Abstract: | We focus our study in the opportunities that exist in investment for conservation of biodiversity in tropical countries. It allows a natural and multiple benefits of mitigation of climate change as well as addressing the global environment problem of biodiversity loss. We observe that the short implementation in Australia of the “carbon tax” during 2012 and 2013 that was dismantle in the Federal Elections of 2013 was inadequately informed to the general public. And, it was seen and criticised by them as being a one party unilateral initiative and the mitigation tools such as reduction of energy consumption using non-natural means, such as more products were rejected by the majority of the population. It was a contradictory relation of less climate change with more material production. We hypothesise that the support and understanding of the Australians will provide a support to develop policy design that include this component in a long term strategy for Australia, including the development of investment in biodiversity conservation in tropical forest countries as a better alternative than man-made carbon sequestration or strategies. A choice modelling experiment was designed with a sample of 100 University students from Melbourne and Sydney. It present a hypothetical scenario about a hypothetical investment program to maintain the resilience of the Amazon forest ecosystem. The results presented show the trade-offs of the attributes assigned to a public program of investment in biodiversity conservation in Peru. It will provide results that contribute to build sound policies in the framework of current consensus in the Paris 2015 agreement. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare17:258666&r=agr |
| By: | Lipinski, Brian |
| Abstract: | Losses at the farm level are among the least understood aspects of food loss and waste throughout the value chain. Estimates differ greatly. Depending on the crop, geographic region and infrastructure available, drivers behind on-farm losses differ greatly as well, as do the solutions necessary to address these losses. This complexity makes it difficult to identify just where to apply interventions to reduce food loss at the farm level. This presentation seeks to examine what is known about on-farm losses, identify major gaps in knowledge, and propose steps forward to help demystify the nature of food loss at the production level. A special emphasis is placed on quantification and measurement of food loss, since the lack of data available around this issue is a major barrier to understanding the best approaches for reducing food loss. The focus then shifts to solutions to food loss, which will be further highlighted through case studies being offered by the next speakers in this session. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257220&r=agr |
| By: | Johnsen, Reid; Ligon, Ethan; Schatzberg, Madeline |
| Keywords: | Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2017–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:scc017:256330&r=agr |
| By: | Rhone, Alana; Ver Ploeg, Michele; Dicken, Chris; Williams, Ryan; Breneman, Vince |
| Abstract: | This report updates estimates of low-income and low-supermarket-access census tracts (as found in ERS’ Food Access Research Atlas) using a 2015 directory of supermarkets, 2010 Decennial Census data on population and subpopulation characteristics, and 2010-2014 American Community Survey data on household vehicle access and family income. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2017–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:262134&r=agr |
| By: | Kumar, Salesh; Underhill, Steven; Kumar, Sunil |
| Abstract: | Poor produce quality and inconsistent supply currently impede smallholder vegetable growers in Fiji from accessing high-value domestic markets. The available produce destined to go to the market is further lost through poor postharvest handling practices, road conditions and absence of a cool chain. The increasing importance of food and nutritional security in view of climate change factors affecting Pacific Islands Countries intensifies the need to reduce horticultural food loss. Postharvest losses were measured from harvest through to product arrival at the Suva municipal fruit and vegetable markets, with post-municipal market losses determined using simulated storage conditions. In this study, 32.9% of the harvested product was removed from the commercial supply chain. Poor temperature management during onfarm product ripening, and limited on-farm postharvest hygiene were key contributors to the observed loss. Contrary to expectations and comparable studies in other less developed countries, the losses due to transportation to municipal market were low (0.1%). While we found negligible in-transit physical damage to the product in the case study, this does not imply that existing road infrastructure is not an issue in Fiji, or that postharvest quality is not adversely influenced by in-transit conditions. A significant number of high intensity vibration events were recorded along the transport chain, most of which were restricted to a relatively small portion of the western bank Sigatoka Valley road. The small losses post-farm gate (in transport or at the market) are due to fast-to-market transport over relatively short distances and fast on-selling, involving few intermediaries, once at the market. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257226&r=agr |
| By: | Miguel Almanzar and Maximo Torero |
| Abstract: | We examine how media coverage of fluctuations in the price of agricultural commodities affects these prices and their volatility. We develop a unified empirical framework to analyze the media’s effects on both returns and volatility using insights from the literature. We use daily prices of futures contracts for soybeans, hard wheat, soft wheat, rice, and maize, complemented by a unique dataset that follows a comprehensive set of global media outlets and uses an algorithm to determine sophisticated relationships among phrases in a news article which signal an increase or decrease in the price of those four commodities. We find price effects that are economically important in size. Our estimates imply a net increasing effect of media coverage on the price of these four commodities; these effects are mostly concentrated in 2012 and from 2015 onwards, meaning that these effects are important in periods of both high and low prices. Across commodities, the price effects are concentrated in soybeans and maize. We find robust evidence that media coverage decreases volatility for these agricultural commodities on average for the period we study. The effects on volatility balance each other, with decreasing price coverage decreasing the variance of returns and increasing price coverage increasing the variance of returns of futures contracts of these commodities; however, the increase is than the decrease. Our results suggest that media coverage increases periods of normal volatility and decreases periods of excessive volatility. These results point to the potential of using media coverage to bring attention to price surges and to decrease volatility during food crises or times when there is above-normal volatility. The dynamics between the price of agricultural commodities and media coverage may help prevent knee-jerk policy reactions by discouraging market overreaction, encouraging market stability, and promoting food security. They highlight crucial role of providing appropriate information as fast as possible so media coverage and reflects the fundamentals that drive food commodity prices. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics |
| Date: | 2017–10–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:264781&r=agr |
| By: | Poizat, Axelle; Duvaleix-Treguer, Sabine; Bonnet-Beaugrand, Florence |
| Abstract: | The French young beef bull sector presents a complex organisation. The more animals are mixed and subjected to long transports, the more likely they will be to develop bovine respiratory disease (BRD). We aimed to understand the vertical integration patterns in the young beef bull sector and how they influence public health issues (BRD and antibiotic use). Transaction costs analyses revealed a diversity of vertical integration patterns, from spot market to vertical integration. The “health issues” parameter is involved in different categories of transaction costs (risk, uncertainty, quality). When vertical integration is strong (weak), the risk of BRD is low (high), which thus have an indirect effect on antibiotic use. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:273145&r=agr |
| By: | Dakpo, K Hervé; Desjeux, Yann; Jeanneaux, Philippe; Latruffe , Laure |
| Abstract: | The objective of the article is to assess productivity change in French agriculture during 2002-2014, namely total factor productivity (TFP) change and its components technological change and technical efficiency change. For this, we use the economically-ideal Färe-Primont index which verifies the multiplicatively completeness property and is also transitive, allowing for multi-temporal/lateral comparisons. To compare the technology gap change between the six types of farming considered, we extend the Färe-Primont to the meta-frontier framework. Results indicate that during 2002-2014, all farms experienced a TFP progress. Pig and/or poultry farms had the lowest TFP increase, while beef farms had the highest (19.1%). The latter farms had the strongest increase in technical efficiency, while technological progress was the highest for mixed farms. The meta-frontier analysis shows that field crop farms’ technology is the most productive of all types of farming. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:263010&r=agr |
| By: | Addo, Nana Sakyibea; Wachenheim, Cheryl Joy; Roberts, David C.; Devney, John; Lesch, William C. |
| Abstract: | Wetlands play an important role in the ecosystem and are a link between the land and water. This study investigates a voluntary working wetlands pilot program (WWP) in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota focusing on small, temporary and seasonal wetlands within croplands. The program compensates farmers for maintaining wetlands on their land. Program-participant farmer preferences for program attributes and their perceptions and attitudes towards this and other conservation programs and practices were elicited. Respondents were apt to agree that producer participation in the wetland program development process is very important, promotion of healthy ecosystems is part of their responsibility as a steward of the land, the terms of the WWP are a good fit for their land in the long run, and conservation programs are effective. They strongly agreed that farmers should be compensated when their land use choices benefit the environment, including for maintenance of wetlands, and that land use decisions are their right as a land owner. Respondents disagreed that the conversion of wetlands must be stopped, wetland conservation should limit agricultural activities on private lands, there should be regulations to control the conservation of naturally-occurring wetlands to agricultural lands, and small wetlands benefit their operation. A choice experiment designed to consider hypothetical program attributes showed an increase in payment and absence of additional conservation production requirements in surrounding cropland increases the probability of enrollment. The parameter estimate for the length of contract attribute was negative indicating a preference for shorter contracts. Payment rate had an important influence in the expected direction. Ranchers were more responsive to increases in payment rate than were farmers without cows. Production requirements of no-till, planting of cover crops, and planting of winter cereals each had a relatively large negative impact on likelihood to enroll in a hypothetical version of the WWP. The negative effect of the no-till requirement was moderated for those who already used no-till at least to some extent in their operation; the same was true for cover crops, as the negative effect of a cover crops production requirement was moderated for those who already planted cover crops. However, among farmers already planning no-till, the negative effect of a cover crops or winter cereals requirement was even greater. Farmers living on their farm and those with small and large farms and those using no-till in some part of their operation were more likely to enroll in the program. Farmers who one might define as more conservation-minded with regards to wetlands as defined as more strongly agreeing that small wetlands benefit their operation and that it is important to protect wetlands and those who would drain none of their wetlands or less than 25% if allowed to do so without penalty were less likely to enroll in the program. As expected, those that consider more important the effect of a program on water quality, those that identified the WWP program as a good fit for their operation in the long run, and those who were satisfied with the maintenance requirements of the WWP program were more likely to enroll. The importance placed on water quality had a moderating effect on the positive influence of payment on likelihood to enroll and on the negative influence of each of the three production requirements (no-till, cover crops, and winter cereals). Recommendations include: (1) Work to understand the decision-maker and his decision-making process; (2) New policy development should focus on policy options with a targeted approach; one where high payoff acres are targeted with effective conservation measures for those acres and where the employment of conservation practices are less likely. Addition of production requirements under a working lands program should be carefully considered because they may substantially reduce farmer interest; (3) Continue to educate farmers about conservation and the conservation options available to them; Find means to iv engage ‘productivist farmers’, those who are less inclined to adopt conservation practices if the benefits are not economically most efficient and benefits are largely off-farm; and (5) Consider a community approach to identifying and implementing conservation solutions. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2017–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nddaae:256035&r=agr |
| By: | Lagger, Daniel; Oceania, Nestle |
| Abstract: | Nestlé celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2016. Behind such a long history, questions of sustainability and protecting the future have always been key. With increasing water scarcity, constrained natural resources and declining biodiversity, we need to protect the future by making the right choices. We focus on continuous improvement in our environmental performance everywhere we operate, to provide products that are not only tastier and healthier but that also are better for the environment along their entire value chain. Our goal is to send zero waste to landfill from our factories globally by 2020. Over the last ten years, our focus on reducing waste for disposal has seen waste reduce by 75%, with one in five factories now generating no waste. However, we also consider waste more holistically, looking at all steps from agriculture and ingredient production, to the factory, in the supply chain and through to the consumer’s home. This approach requires detailed target setting as well as an in-depth understanding of behaviours and systems in different countries, both those that lead to waste, and systems that manage waste. In addition, Nestlé is focusing strongly on reducing food loss and waste, both upstream in agriculture and through to the retailer and consumer. This is a crucial part of the journey to feed a growing global population and contribute to meeting the target of the Sustainable Development Goals to halve per capita global food waste by 2030. With 436 factories in 85 countries making products sold in 189 countries, the company aims to improve resource efficiency, quality and productivity in our operations to do more with fewer resources and less waste. The story of Nestlé’s approach to waste and recovery is one of both high-level commitment and deeply detailed activity, supported by external collaboration. This reflects the breadth and complexity of its operations. This paper presents broader industry trends with respect to waste, and why this fits in with broader corporate social responsibility and sustainability issues for companies in general, while giving specific Nestlé examples. |
| Keywords: | Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257234&r=agr |
| By: | Belletti, G.; Biancalani, M.; Lombardi, G.; Sacchi, G.; Stefani, G. |
| Abstract: | In the new global economy, high yield variety wheat has become a central issue for the fight against hunger, undernourishment, and poverty. Nonetheless, intensive wheat production challenges biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability. In addition, volatility in world cereal markets is threatening farmers’ income triggering diversification patterns. In this framework, the aim of the paper is unveiling the types of alternative locally-based cereal supply chains and the role diverse differentiation strategies play, with particular focus on the actors involved and on their functioning. Our purpose is to improving knowledge of the current practices for the valorisation of wheat production in the region of Tuscany in Italy. Fourteen semi-structured interviews have been carried out between July 2017 and January 2018 with key actors (i.e. producers, millers, and bakers) selected considering all supply chain steps, from wheat cultivation, to the milling of the grain, up to the transformation of the final product. As results, differences among locally-based wheat supply chains have been found. While the locally-based chains referring to modern wheat varieties present characteristics more similar to those of mainstream, following differentiation strategies based on certification, chains based on ancient wheats refer to more informal practices and the quality of the product is guaranteed by the network reputation. Furthermore, in the ancient wheat supply chains, the methods for reducing transaction costs are linked to an active participation of actors (including consumers) and are built on a foundation of trust, knowledge exchange, and social networks. Results provide a qualitative assessment of the performances of different locally-based wheat supply chains. Moreover, they will identify critical aspects and provide policies implications for both types of chains. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea18:275655&r=agr |
| By: | Chaoran Chen (National University of Singapore); Diego Restuccia (University of Toronto); Raul Santaeulalia-Llopis (MOVE-UAB and Barcelona GSE) |
| Abstract: | We assess the role of land markets on factor misallocation in Ethiopia—where land is owned by the state—by exploiting policy-driven variation in land rentals across time and space arising from a recent land certification reform. Our main finding from detailed micro data is that land rentals significantly reduce misallocation and increase agricultural productivity. These effects are nonlinear across farms—impacting more those farms farther away from their efficient operational scale. The effect of land rentals on productivity is 70 percent larger when controlling for non-market rentals—those with a pre-harvest rental rate of zero. Land rentals significantly increase the adoption of new technologies, especially fertilizer use. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed018:105&r=agr |
| By: | Tleubayev, Alisher; Bobojonov, Ihtiyor; Götz, Linde; Hockmann, Heinrich; Glauben, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Agriculture plays an important role for Kazakhstan not only because of rural employment, but also because of the diversity it brings to its oil dependent economy. A considerable increase in grain exports was achieved during the recent years, however, there still is a large room for in-creasing productivity and efficiency to boost the agricultural potential of the country further. The government of Kazakhstan has introduced several policy packages in the past to boost productivity and efficiency, however, the impact of these reforms has not been yet analyzed quantitatively. Micro level data collected from 200 farms in northern Kazakhstan in 2015 is used in the analysis, in order to fill this research gap. A mixture of evidences is found in terms of policy effect on productivity and efficiency. The results of the analysis showed that direct subsidy access reduced the efficiency, while access to supply chain infrastructure had the opposite effect and increased the efficiency. Therefore, the study concludes that the government should divert its policy support from direct subsidy payments to the improvement of agricultural infrastructure. This will influence positively not only productivity and efficiency, but also Kazakhstan’s commitments towards international and regional trade agreements. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamodp:253397&r=agr |
| By: | Carfì, David; Donato, Alessia; Schilirò, Daniele |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we face the problem of global feeding sustainability and related environmental issues, with a strong attention to possible public heath improvements. Specifically, we shall consider food producers and sellers of vegan (or vegetarian) and non-vegan (or non-vegetarian) food. We propose possible quantitative agreements among different food producers, in order to develop a sustainable healthier diet for future generations, by using a mathematical co-opetitive approach and game theory. The co-opetitive approach used by the authors provides a game theory model, which could help producers of vegan food an easier entry in global market and obtain a considerable free publicity. Meanwhile, the model could allow big producers/sellers of non-vegetarian food a smooth rapid transaction to more sustainable and healthier vegan or vegetarian production/supply. In particular, we propose an exemplary complex agreement setting among McDonald's and Muscle of Wheat, a small but strongly innovative Italian food producer. We think that, on one hand, Muscle of Wheat cannot enter a global market without the help of a large globalized food producer already present in the market, on the other hand, we think equally difficult that a large static and poorly innovative producer cannot follow credibly and rapidly enough the increasing and challenging issues of global food sustainability. We remark that our game model represents an asymmetric R&D alliance between McDonald's and Muscle of Wheat. The aim of our contribution is twofold. Firstly, we explain the advantages of a vegan diet for the human health, environmental issues, food sustainability, population sustainability; in fact, the model explain how global food producers could improve environmental, social and health conditions of world population. Secondly, we show how game theory normal-form and extensive-form games can be used in coopetition studies in order to increase health conditions of people, address climate change, address hunger in the world, improve welfare in a particular market. The results of the mathematical study prove that we can find win-win solutions for both firms, which are also good for world environment, human healthy, human population sustainability and climate change. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability of Food Production, Environmental Sustainability; Game Theory; Co-petitive Games; Green Economy |
| JEL: | C71 C72 C78 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:88400&r=agr |
| By: | Lazzaro, B; N, Dal Ferro; Cocco, E; Berti, A; Morari, F |
| Abstract: | Efforts have been made in Europe to support the adoption of agri-environmental measures (AEMs), with the ambition to combine both high standards of crop productivity and environmental quality. However, benefits from AEMs have been poorly quantified at the spatial scale, despite the increasing demand for a spatial-targeting approach that link site- specific payments with AEMs performance. The aim of this work was to develop an integrated model-GIS platform that was used as decision support system to evaluate best AEMs in terms of agronomic performance and agro-ecosystem quality. The study site was the Veneto Region, where the AEMs were applied from 2007 to 2013 according to the Rural Development Programme. Results showed that in general the continuous soil cover yielded both agronomic benefits and the improvement of environmental quality, while a change from mineral to organic fertilizations was effective in the long-term and in the loose soils of southern and western Veneto, improving the soil-water balance and the nutrients availability to the crops. These estimates provide a good starting point for decision-makers aiming to implement a spatial targeting approach that effectively evaluate the ecological effectiveness of agri-environmental policies. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea18:275649&r=agr |
| By: | Mai, Thang Chien; Shakur, Shamim; Cassells, Sue |
| Abstract: | The research evaluates the price transmission between export and farmgate prices for Vietnam’s Robusta coffee. Our findings suggest that minor asymmetry price transmission exists for export prices in the long-run and for farm prices in the short-run when thresholds are considered. Besides, the daily speed of adjustment is so high as to lead one to conclude that the price transmission is symmetric. Some possible explanations include the low concentration of local exporters, Robusta’s low quality, and coffee oversupply. Given the recent downward trend in global coffee bean prices, this result also implies that liberalisation current policies are inadequate to ensuring coffee farmers’ welfare. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2016–08–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar16:260807&r=agr |
| By: | Lapidge, Steve |
| Abstract: | It is estimated that the world currently loses close to 90% of its nutrients between the farm and the fork. Future global food security will consequently not only be reliant on reducing the third of food produced that is currently lost or wasted, it will also require the development of a nutrient retention paradigm as part of the circular economy. This talk discusses a logical approach to nutrient retention, including transformation technologies, to ensure that the greatest amount of nutrient is retained in the human food chain. It details how high value and nutritionally enhanced functional foods can be created from such an approach, for the economic benefit of innovators in the field. Notwithstanding, it also discusses the importance of reinvigorating the lost art of utilising food leftovers to retain nutrients, because over half of food waste occurs in households in the developed world. The development of a new paradigm of nutrient retention within the circular economy will be essential for global food security – with nutritional security for all, not just food security, being the ultimate aim. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257230&r=agr |
| By: | Jo, Young |
| Abstract: | Though the obesity rate for children in the United States has reached an unprecedented level, not all children face the same risk. Using data from USDA’s 2012 National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey(FoodAPS), this study examines characteristics of households with at least one obese child (obese-child households) and without any obese children (nonobese-child households) to understand potential reasons behind the dissimilar risks. Children from obese-child households tend to live in a more disadvantageous household and food environment than children from nonobese-child households. Their parents are more likely to be unmarried, less educated, financially constrained, and obese. Obese-child households tend to be located in areas with lower access to healthful foods. Children from obese-child households eat breakfast less frequently than children from nonobese-child households; however, the difference in the nutritional quality of food acquired by the two household types is not statistically significant. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–09–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:263089&r=agr |
| By: | Hellerstein,Daniel; Hitaj, Claudia; Smith, David; Davis, Amélie |
| Abstract: | About 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators, including managed honey bees, to reproduce. However, pollinators face a number of stressors, such as parasites, poor nutrition, pesticides, and diseases. A literature review indicates that pollinators may benefit from landscapes richer in high-quality forage (pollen and nectar sources) and highlights the different needs of managed honey bees and native (unmanaged)pollinators. This study uses 30 years of data on U.S. land uses to calculate a pollinator forage suitability index. When averaged across the Nation, the forage suitability index increased from 1982 to 2002 and declined slightly from 2002 to 2012—though in important honey bee regions (such as Central North and South Dakota), the decline from 2002 to 2012 is more pronounced. The study also analyzes the economics of providing better pollinator forage, such as assigning property rights for colony placement and voluntary government conservation programs to increase pollinator forage. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:263074&r=agr |
| By: | Ralston, Katherine; Treen, Katie; Coleman-Jensen, Alisha; Guthrie, Joanne |
| Abstract: | USDA’s child nutrition programs (National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program) have as goals to improve food security and provide children with a regular source of nutritious meals. In this report, we present updated statistics on food insecurity among school-age children from the Food Security Supplement to the Current Population Survey for 2014 and 2015. We then summarize recent research on the effects of child nutrition programs on children’s food security and diets and discuss recent developments in nutrition assistance for school-age children. Studies that account for the greater likelihood of participation in these programs among children from food-insecure households find that school meal programs reduce food insecurity among children. Child nutrition programs also contribute to diet quality and academic performance for children from low-income and food-insecure households. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Public Economics |
| Date: | 2017–06–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:259730&r=agr |
| By: | Guo, Hongdong; Li, Xiaokang; Zeng, Yiwu; Jin, Songqing |
| Abstract: | The revolution of information technology and communications has drastically changed the way people conduct business. With the rapid emergence of Taobao villages and other e-trading platforms in its rural areas, China is leading the developing world in rural e-commerce. Despite the potential of e-commerce to improve agriculture profits and farmer’s income, whether and to what extent farmers really benefit from it remains a question. Using household survey data from farmers selling products through e-trading platform and those selling products through traditional market channel, we aim to rigorously assess the effects of e-commerce adoption on farmer’s income and identify the key mechanisms through which the impact comes about. Propensity score matching (PSM) methods were adopted to deal with the fact that farmers’ participation in selling products through e-commerce is not random. The PSM results show that the adoption of e-commerce has a positive effect on farmers’ income, especially in the villages with more e-commerce adoption. And the increase in the profit margin and the growth of sales are the two main channels through which e-commerce impacts farmers’ income. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:266298&r=agr |
| By: | Beckman, Jayson; Dyck, John; Heerman, Kari |
| Abstract: | Global agricultural trade, about $1 trillion in 2014, has been rising about 3.6 percent per year for the last two decades, facilitated by technological change and productivity gains, as well as trade liberalization. In addition, trade patterns have shifted and trade policy has evolved. The largest importers and exporters of agricultural products are largely unchanged over the last 20 years, but five countries—Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, and China—account for much of the increase in trade. The landscape of policies affecting trade is increasingly complex, and agricultural trade is facing obstacles that may restrict future growth. Despite trade rules such as in the World Trade Organization, countries impose trade barriers. High tariffs are permitted for many products in many countries. Rising domestic support in some countries could undermine a level playing field for agricultural trade. Moreover, sanitary and phytosanitary barriers and other technical barriers to trade are growing, with disagreements about the scientific basis for rejecting products becoming particularly contentious. This report surveys 20 years (1995-2014) of trends in world agricultural trade (1995-2016 for some measures of U.S. agricultural trade) and summarizes key policy issues that will confront decision makers and shape agricultural trade in the coming years. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2017–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:265270&r=agr |
| By: | Algieri, Bernardina; Leccadito, Arturo |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to investigate the possible contagion risk coming from energy, food and metals commodity markets and to assess risk spillovers from biofuel to food commodity markets and from crude oil to food markets. To this purpose, we use the delta Conditional Value-at-Risk ΔCoVaR) approach recently proposed by Adrian and Brunnermeier (2016) based on quantile regression. This novel methodology allows us first to identify a measure of contagion risk for energy, food and metals commodity markets, then to detect whether the risk contribution for a given market is significant, while distinguishing between tail events driven by financial factors, economic fundamentals or both, and finally, to assess whether the contagion effect of one market is significantly larger than the one of another market. The results show that energy, food and metals commodity markets transmit contagion within markets and there are spillovers from crude oil and biofuel to food markets. In particular, oil is systemically riskier than the other markets in causing economic instability. Oil is also more important than biofuel in affecting food markets. It emerges that contagion risk is mainly triggered by financial factors for energy and metal markets, while financial and economic fundamentals are relevant for food markets. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:257801&r=agr |
| By: | Tekalign Gutu Sakketa and Nicolas Gerber |
| Abstract: | The majority of the youth in Ethiopia live in rural areas where agriculture is the main source of livelihood. Using gender- and age-specific values of agricultural labor return (shadow wages), we systematically analyse trends, patterns and prospects of youth’s labor supply in agriculture across space (farm locations). We also analyse whether the household male and female youth members’ agricultural labor supply is responsive to economic incentives. We investigate these using shadow wages estimation techniques applied to farm-household panel data collected during the 2010/11 and 2014/15 agricultural seasons. The results indicate that trends and patterns of the youth’s involvement in agriculture vary across gender and farm work locations, and so do their labor returns. Yet the on-farm participation for youth members is declining across time irrespective of gender, whilst their participation in off-farm activities is increasing. The findings also suggest that changes in agricultural shadow wages matter for the youth’s involvement in the sector, but their impact differs for male and female youth. The results are consistent after controlling for individual heterogeneity, sample selection and instrumenting for possible endogeneity. In addition, we find that youth’s intentions and actual engagement in agricultural production vary greatly. This suggests that the frequent narrative of youth disengaging from agriculture may be a result of methodological flaws or data limitations. Taking into account the intensity of the youth’s involvement in family farm, own farm and off-farm work, the results challenge the presumption that youth are abandoning agriculture, at least in agricultural potential areas of Ethiopia. Instead the youth’s involvement makes an important economic contribution to the operation of the family farm. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in agricultural development to enhance productivity and employment opportunities; and structural transformation that addresses the imperfections and rigidities in labor and other input markets to make agriculture more attractive to youth. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2017–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:256284&r=agr |
| By: | Belyaeva, Maria; Bokusheva, Raushan |
| Abstract: | We conduct an examination of the climate effect to analyze the historical dependence of grain production on temperatures and precipitation levels, and project this dependence to estimate the productivity of different grain types in the mid- and long-terms, given four greenhouse gas concentration pathways. We find that altering temperatures have an equivocal effect on agriculture. The most productive zones of the southern black soil belt is projected to face considerable declines in yields, due to insufficient precipitation levels and high probability of heat waves during the summer vegetation period. The northern part, on the contrary, can experience increases in productivity as a result of milder and drier winters and warmer springs. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iamodp:253788&r=agr |
| By: | Tandon, Sharad; Landes, Maurice; Christensen, Cheryl; LeGrand, Steven; Broussard, Nzinga; Farrin, Katie; Thome, Karen |
| Abstract: | The United States leads efforts to improve global food security, providing about half of global food aid. Global food security has improved over the past 15 years, but challenges and opportunities remain. ERS researchers analyze the roles of trade, agricultural productivity, safety nets, and better data and measurement in achieving these gains. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Development |
| Date: | 2017–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:262131&r=agr |
| By: | Zahniser, Steven; Hertz, Thomas; Dixon, Peter B.; Rimmer, Maureen T. |
| Abstract: | This report uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to explore the economic effects of a hypothetical 10-percent increase in foreign demand for U.S. agri - cultural exports. This demand shift was found to result in a 6.7-percent increase in the volume of such exports, worth $9.7 billion at 2013 prices, and a net increase in total U.S. employment (all economic sectors) of about 41,500 jobs—above and beyond the nearly 1.1 million full-time civilian jobs that U.S. agricultural exports currently support. Some 40 percent of these new jobs are created in rural (nonmetropolitan) counties. Most parts of the agri-food sector (i.e., production agriculture plus food and beverage manufac - turing) would see an increase in employment, while employment in other trade-exposed industries—most notably non-food-and-beverage manufacturing and mining—would decrease. The agri-food sector’s share of regional employment is the main determi - nant of the percentage change in total regional employment in our simulation. Since the agri-food sector accounts for a larger share of nonmetro employment than of metro employment, growth in U.S. agricultural exports is of greater relative importance to the economic prosperity of nonmetro communities. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2017–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:262186&r=agr |
| By: | Cordell, Dana |
| Abstract: | It is not widely recognised that the reuse of phosphorus will be crucial to achieving future food security, supporting farmer livelihoods and buffering against emerging geopolitical risks. All farmers need access to phosphorus fertilisers to grow crops, yet just five countries control 85% of the world’s main source: phosphate rock. Morocco alone controls three-quarters of the world’s remaining phosphate. These phosphate reserves are non-renewable, and becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. Already one in six farmers cannot access fertiliser markets. The 800% phosphate price spike in 2008 demonstrated the vulnerability of global and local food systems to even a short-term disruption in supply. At the same time, a staggering 80% of phosphorus is lost or wasted in the supply chain between mine, farm and fork. Much of this ends up in rivers and lakes, leading to widespread nutrient pollution and algal blooms. The good news is that phosphorus can be recovered and reused from all organic sources in the food system: food waste, human excreta, manure, crop waste. Indeed, there are over 50 low- to high-tech solutions. However, phosphorus vulnerability is very context-specific, and what works in one country may be inappropriate or ineffective in another region. This case study highlights a path forward, including examples from Vietnam, Malawi and Australia. Investing in phosphorus reuse creates locally available ‘renewable fertilisers’. This simultaneously: reduces dependence on imports from geopolitically risky regions and therefore buffers against future price spikes and supply disruptions; reduces phosphorus waste in the food supply chain; and reduces the risk of nutrient pollution. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2016–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cfcp16:257233&r=agr |
| By: | Prager, Daniel; Tulman, Sarah; Durst, Ron |
| Abstract: | Net farm income and net cash farm income, as well as the farm household’s income or loss from the farm business, are commonly used measures of farm financial performance. However, other factors may affect the household’s economic return from farming. Almost half of all farm households face a loss from the farm business in any given year, and those households can benefit from offsetting these tax losses. Households may also gain from appreciation of their assets, particularly farmland, depending on how much of their operated land is owned. This paper analyzes farm returns after adjusting for these factors, estimating the additional gains households receive from offsetting tax losses and asset appreciation. Economic returns are found to be higher for larger farms, and those with higher debt. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:266304&r=agr |
| By: | CHO, CLARE; VOLPE, RICHARD |
| Abstract: | Independent grocery stores, or grocery stores whose owners operate fewer than four outlets, generated 11 percent of all U.S. grocery sales in 2015. These stores play an important role in their local communities, helping to ensure food access for residents, particularly in low-income and rural areas. This study uses data from Nielsen’s TDLinx to examine the current (2015) performance of independent grocery stores and changes in the performance of these establishments over the last decade, a period marked by the Great Recession and large changes to the food retail industry. In 2015, independent grocery stores generated $70 billion in sales and employed over 330,000 full-time equivalent employees. In 44 percent of U.S. counties, at least half of the food retailers were independent grocery stores, but their share of total sales was low. From 2005 to 2015, the number of total grocery stores (chain and independent) in the United States increased. However, at the onset of the recession, the number of independent grocery stores stagnated, causing the share of these grocery stores to decline through 2015. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Industrial Organization |
| Date: | 2017–11–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:265463&r=agr |
| By: | Xiong, Bo; Beghin, John C. |
| Abstract: | A possible Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement will further integrate agricultural markets between the United States and the European Union. The elimination of tariffs and cooperation on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures will promote cross-Atlantic trade. We empirically estimate the impacts of tariffs and Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) on trade in plant products between the two partners. Furthermore, we simulate trade expansions under plausible negotiation outcomes. We find that a TTIP agreement promotes cross-Atlantic trade in plant products, in both directions, by over 60% if tariffs are removed and MRLs are mutually recognized or harmonized to Codex levels. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade, Public Economics |
| Date: | 2017–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare17:258682&r=agr |
| By: | Upton, S T |
| Abstract: | New Zealand’s goal to double agricultural exports as well as meet Kyoto protocol commitments is a challenge. New Zealand sheep and beef farmers have been advised that applying more nitrogen fertiliser is the cheapest way to boost productivity. However, an increase in nitrogen fertiliser application results in greenhouse gas emissions increasing. This study analysed the implications of increased nitrogen fertiliser application on productivity and greenhouse gas emissions for New Zealand sheep and beef farms. Three scenarios were modelled to use the additional pasture production achieved from the different rates of nitrogen fertiliser and compared with a base model sheep and beef farm. These scenarios were (1) better feeding livestock to increase end live weight, (2) increasing stocking rate and (3) better feeding livestock to reduce the number of grazing days. The model farm was based on weighted average of all sheep and beef farms in New Zealand (Class 9). Simulations were then run with the different rates of nitrogen fertiliser ranging from 20 to 100kgN/ha/yr through each scenario. Consistent with the hypotheses, the efficiency of utilisation of extra grass production is an important determinant of the ratio of product output to GHG emissions. For scenario 1 and 2, productivity increased with the ratio of profit to kg of GHG emissions increasing. In scenario 1, the profit per kg of GHG emissions increased 27% in simulation 1 from the base model farm. This occurred when nitrogen fertiliser was increased to 20 kg/N/ha/yr from 5.6 kg/N/ha/yr. The ratio increased 0.6% for scenario 2 for the same change in nitrogen fertiliser. In scenario 3, the ratio of profit to kg of GHG emissions decreased 9% for the same change in nitrogen fertiliser. In all scenarios, GHG emissions increased. When N fertiliser is increased, productivity increased, greenhouse gas emissions could not be reduced and the proposed emissions trading scheme will have little impact on profitability. Strategic use of N could improve hill-country resilience. With an increase in strategic N fertiliser application, livestock can be better fed; thus, increased live weight and reducing the number of grazing days. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2016–08–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar16:260809&r=agr |
| By: | Gohin, Alexandre |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with the controversial indirect land use changes of the European biodiesel policy. Two studies sponsored by the European Commission finds significant, but contrasted, land use effects for the different vegetable oils used for biodiesel production. The first study uses an aggregate computable general equilibrium model capturing direct, indirect and induced effects. The second recent study uses a biotechnical partial equilibrium model offering a detailed representation of the indirect effects occurring through the livestock sectors. We develop an original economic emulator to understand the diverging key results of these studies and test their sensitivity. We find that the direct and indirect effects on vegetable oil markets explain most of the differences. We also find that indirect effects on the livestock sector and the induced effects do not significantly influence the biodiesel results. However results are critically sensitive to crop yield responses that are considerably underestimated in both studies. The cropland displacement due to the biodiesel policy computed by the recent study is overestimated by a factor of 5. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2017–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:inrasl:264955&r=agr |
| By: | Janusch, Nicholas; Palm-Forster, Leah H.; Messer, Kent D.; Ferraro, Paul J. |
| Abstract: | Insights from other behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology, neuroscience) have slowly been infiltrating mainstream economic thought and are now routinely informing the design of programs and policies in multiple domains. The same insights hold promise for designing more effective agri-environmental programs and policies. Motivated by the MINDSPACE categorization of behavioral insights introduced by Dolan et al. (2012), we develop the Ag-E MINDSPACE framework (where “Ag-E” stands for agri-environmental) to organize a review of the experimental literature on behavioral insights within the agri-environmental domain. The mnemonic MINDSPACE categorizes the behavioral impacts of messengers, incentives, norms, defaults, salience, priming, affect, commitments, and ego. Our Ag-E MINDSPACE framework further categorizes these insights as they apply to relevant agri-environmental issues, which are affected by the decisions of producers and consumers. Designed as a practical guide for researchers and an aid to practitioners in deciding which behavioral interventions to embed in their programs, this review summarizes the estimated effect sizes of behavioral interventions that are relevant for agri-environmental applications. We find that, unlike other policy domains, in which one can find dozens of relevant behavioral studies, the agri-environmental domain is characterized by a paucity of behavioral studies that can guide practitioners. Practitioners are thus forced to either (i) assume that results from other domains, which are largely focused on consumer decision-making in contexts such as healthcare, anti-poverty, education, and finance, can be applied to the agri-environmental programs and policies, or (ii) collaborate with researchers to replicate and extend the insights from other domains to important agri-environmental contexts. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa18:266299&r=agr |