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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2018‒11‒26
105 papers chosen by |
| By: | Bahta, Y.; Owusu-Sekyeer, E. |
| Abstract: | The paper evaluates the impact of homestead food garden programme and land redistribution policies on the income of vegetable farmers in South Africa, using data collected from 500 vegetable-producing households. Endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching approaches were employed in our analysis. Our findings demonstrate that the participation in a homestead food garden programme can significantly enhance the welfare of participants by increasing their gross margins by 5.21%. We further show that the land redistribution policy by the South African government appears to have a significant impact on vegetable production and gross margins of vegetable farmers. We found that vegetable farmers who own more than 1 hectare of farmland through the land redistribution policy perform better in terms of gross margins, relative to those who own less than 1 hectare by 9.28% gross margin. The policy implication of our findings is that the distribution of farmland under the agriculture and land reform policy should be accompanied with food policy interventions, such as the homestead food garden programme, and also that the willingness of people to participate in farming should be paramount to the land redistribution policy. Acknowledgement : We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the southern African systems analysis centre, the national research foundation and the department pf science and technology in South Africa as well as the international institute of applied system analysis in Austria. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277732&r=agr |
| By: | Taheripour, F.; Scott, D.; Tyner, W. |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates in a holistic way major trends in US production of food, feed, and biofuel commodities over the period 1961-2014. It is motivated by literature that examines parts of the changes but does not integrate them. We develop a comprehensive data set and then conduct analysis of the major trends that emerge. We identify eight major trends and then combine them to four major themes. The first theme is the huge gain in agricultural productivity over this period. An important component of this theme is that the productivity gain was sufficient to achieve substantial total production growth as agricultural land declined over the period. Second, there has been a major transformation of the livestock sector as less efficient and more expensive beef has been replaced by more efficient and less expensive poultry. As this change has happened, the livestock sector has become more land efficient, less land used in livestock. The third major change is that US calorie production is now substantially more than the needs for food and feed. Finally, the first three major themes have enabled the fourth, which is growth of US renewable fuel production, while agricultural land declined over time. Acknowledgement : No Acknowledgement |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277291&r=agr |
| By: | Ravi, S.C. |
| Abstract: | It is projected that, India s population would reach1.69 billion by 2050 and the demand for cereals is estimated to be around 390 to 465 mt. Presently 14.5 per cent of India s population is undernourished, thus posing a serious question on food security? On the other hand, food is lost due to various harvest and post harvest losses. The food lost serves as opportunity cost for the economy as well environment. Hence, this study focuses on food loss, its impact on food security and environment. The food loss footprint was calculated using the methodology developed by FAO. Results revealed that, carbon foot print was more in case of cereals (13.37 mt of CO2 equivalent). Of the total blue water that was utilized in producing the lost food, 59 per cent of the lost blue water was used for cereal production. The land and water saved by reducing the food loss could be used more efficiently in producing extra food. Lost food can be used to achieve food security. Timely harvesting and use of mechanization in harvesting is needed. There is a need to develop efficient supply chain network. Aerobic rice cultivation needs to be promoted to reduce GHG emission. Acknowledgement : The authors wishes to thanl, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome; AICRP on Post Harvest Technology, CIPHET, PAU, Ludhiana; Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi and Inspire Fellowship, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277386&r=agr |
| By: | Magrini, E.; Del Prete, D.; Ghins, L.; Pauw, K. |
| Abstract: | Since 2007 the Rwandan government has pursued a large-scale Crop Intensification Program entailing land consolidation and a regionalized approach to crop production support. As agricultural development is generally associated with improved food and nutrition security outcomes, the Rwandan development strategy has supported the increased crop specialization by smallholders with the assumption that as incomes improve, households could increasingly rely on markets for maintaining diverse and nutritious diets. Despite its scale, no detailed assessment of the causal relationship between land consolidation under CIP and food and nutrition security outcomes has been carried out. Using recent household survey data and a propensity score matching difference-in-difference method, we find that participation in land consolidation activities had an ambiguous effect. On the one hand it positively impacted on consumption of roots and tubers, while on the other, had negative effect on meat, fish and fruits consumption and potential availability of vitamin B12 in participants diets. The share of consolidated land, the emphasis on cultivating only certain priority crops, and market access are identified as important explanatory factors . This calls for a review of CIP implementation practices so that its capacity to achieve broad food and nutrition security objectives is further improved. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277127&r=agr |
| By: | Shiferaw, K.; Gebremedhin, B.; Tegegne, A.; Hoekstra, D. |
| Abstract: | This paper uses two triple-hurdle models to analyse the determinants of Ethiopian rural households decisions in (1) milk production, butter marketing and volume of butter sales; and (2) milk production, purchased input use and intensity of purchased input use. Results are based on data collected from 5000 households and 497 rural communities in the highlands of Ethiopia. Availability of feed stands out as an important factor influencing household decision to engage in milk production, indicating the dire need to develop feed resources to promote dairy production in rural Ethiopia. Milk production in rural Ethiopia seems to have an interesting and complex gender dimension. While female-headed households are less likely to be engaged in milk production, perhaps because of resource limitations, they are more likely to manage their dairy farms intensively. Marketing costs matter in dairy production and marketing in rural Ethiopia, suggesting for the need to develop market infrastructures for both dairy outputs and inputs. Our results further show that participation in butter markets as sellers or the amount of butter sales do not respond to price signals, suggesting the need to understand the behavioural aspect of dairy marketing decision in rural Ethiopia. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277104&r=agr |
| By: | Grovermann, C.; Wossen, T.; Muller, A.; Nichterlein, K. |
| Abstract: | Agricultural innovation is an essential component in the transition to more sustainable and resilient farming systems across the world. Innovations generally emerge from collective intelligence and action, but innovation systems are often poorly understood. This study explores the properties of innovation systems and their contribution to increased eco-efficiency in agriculture. Using aggregate data and econometric methods, the eco-efficiency of 79 countries was computed and a range of factors relating to research, extension, business and policy was examined. Despite data limitations, the analysis produced significant results. Extension plays an important role in improving the eco-efficiency of agriculture, while agricultural research, under current conditions, has a positive effect on eco-efficiency only in the case of less developed economies. These and other results suggest the importance of context-specific interventions rather than a one size fits all approach. Overall, the analysis illustrated the potential of a macro-level diagnostic approach for assessing the role of innovation systems for sustainability in agriculture. Acknowledgement : The authors would like to thank the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation for funding this research. |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277416&r=agr |
| By: | Tillie, P.; Louhichi, K.; Gomez Y Paloma, S. |
| Abstract: | In Niger, an important objective of the agricultural policy consists in promoting the development of small irrigation infrastructures in order to diversify agricultural production, extend the cropping season, raise land productivity and secure farmers' revenue. Small irrigation infrastructures are regarded as a possible alternative to large irrigation infrastructure since they are cheaper to implement and maintain and easier to manage. This paper attempts to explore the impacts of a program of small irrigation development in Niger on land allocation, agricultural production and income generation using the farm-level model FSSIM-Dev (Farm System Simulator for Developing Economies) and data from a nationally representative sample of farm households. FSSIM-Dev, a static positive programming model, was applied to every individual farm household included in sample to capture the full heterogeneity of impacts across farm households. Results show the large potential impact of small irrigation on agriculture production and income generation, especially during the dry season and in regions of Niger with high potential irrigable land. Farm income would increase by around 7 % at country level if small irrigation was made available to all farmers. Small irrigation infrastructure would also contribute the reduction of income inequality. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277088&r=agr |
| By: | Kirui, O. |
| Abstract: | It is widely recognized that human capital and skill development are significant determinants that could positively affect farmers performance and their disposition to adopt innovations. General education as well as specific agricultural education and training is argued as vital to overcoming development challenges in rural areas. More than 70 per cent of the people in Africa live in rural areas and depend on smallholder agriculture for food and livelihood. Yet majority of them are poor, illiterate and are faced with precarious food and nutrition insecurity. This study seeks to not only assess the impact of post-secondary education on economic outcomes (consumption expenditure and poverty), but also asses the returns to and distributional effects of post-secondary education among rural farmers in four countries (Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania). While using novel nationally representative panel data and a variety of estimation techniques, results are rather robust and indicate that post-secondary education significantly increases consumption expenditure by 12.5% in Tanzania and 27.6% in Ethiopia. Results further show that post-secondary education significantly reduces poverty by 42.5% in Malawi and 47.5% in Nigeria. Our findings are of policy relevance to most SSA countries currently grappling with rising urbanization, high youth unemployment, and acute skills shortage. Acknowledgement : Financial assistance by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) throught the Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) is highly appreciated. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277068&r=agr |
| By: | Ogada, M.; Radeny, M.; Recha, J.; Kimeli, P.; Rao, J.; Solomon, D. |
| Abstract: | To accelerate adoption of climate smart agriculture technologies and innovations in East Africa, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change and Food Security Programme introduced the concept of Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) in the region, specifically in Lushoto in Tanzania, Borana in Ethiopia, Hoima and Rakai in Uganda, and Wote and Nyando in Kenya. The approach brings together research institutions, agriculture sector stakeholders and the farming communities to test a portfolio of CSA technologies, identify locally appropriate ones and promote their uptake. This study sought to measure the impact of the technologies on welfare of the households. Using quasi-experimental approaches, the study found that CSVs enhanced the adaptive capacity of the smallholder farmers, and that CSA technologies and innovations improved the welfare of the farmers by increasing their access to food varieties, improving their asset holding and income. The policy implication is that the concept CSV should be promoted while obstacles to adoption of CSA technologies and innovations should be addressed. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277499&r=agr |
| By: | Omondi, S.O. |
| Abstract: | Studies have shown conflicting results regarding the importance of urban agricultural production on household food security. This study, while recognizing the importance of food security role of urban agriculture, focuses on the economic and household income aspects of urban agriculture. This is achieved using a sample of indigenous chicken producers in the medium-sized cities of Kisumu and Thika, in Kenya. Urban indigenous chicken production serves a dual role of food provision and income generation. Therefore, this study asserts that the extent of importance of urban agriculture is contingent on the type of urban agricultural activities practiced. Multivariate regression model shows that access to high value markets and market information significantly affects profitability of indigenous chicken farming. To obtain the desired welfare benefits for smallholder poultry farmers, policies should be introduced to facilitate their access to high value markets. Such policies should also include provision of affordable high yielding poultry breeds, facilitation for formation of farmer groups, and training farmers on feed production. Acknowledgement : The author would like to thank Magnus Jirstr m and Mikael Hammarskj ld for their valuable comments on earlier drafts. He is grateful for financial support by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS) [grant number225-2012-609]; and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) [grant number SWE-2011-028]. |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277360&r=agr |
| By: | Bonjean, I. |
| Abstract: | In conditions of poor soil fertility and increasing importance of global value chain, agricultural extension projects have been one of the main channel to increase farmer's production and income. In this literature, prices received by farmers for agricultural goods are usually assumed to be homogeneous. We dispute this over-simplification: prices and production levels in developing countries are often jointly determined. The analysis relies on a successful extension program in the Peruvian highlands, where the main income source is the dairy sector characterized by a highly segmented market. We propose a simple theoretical model to explore how the discontinuity in price induces non-linear return to investment and diverging incentives. The econometric analysis confirms the model's propositions: producers that were not included in the formal market at baseline, but close to it, have more intensively innovated. This investment leads to a higher price increase than other producers. The effects are shown to resist to falsification tests, mechanisms are discussed and positive externalities are found within communities. Hence we show that innovation in the context of a segmented market leads to heterogeneous impacts and non-trivial income effects. Contrarily to the expected disequalizing effects of innovation adoption, it induces scope for unexpected social mobility. Acknowledgement : We thank Jean-Philippe Platteau, Catherine Guirkinger, Jean-Marie Baland, Franc{c}ois Bourguignon, Michael Grimm, Jo Swinnen, James Fenske and Douglas Gollin for very helpful comments and suggestions |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277257&r=agr |
| By: | Perez Blanco, C.D. |
| Abstract: | Little is known about the economy-wide repercussions of water buyback, which may include relevant feedbacks on the output of economic sectors at a regional and supra-regional scale. Limited applied studies available rely on stand-alone Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models that represent competition for water explicitly, but this approach presents significant data and methodological challenges in areas where mature water markets are not in place the case of most regions worldwide. To bridge this gap, this paper couples a bottom-up Revealed Preference Model that elicits the value and price share to water with a top-down, regionally-calibrated CGE model for Spain. Methods are illustrated with a case study in the Murcia Region in southeastern Spain. Economy-wide feedbacks amplify income losses in Murcia's agriculture from -20.5% in the bottom-up model up to -33% in the coupled model. Compensations paid to irrigators enhance demand in the region, but supply contraction in agriculture and related sectors lead to a GDP loss (up to -2.1%) in most scenarios. The supply gap is partially filled in by other Spanish regions, which experience a GDP gain through a substitution effect (up to +.034%). In all scenarios, aggregate GDP for Spain decreases (up to -.023%). Acknowledgement : This research has received funding from the AXA Research Fund through the Post-Doctoral Fellowships Campaign 2015, and from the Climate-KIC Europe through the Climate Smart Agriculture Booster project AGRO ADAPT (Service for local and economy wide assessment of adaptation actions in agriculture). |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277028&r=agr |
| By: | Hernandez-Solano, A.; Yunez-Naude, A. |
| Abstract: | Market failures are frequent in the rural sector of less developed countries, so, rural economic agents that face high transaction costs take their decisions based on implicit or shadow prices. Failing to consider this feature may generate, amongst others, misleading results for policy evaluation and recommendations. In this paper we develop a theoretical agricultural household model that considers market failures in a subsistence crop market and in agricultural land and labor markets. We apply the model to estimate econometrically the shadow price of agricultural land of rural households in Mexico using economic and socio-demographic data from a representative national survey of these economic agents. We find that the estimated average shadow price of their land rent is relatively high and also that it has sharp variation in rural Mexico. Based on these results we suggest that policies aimed to promote changes in the use of rural land (e.g. from agriculture to forestry) have to consider the value attached to agricultural land by rural households and its variability according to the diversity of agro-ecological conditions in countries like Mexico. Acknowledgement : We thank the financial support of Mexico Nacional Council for de Evaluation of Social Policy (CONEVAL, Spanish acronym), granted to the authors through El Colegio de Mexico. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277260&r=agr |
| By: | Manda, J.; Gardebroek, C.; Kuntashula, E.; Alene, A.D. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of improved maize varieties on household food security in eastern Zambia using household survey data from a sample of over 800 rural households. Since treatment effect estimates are often prone to misspecification in either the treatment or outcome equation, we use the doubly robust inverse probability weighted regression adjustment method, complemented with propensity score matching on six different food security measures to obtain reliable impact estimates. Generally, we find a positive impact of improved maize adoption on food security across the two econometric approaches. Maize, being the most important food staple in Zambia has a great bearing on the food security status of farm households. It is therefore imperative that a conducive environment is created that promotes the adoption of maize yield improving technologies Acknowledgement : The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from USAID/Zambia. The household survey was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Zambia and the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI). We thank Bernadette Chimai of the University of Zambia who ably supervised the data collection process. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277004&r=agr |
| By: | Tabe-Ojong, M.P.J.; Mausch, K.; Woldeyohanes, T.; Heckelei, T. |
| Abstract: | Enhancing agricultural productivity through the adoption of proven technologies presents a credible pathway to economic development and poverty reduction. The adoption of improved chickpea varieties in Ethiopia has the potential to contribute not only to food security but also to economic development as well as poverty reduction among the poor. We analyze the impacts of improved chickpea adoption on smallholder production and commercialization employing a triple hurdle (TH) model on a panel data of three rounds (2008, 2010, 2014), drawn from 614 households in potential chickpea areas in Ethiopia. The correlated random effect model coupled with the control function approach for non-linear panel models was employed to address heterogeneity and endogeneity. The adoption of improved chickpea varieties shows a significant positive effect on the commercialization of chickpea. This study therefore affirms the importance of improved chickpea varieties for commercialization and additionally provides support for policies targeting poverty alleviation in rural areas through targeting more novel farm technologies, improving extension services and increasing access to land especially by the young. Acknowledgement : The first and second author would like to thank the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GIZ/BEAF for the financial support provided for this study. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277287&r=agr |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | Using farm household data from northern Nigeria as well as various spatial agroclimatic data, this study shows that the adoption of key mechanical technologies in Nigerian agriculture (animal traction, tractors, or both) has been high in areas that are more agroclimatically similar to the locations of agricultural research and development (R&D) stations, and this effect is heterogeneous, being particularly strong among relatively larger farms. Furthermore, such effects are likely to have been driven by the rise in returns on scale in the underlying production function caused by the adoption of these mechanical technologies. Agricultural mechanization, represented here as the switch from manual labor to animal traction and tractors, has been not only raising the average return on scale but also potentially magnifying the effects of productivity-enhancing public-sector R&D on spatial variations in agricultural productivity in countries like Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | NIGERIA; WEST AFRICA ; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; agricultural mechanization; agroclimatic zones; agricultural productivity; innovation adoption; animal power; tractors; farm size; agroclimatic similarity; returns on scale; inverse probability weighting |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1692&r=agr |
| By: | Ahmadi, Vosough B.; Peart, G. |
| Abstract: | The global challenges for conservation of farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) are mainly tackled using in situ, ex situ or both breed conservation methods aiming at reducing the extinction risks and providing options for future usage. The United Kingdom government has confirmed their commitment to this plan by adopting and endorsing the Interlaken Declaration in 2007. Over a decade later, the Brexit vote has provided a unique opportunity for the UK to re-evaluate its agricultural policies which regulate farm animal genetic resource conservation, specifically the pillars of common agricultural policy (CAP) and how they affect the conservation of the UK s farm animal population diversity. This paper describes the current activities and policies regarding FAnGR conservation in the UK and discusses the effects that Brexit may have on UK FAnGR and how the UK government could best alter policy post-Brexit to give renewed drive towards safeguarding FAnGR. It was concluded that conservation of FAnGR should be re-prioritised as an important environmental service. To do this, specific budget and payment support needs to be allocated to FAnGR conservation activities, giving emphasis on public funding for public good to renew drive towards fulfilling the targets of the Global Plan in the UK. Acknowledgement : Dr B Vosough Ahmadi s contribution to this research was funded by the Scottish Government Rural Affairs and the Environment Portfolio Strategic Research Programme 2016 2021, Work Package 2.3 Agricultural Systems and Land Management. |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276952&r=agr |
| By: | Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:zabfap:279780&r=agr |
| By: | Birkenberg, A. |
| Abstract: | The agri-food sector generates between 20-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A recent attempt to address an increasing demand for climate change mitigation in global value chains is the use of strict and high quality climate labels. However, very little is known on consumer s preferences and attitudes towards climate labels in the agri-food sector and even less on synergistic effects of climate labels in coexistence with other labels. This study examines the world s first coffee, certified as carbon neutral and consumer preferences. It investigates the willingness to pay (WTP) of German consumers for carbon neutral labels on coffee and potential synergistic effects when carbon neutral certification is combined with uncertified direct trade claims or a Fair Trade certificate. A discrete choice experiment based on a Mixed Logit Model was used to determine consumer s WTP and focus group discussions were conducted to understand the rationales. A marginal WTP of 1.70 for a carbon neutral label was identified on a 250g package of specialty coffee. A positive synergistic effect was found for the combination of a carbon neutral label with direct trade claims. Further, without according information, consumers often perceived coffee as a natural product that is not generating any emissions. Acknowledgement : We kindly acknowledge the contributions of Manuel Narjes, Bettina Reiser and Regina Birner who substantially developed and improved the research. We are also thankful for the scholarship provided by the FAZIT foundation in Germany. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277277&r=agr |
| By: | Adela, F.A.; Aurbacher, J. |
| Abstract: | The lack of consensus on the role of the agricultural sector in poverty reduction and pitfalls in impact study methodologies resulted in mixed findings on impact of irrigation. This study explores factors that determine farmer s decision to irrigate and whether access to irrigation water enhances livelihood of the farmers. Cross-sectional data from a survey of 240 smallholder farmers in Wondo Genet, Ethiopia was used for the analysis. Foster-Greer-Thorbecke indices indicated high poverty level among farmers without access to irrigation. Further analysis was undertaken using an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model. The correlation coefficient results proved the existence self-selection and endogeneity. Accordingly, variables like scheme governance, level of water scarcity, and access to network found to be some of variables that significantly affected the farmers decision to irrigate. Model estimates further indicated that access to irrigation resulted in better life conditions when compared to counterfactual situation. Farm income of the households has increased by 107% and 171% for irrigation users and non-users, respectively. Similarly, per adult equivalent consumption expenditure has shown increase by 26% and 57% for irrigation users and non-users. Key Words: Agriculture, Irrigation, smallholder, Wondo Genet, Ethiopia, Endogenous Switching Regression, poverty, Farm income, Consumption Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277521&r=agr |
| By: | Hoffmann, W.; Chanza, S. |
| Abstract: | Most Malawians directly depend on cereal production. Smallholder farmers in central Malawi are affected by declining soil fertility, especially because of Nitrogen depletion, due to crop harvest removals, soil erosion and leaching. The consequence is declining productivity and food insecurity. Legume intercropping is promoted in the tropics to replenish soil fertility. The importance of legumes include: the potential to improve soil fertility, improve nutrition to humans and income source for the smallholder farmers. This study evaluate the financial implications on smallholder farmers regarding the implementation of BNF (Biological Nitrogen Fixation) and inoculant technologies in current production systems. It focused on specific districts in Malawi: Ntcheu, Dedza, Mchinji, Salima and Kasungu. Gross margins increased for all the crops and all the districts after the adoption of the legume technologies. Intercropping system helps the farmers minimize risk against total crop failure and maximize cultivation per area. This lessens the challenges of small farms to some extent. The results indicate that farmers benefit financially from legume technologies. The gain from the inclusion of legume technology is, however, indicative of the low yield levels before the adoption. The legume technologies can contribute to productive and sustainable agricultural systems for the smallholder farmers in Malawi. Acknowledgement : We would like to acknowledge the Kellogs Foundation for financial support and the N2Africa project for information shared. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277337&r=agr |
| By: | Schamel, G. |
| Abstract: | We analyze how grape supply may determine implicit prices for organic wine and regional denominations. We analyze three grape supply chains and the related wine quality they produce: cooperatives, own-growing and mixed-sourcing. Cooperatives have their grapes supplied by their member growers. Own-growers are making wine exclusively from their own-grown grapes. Mixed-sourcing describes wineries that use own-grown grapes and contract-grapes from independent growers. Cooperative producers face the challenge to raise grape and subsequent wine quality (e.g. setting appropriate incentives that induce their members to grow high quality grapes through vineyard management and grape pricing schemes). We analyze data on retail prices, wine quality evaluations, winery reputation indicators, organic production and regional denomination rules (DOC, IGT). Using a hedonic model, we show that wines from cooperatives may command a price (or reputation) premium relative to wines from private producers and we observe specialized grape supply chains with price premiums for DOC wine from cooperatives, IGT denominated wine from own-growing wineries and organic wine from mixed sourcing and own-growing producers. We confirm that cooperatives may gain a price premium in the market. Moreover, we show that the price premium for organic wine may depend on specialized grape supply chains. Acknowledgement : Special thanks are due to the authors of l Espresso Wine Guide and the Chamber of Commerce of the Province of Bozen-Bolzano for providing access to the data analyzed in this paper. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277043&r=agr |
| By: | Njue, E.; Kirimi, L.; Mathenge, M. |
| Abstract: | In spite of agriculture being an important source of income growth and a potential source of investment opportunities in Kenya, farmers face numerous production risks including climate change and variability. While literature suggests that crop insurance has the potential to unlock key services that enhance farm productivity, crop insurance uptake evidence is limited, hence, this study sought to inform on ways of making crop insurance work for the smallholder producers. Data was collected from 400 maize-producing households in areas where weather index-based insurance had been promoted. Results show that uptake of crop insurance is very low and declining and, the insurance concept is also not well understood by farmers. In addition, basis risk hinders uptake of crop insurance since farmers exhibited high levels of dissatisfaction with claim payments. Furthermore, awareness and training on crop insurance, density of automated weather stations and ownership of savings account are integral factors in enhancing its uptake. Our findings therefore highlight the need to educate farmers on the principles of crop insurance and different products that exist. Similarly, designing of crop insurance products and selection of target crop enterprises should involve all stakeholders to enhance uptake. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277023&r=agr |
| By: | Chen, Y.; Chen, K.; Zhong, F. |
| Abstract: | Individual farmers have been entitled to lease farmland in China since 2003. During the same period, China has undergone a rapid urbanization, causing farmers to leave their lands. In 2004, the government introduced farm subsidies nationwide to encourage farming. This paper represents the very first attempt to examine the impact of farm subsidies on farmland cash rents in China. We construct a farmland rental model to account for imperfect competitions due to insecure property rights. This model is estimated using information from 5,041 households in China over the 2004-2013 period. Estimation results show that farm subsidies have a positive and statistically significant impact on farmland rents. The incidence of farm subsidies on farmland rents is estimated to be 0.45, which suggests that farmland tenants capture 55 percent of the subsidy, leaving 45 percent for landlords. This implies that farm subsidy policies exhibit substantial distributional effects. In addition, urbanization and market returns are also found to have a positive relationship with farmland rents, which is consistent with previous literature. Acknowledgement : Financial support of the NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China)-CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) Program is gratefully acknowledged. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277513&r=agr |
| By: | Nin-Pratt, Alejandro |
| Abstract: | Between 2001 and 2012, Latin America and the Caribbean’s (LAC) agriculture saw its best performance of the last 30 years. What were the implications of this growth for family agriculture (FA) in the region? This study contributes to answer this question by looking at the case of Paraguay, a country with one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the region during this period. At the center of the development challenges faced by this country is the debate on the role of family agriculture and smallholders in a future growth strategy. Between 1991 and 2008 the number of family workers in agriculture decreased significantly, while the total area of FA crops decreased to only 48 percent of its level in 1991. As some authors argued in the past, the 2000s represent a turning point for FA development in Paraguay, given that until 2002, the total area of farms of less than 20 hectares was still increasing, a trend that reversed after this year. Are these changes, part of a process of impoverishment of the rural population resulting from displacement of FA by the commercial sector as is normally assumed in previous studies? Evidence from this study shows that rural poverty decreased almost by half between 2003 and 2015; that the reduction of output of crops traditionally produced by FA was not the result of competition with the commercial sector, but mostly a consequence of the collapse of cotton production, a failure of a government program for FA; and that in regions with high proportion of FA, commercial crop production expanded by displacing inefficient extensive livestock farmers and not FA agriculture. We conclude that the situation of FA in Paraguay is much more diverse and complex than the simple claims of decomposition and disappearance as the result of the expansion of capitalist farmers. In this context, there are options for the government to promote the development of FA with the goal of increasing employment opportunities in rural areas while achieving a much-needed diversification of agricultural production and exports. |
| Keywords: | PARAGUAY; LATIN AMERICA; SOUTH AMERICA ; agriculture; efficiency; family farms; productivity; diversification |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1747&r=agr |
| By: | Ohe, Y. |
| Abstract: | Whether farm management conducting tourism activity becomes more efficient or not is an important theoretical and empirical question for the promotion of tourism in agriculture. Thus, this study theoretically and empirically evaluated the efficiency of Educational Dairy Farms (EDFs) that provide educational tourism by DEA. The financial data were collected by the author s survey of these farms located around the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Based on the theoretical framework that stipulates that the efficiency of farm activity is determined by a farmer s identity, a bilateral slacks-based measure (SBM) model applied to empirically evaluate efficiency. The results revealed that those farmers that engage in processing milk products and direct selling have higher efficiency than those who do not. This is because having an enlarged identity that provides a wider perspective on farm activity enables these farmers to create demand and reduce marginal cost. This wider perspective was nurtured through the network of educational tourism activity. Thus, educational tourism activity by dairy farmers can nurture a new business opportunity and lead to efficient farm resource allocation. Acknowledgement : This study was funded by Japan Dairy Association (J-milk). The author is grateful for the cooperation from the Japan Dairy Council, Kanto Dairy Cooperatives and Chiba Dairy Cooperatives, and EDFs that cooperated for the implementation of this study. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277533&r=agr |
| By: | Alejandro Fuentes Espinoza; Anne Hubert; Yann Raineau; Céline Franc; Eric Giraud-Héraud |
| Abstract: | We analyze consumers’ evaluations of white wines from resistant varieties, produced in the Languedoc winegrowing region of France (2016 vintage). We use the results from a laboratory experiment performed in Paris in June 2017, where a panel of more than one hundred and sixty consumers, regular buyers of this type of wine, were asked to evaluate a wine of the Bouquet 3159 grape variety (monogenic variety resistant to mildew and powdery mildew and optimized for quality) and compare it with two conventional wines of different quality levels, and with a certified organic wine of similar type and price. The environmental and health performances and the production methods of the different wines were quantified according to several indicators: treatment frequency indicator (TFI) and pesticide residue analysis.\r\nThe consumers first evaluated the wines after tasting, having been given only a minimum amount of information about the region of origin and the vintage, then again after receiving information on production methods and the levels of our indicators. The method used to lend credibility to individual valuations used experimental economics, via a mechanism based on direct disclosure of their willingness to pay (maximum purchase price for a bottle of wine according to available information). The results showed that, on a purely sensory level, consumers had difficulty in accepting wine from a resistant variety. We were then able to see that communication focusing on environmental and health performances very much improved the position of the resistant variety of wine, putting it ultimately at the top of the average qualitative evaluations. In economic terms, we show that this promotion results in high market share, gained from conventional wines. Market share losses were lower, however, for the premium conventional wine, suggesting that the higher quality wines would be less directly challenged by wines produced from resistant varieties. |
| Keywords: | Wine, Resistant varieties, Treatment frequency indicator, Pesticide residue analysis, Willingness to pay, Experimental economics. |
| JEL: | D12 Q11 Q13 Q16 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2018-22&r=agr |
| By: | Yi, Q. |
| Abstract: | The separation of agricultural mechanization services from the production processes of agriculture represents the division of labor in agriculture and is a kind of innovation in the organization of agricultural production. This study explores the adoption of agricultural mechanization services among maize farmers in China and particularly examines the impacts of population aging and off-farm employment. Based on a cross-sectional data of some 600 maize farmers in 7 provinces of China , the results show that the mechanization rate of maize farming in China is about 61%, wherein over Over 46% adopt agricultural mechanization services, but while less than 15% use own agricultural machines. The proportion of family members aged?60 years old in the household negatively affects the off-farm employment of family members and the adoption of agricultural mechanization services. Also, the percent of family members engaging in off-farm work has a positive effect on maize farmers' agricultural mechanization services adoption. The findings reveal that the increasing population aging and the rising wages in China would foster the demand for agricultural mechanization services in future. This study not only complements the empirical evidence on agricultural mechanization services but also provides a better understanding of the transformation of agriculture in China. Acknowledgement : Thanks to China Center for Agricultural Policy , my coauther Min Shi and my tutor professor Huang jikun |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277541&r=agr |
| By: | Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy |
| Keywords: | International Development |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:zabfap:279779&r=agr |
| By: | Caillavet, F.; Fadhuile, A.; Nichèle, V. |
| Abstract: | A carbon tax on food could contribute to emissions mitigation and act as a strong signal to economic actors. However, tax regressivity is a major disadvantage. This article addresses equity issues by several means. First, this article includes reallocation proposals in a revenue-neutral approach of several emission-based carbon taxation scenarios at the consumption level on food. Second, this article develops these proposals’ distributional incidence, and it evaluates the role of carbon pricing in policy impacts. With a carbon-based approach, the differing emission potentials of food groups highlight the relevance of using proteins as a tax base to redirect animal to plant sources in the diet. Thus, a scenario taxing foods rich in animal proteins and subsidizing plant proteins ones is built. Scanner data on French households in 2010 are analyzed. Several GHG emissions indicators and related nutritional impacts, such as diet quality scores and the shift from animal to plant proteins, are evaluated. Using individual changes in food expenditure, distributional effects based on continuous distribution and inequality indexes are measured, allowing the discussion of the policy options of a targeted vs nontargeted tax and a revenue-neutral approach in the food sector. |
| Keywords: | CARBON FISCAL POLICY;REVENUE-NEUTRAL;FOOD CONSUMPTION;REGRESSIVITY;INEQUALITIES |
| JEL: | H23 Q18 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:2018-12&r=agr |
| By: | Meuwissen, M. |
| Abstract: | Due to a changing risk environment, resilience of European farming systems can no longer be taken for granted. In this paper we define resilience as maintaining the essential functions of EU farming systems in the face of increasingly complex and volatile economic, social, ecological and institutional risks. The aim of this paper is to develop a comprehensive resilience enabling framework for farming systems building on the concept of adaptive cycles. Three main adaptive cycle processes contributing to the essential functions of EU farming systems are considered: agricultural, farm demographics and governance processes. The framework distinguishes five phases: (1) characterising the farming system, (2) appraising key risks affecting the system, (3) framing the essential functions of the system, (4) assessing resilience over time along a spectrum of robustness, adaptability and transformability, and (5) identifying resilience attributes which contribute to the robustness, adaptability and transformability of the farming system. The framework can be applied by researchers to retrospectively understand the dynamics of sustainability of farming systems, and by decision makers to pro-actively identify differentiated resilience-enhancing strategies across EU farming systems depending on context-specific challenges and available resources. The framework is illustrated for arable farming in the Netherlands. Acknowledgement : This framework is developed and applied within the SURE-Farm (Towards SUstainable and REsilient EU FARMing systems) project, funded by Horizon 2020 (). We thank the whole consortium for their contributions to this framework. |
| Keywords: | Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277352&r=agr |
| By: | Torero, M.; Schuster, M.; Delgado, L. |
| Abstract: | Measuring food loss, identifying where in the food system it occurs, and developing effective policies along the value chain are essential first steps toward addressing the problem in developing countries. Food loss have been defined in many ways, and disagreement remains over proper terminology and measurement methodology. Although the terms postharvest loss, food loss , and food waste are frequently used interchangeably, they do not refer to the same aspects of the problem. Also, none of these classifications includes preharvest losses. Consequently and despite its presumed importance, figures on food loss are highly inconsistent, precise causes for food loss remain undetected and success stories of decreasing food loss are few. We address this measurement gap by developing and testing three methodologies that assess the magnitude of food loss; we compare these against the methodology traditionally used. The methods account for losses from pre-harvest to distribution, and include quantity loss and quality deterioration. We apply the instrument to producers, middlemen and wholesalers in eight staple food value chains in six developing countries. Results suggest that losses are highest at the producer level and most product deterioration occurs previous to harvest. Traiditionally used self-reported measures seem to consistently underestimate the loss. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277439&r=agr |
| By: | Pahlisch, Thi Hoa; Parvathi, Priyanka; Waibel, Hermann |
| Abstract: | Success in reducing monetary poverty in Southeast Asia has not fully translated into reduction in malnutrition. Using a two-year panel data from one province each in Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam, we study the correlation between monetary poverty and nutritional outcomes of children under five. Furthermore, we compare nutritional outcomes of children below five between rural and peri-urban areas. We apply ordinary least squares and district fixed-effects regressions and find that child nutrition remains a problem in rural areas across Southeast Asia despite achievements in poverty alleviation. Results reveal that although the households in the poorest quintile in both rural and peri-urban areas spend less on food; only the rural children are more likely to be stunted or underweight. It underscores the importance of investment in medical facilities near rural vicinities. |
| Keywords: | Poverty, Child malnutrition, Peri-urban, Rural, Fixed-effects, Southeast Asia |
| JEL: | O1 O18 I3 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tvs:wpaper:wp-012&r=agr |
| By: | Hoffmann, Vivian; Jones, Kelly M. |
| Abstract: | Evidence continues to mount that foodborne illness imposes a staggering health burden in developing countries. However, standard approaches used by developed country governments to ensure food safety are not appropriate in settings where regulatory enforcement capacity is weak and most firms are small and informal. Thus, interventions to improve food safety in developing countries must take into account the constraints and incentives faced by producers in these countries. In this paper, we test the impact of two such interventions: subsidies for technologies that improve food safety and price premiums for safer produce. We examine the case of on-farm control of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic toxin linked to child stunting that is produced by a fungus commonly found on maize and groundnut. We show that compared to Kenyan farmers who produce maize only for their family’s own consumption, Kenyan farmers who produce maize for sale are less likely to undertake post-harvest practices that increase the unobservable quality of aflatoxin safety. Employing randomized discount vouchers, we find that willingness to pay for a new post-harvest technology to prevent aflatoxin contamination is significantly lower among market producers than subsistence farmers. However, we find that take-up of the technology among market producers increases when they have the opportunity to sell aflatoxin-safe maize at a premium a few months after harvest. Using take-up rates from the experiment, we model the impacts of public subsidies and market incentives for aflatoxin control. We find that subsidization of aflatoxin control technologies is a cost-effective strategy for reducing liver cancer and possibly also for reducing stunting in children. The most cost-effective technologies considered are widely adopted by both subsistence and market producers, implying little additional impact of a price premium on food safety. |
| Keywords: | KENYA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA ; food safety; cost effectiveness analysis; subsidies; aflatoxins; innovation adoption; postharvest losses; smallholders; agricultural policies; postharvest technology; health |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1746&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, H.; Gopalakrishnan, S. |
| Abstract: | Nutrient and pesticide runoff from agricultural lands affect water quality through eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, causing serious concerns for the society. Complex tradeoffs between agricultural decisions and water quality that emerge due to the intertemporal nature of phosphorus accumulation from heterogeneous landscapes need to be addressed by incorporating both spatial and temporal nature of the problem. In this paper, we develop a spatial-dynamic model of agricultural decisions in a simulated watershed to examine welfare gains for targeted policies in heterogeneous landscapes. We find the socially optimal fertilizer input for every combination of spatially heterogeneous features for a representative farm and derive the optimal tax to correct private farmers behaviors to achieve the socially optimal outcome. Results show that the welfare gains from spatially targeted policies increase with higher levels of heterogeneity. In the case where policy implementation costs are proportional to the level of heterogeneity of policies, we show that there is an optimal level for implementing spatially targeted policy. Finding the optimal level for targeted agricultural management policy based on heterogeneous physical features provides policy insight that can help design cost-effective long-term optimal agricultural policies in spatially heterogeneous landscapes. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277519&r=agr |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | This study was conducted to understand the evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal, specifically its determinants on both the demand and supply sides, as well as impacts on agricultural production and associations with broader economic transformation processes, in order to draw lessons that can be conveyed to other less mechanized countries. Mechanization levels in Nepal, a largely agricultural country, were relatively low until a few decades ago. However, significant mechanization growth, including the adoption of tractors, has occurred since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising rural wages, particularly for plowing, combined with growing emigration and growth in key staple crop yields and overall broad agricultural production growth, as well as improved market access and participation. This growth in mechanization has taken place despite the general absence of direct government support or promotion. The growth of tractor use in the plains of the Terai zone has transformed agricultural production rather than inducing labor movement out of agriculture, raising overall returns to scale in intensification and enabling the cultivation of greater areas by medium smallholders than by resource-poor smallholders. Tractors have also facilitated the intensification of crop production per unit of land among very small farmers, enabling mechanization growth despite the continued decline in farm size, although these farmers may not have benefited as much as medium smallholders. Potential future research areas with policy relevance include mitigating accessibility constraints to tractor custom hiring services, identifying appropriate regulatory policies for mechanization, and providing complementary support to some smallholders who may not fully benefit from tractor adoption alone. |
| Keywords: | NEPAL; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA; tractors; combine harvesters; mechanization; evolution of agricultural mechanization |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1662&r=agr |
| By: | Gezahegn, T.W.; Maertens, M. |
| Abstract: | Collective action via smallholder co-operatives is extensively discussed in the literature as an institutional solution to overcome market failures in developing countries. In some cases, however, the establishment of farmer groups incurs transaction costs that imply farmers may be better off not organizing. The success of collective action depends on the ability of individuals to make credible commitments and participation. Technical and human skills are also important for a group to succeed. In Ethiopia, co-operatives are actively promoted by the government to play a role in the agricultural sector. However, in the country in general and Tigray region in particular, the situation with co-operatives doesn't seem to be favorable for the full exploitation of the benefits of collective action: the majority of the co-operatives are established under the impulse of external partners without regard to the farmers' real needs and interests. Applying insights from game theory, this study examines the existence of economic incentives for farmers' collective action in the study area by testing for the condition of cost subadditivity in service provision. Findings show that costs would drop by 28.32 - 92.3% if farmers join hands in relatively big rather than small co-operatives. Acknowledgement : We are greatly indebted to VLIR UOS, Belgium for the financial support that made this article a reality. |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277137&r=agr |
| By: | Li, X.; Guo, H.; Li, L. |
| Abstract: | The rise of contract farming is one of the most important changes in modern agriculture. Yet the adoption of these new forms of organization has varied widely across commodities. Vegetable, with more rich varieties compared with other agricultural sections, as the representative of high value agricultural products plays an important role in the development of agricultural economics and the improvement of farmers' income. With the rapid emergence of contract farming in recent decades, China is leading the developing world in vegetable production. By using household survey data, this study aimed to explore the linkage between production attributes of different vegetables and farmers' decision of contract farming participation, as well as examine the impact of marketing contracts on net returns. The results revealed that the harvest and marketing times, perishability, certification of the vegetables, and price fluctuation have significantly positive effect on vegetable farmers contract farming participation, respectively. A propensity score matching (PSM) method is employed to estimate the impact of contract farming on net returns of vegetable production, and find out the effect is insignificant. Acknowledgement : The paper is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.71333011; Grant 71473218). |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277154&r=agr |
| By: | Joshi, K.; Joshi, P.K.; Khan, M.T.; Kishore, A. |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study an interesting case of variety inertia in an otherwise technologically progressive region of India. We examine the high adoption of Pusa 44, an environmentally unsustainable, old rice variety in Punjab, despite the availability of many newer improved varieties and the overall technological advancement of agriculture in the region. We use detailed household data on variety adoption and crop economics, collected from a primary survey conducted in 2017. We find that the stickiness of Pusa 44, i.e. the resistance of rice farmers to adopt newer and more sustainable varieties, is explained by a lack of economic incentives. The private benefits obtained from higher yields of Pusa 44 compared to other varieties, far exceed its immediate costs, as the use of ground water resources is easy and inexpensive. Moreover, farmers perceive yield as the most important of variety traits, which further affects their choice in favour of Pusa 44. Policy intervention is important in this set up where the natural resource cost is not fully realized, and growing Pusa 44 results in negative externalities. We find some evidence that government intervention in the seed supply system can help promote the switch to newer, more sustainable rice varieties. Acknowledgement : We acknowledge the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for their financial support to conduct this study. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277529&r=agr |
| By: | Espinoza, M.; Fort, R.; Morris, M.; Sebastian, A.; Villazon, L. |
| Abstract: | This paper describes an empirical application of a stochastic method for estimating meta-frontier production functions described by Huang, Huang, and Liu (2014) that has been little applied in the context of heterogeneity of production technology. We use nationally and regionally representative data to explore patterns of productivity within and between regions of Peru and to understand factors that influence technical efficiency. We estimate a stochastic national meta-frontier that allows for a comparison between different systems in relation to the agricultural sector as a whole. Our results support the view that even though total factor productivity (TFP) and technical efficiency (TE) measured at national level are rising steadily, significant differences persist within the country. The extreme heterogeneity of Peru s agricultural sector is reflected in different realities between its regions and farming systems. Levels of productivity technical efficiency differ not only between regions, but also within regions, because farmers located within the same region are not equally productive or efficient. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277134&r=agr |
| By: | Popp, J.; Olah, J.; Peto, K. |
| Abstract: | The short supply chain is a specific form of circular economy philosophy in agriculture and food processing which contributes to decreasing the environmental burden of production and consumption. There are considerable differences between the levels of development of these systems in the European Union. The aim of the current manuscript is to clarify the socio-economic causes of this contradiction. Applying the approach of institutional economics, based on expert estimations from ten EU member states using the MACTOR method, the authors have determined the influence-dependence relations between relevant actors, and the actor-goal connections in the socio-economic systems relevant for short supply chains in EU member states. It has been proved that in those new member states under examination which joined the EU in 2004, the considerable cost-efficiency advantages of global supply chains paired with the high level of influence of multinational trade companies are, in most cases, more important factors than sustainable development. The most important steps for the development of short supply chains are: (1) increasing food safety by supporting quality control systems in small scale food processors; (2) stricter control on the competitive behaviour of large-scale trading companies; (3) upgrading the marketing strategy of short supply chain partners. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277136&r=agr |
| By: | Joseph I. Uduji (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Elda N. Okolo-Obasi (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | Transforming agriculture from a largely subsistence enterprise to a profitable commercial venture is both a prerequisite and a driving force for accelerated development and sustainable growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this investigation is to assess the impact of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) e-wallet programme on informal farm entrepreneurship development in rural Nigeria. Informal sector farmers are those that are not legally registered at the national level though could be connected to a registered association. The research is motivated by the absence of literature focusing on the problem statement or objective of study. One thousand, one hundred and fifty-two rural farmers were sampled across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Results from the use of a bivariate probit model indicate that the mobile phone-based technology via the e-wallet programme is a critical factor that has enhanced farm entrepreneurship in rural Nigeria. However, results also show that the impact of mobile phones (as a channel to accessing and using modern agricultural inputs) is contingent on how mobile networks are able to link farmers who live in rural areas and work mainly in farming. The results suggest that increasing mobile phone services in rural Nigeria enhances farmers’ knowledge, information and adoption of improved farm inputs and by extension, spurs rural informal sector economic activities in sub-Saharan Africa. Implications for practice, policy and research are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Informal sector’s adoption, electronic wallet technologies, rural farmers’ entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | Q10 Q14 L96 O40 O55 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:18/047&r=agr |
| By: | Ferreira, J.B. De Souza Filho; De Faria, V. Guidotti; Guedes Pinto, L.F.; Sparovek, G. |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the economic and social impacts of different deforestation reduction scenarios in Brazil, using a detailed inter-regional, bottom-up, dynamic general equilibrium model. We build three deforestation scenarios using detailed information on land use in Brazil, from satellite imagery that comprises deforestation patterns and land use by state and biome. This information includes agricultural suitability of soil, by biome and state, as well as the classification of land between private and public lands. Results show, for the period under consideration, low aggregate economic losses of reducing deforestation in all scenarios, but those losses are much higher in the agricultural frontier states. Reducing deforestation has also a negative impact on welfare (as measured by household consumption), affecting disproportionately more the poorest households, both at national level and particularly in the frontier regions, both by the income and expenditure composition effects. We conclude that although important from an environmental point of view, those social losses must be taken into account for the policy to get general support in Brazil. Acknowledgement : The authors are grateful to Instituto Escolhas for funding this research. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277084&r=agr |
| By: | Iyappan, Karunya; Babu, Suresh Chandra |
| Abstract: | In this paper we undertake an analytical review of the extant literature on the building food system resilience. While the concept of food system resilience has become a topical issue in global and national policy discussion, there is little research on how to develop operational procedures to design and implement interventions from the food system and resilience perspective. This review identifies five major entry points to strengthen food system resilience in the national context: policy, institutions, technology, capacity, and governance. Measurement issues and analytical approaches to studying food system resilience are reviewed. We conclude that while there is a large gap in the methodological approaches to study the food system resilience, beginning with the case studies of understanding specific elements of a food system and their role in enhancing resilience would be good starting point for addressing thematic issues, challenges and constraints facing resilience of the food systems. |
| Keywords: | food systems; resilience; capacity building; measurement; sustainability; nutrition policies; food consumption; analytical review |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1758&r=agr |
| By: | Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy |
| Keywords: | International Development, Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:zabfap:279760&r=agr |
| By: | Lu, H. |
| Abstract: | The relationship between farmers and land has always been the main concept behind rural reforms in China, and continues to be so even at present. Land fragmentation management as one of the basic characteristics of agricultural production in our country, not only related to agricultural production, but also related to the use of labor. Using household survey data collected from the Jiangsu province in China, this study analyzes the theoretical mechanism, and empirically tests the direction and degree of the impact of land fragmentation on non-agricultural labor supply. The results reveal that land fragmentation decreases the marginal productivity of agricultural labor and increases the non-agricultural labor supply. This effect is especially more obvious for young workers. The government should provide timely policy support to spontaneously transfer adjacent land or the whole village among farmers, promote land consolidation, optimize the agricultural management system, complement agricultural modernization with new urbanization, and propel the integration of the agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries in rural areas Acknowledgement : This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41561040); the Key Projects of the National Social Science Fund of China (No. 15AZD075); the Sixty-second Batch of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funding (No. 2017M622097); the Technology Foundation of Jiangxi Education Department of China (No. KJLD14033 & No. GJJ160431), and the Fok Ying-Tung Fund (No. 141084). |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277097&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, H.; Deng, H.; Xu, Z.; Lu, W. |
| Abstract: | With the rapid development of agricultural cooperatives in China, a substantial number of them exist without any operation or service. To identify the true impact of agricultural cooperatives on crop production, we ought to parse out cooperatives that were registered but do not function properly. This paper analyzes the role of agricultural cooperatives in changing crop production structure in rural China, focusing on their status of activity. The data are from village surveys in three provinces (Jiangsu, Jilin, Sichuan) collected by the authors in years 2003, 2009 and 2014. Results show that agricultural cooperatives do not affect the production of grain crops, but do increase the size and share of farmland allocated to high-value crops. The effect only manifests in villages with well-functioning cooperatives. This indicates that strict monitoring system and incentive mechanisms need to be implemented to improve the performance of the cooperatives. Acknowledgement : The authors are grateful to Xuyuan Zheng, Xiaojing Liao, Zheyi Zhu,Yufeng Luo, Zixi Feng and other team members who helped collect the data. We would like to thank the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation (71361140370&71573133) and National Social Science Foundation (13ZD160&14ZDA038). |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277324&r=agr |
| By: | Mwololo, H.; Nzuma, J.; Ritho, C. |
| Abstract: | Farm diversification is a common coping strategy among smallholder farmers, especially in the developing countries. As a result, understanding the determinants of farm diversity is paramount. Access to extension has been found to be an important determinant of farm diversity through the technology adoption pathway. Despite farmers access to several extension services, no evidence exists on the effect of different extension services on farm diversity. This study evaluates the effect of extension services on farm diversity in Kenya. It uses a truncated Poisson model on a sample of 743 households who were selected using a multi stage sampling technique. The findings show that there are significant differences between the least and the most diversified farms. Furthermore, access to government, private and NGO extension services, alongside farmer demographic characteristics, increases farm diversity. This study therefore recommends for hiring, training and facilitating extension officers. In addition, the different extension services should be used as compliments and targeted to where their impact is highest. Acknowledgement : This research was financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) based on the decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany (grant number 2813FSNu01). |
| Keywords: | Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277357&r=agr |
| By: | Roma Ry?-Jurek (Pozna? University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this research is to present the family farm income and its determinants according to the type of production of farms in the EU countries in 2004-2016. Research is based on European Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), which includes information about average farms in the EU-28. These data include basic information about economic situation of 2335 production types according to the TF8 grouping, i.e.: fieldcrops, horticulture, wine, other permanent crops, milk, other grazing livestock, granivores and mixed.In this paper an attempt is made to use the panel models to evaluate the determinants of family farm income. The Gretl program is used to evaluate fixed effect models and random effect models allowing to indicate determinants of family farm income depending on the farm?s type of production. |
| Keywords: | FADN, family farm income, panel data |
| JEL: | C23 Q12 Q14 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iefpro:6910055&r=agr |
| By: | Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:zabfap:279775&r=agr |
| By: | Sun, S.; Zhang, C.; Hu, R. |
| Abstract: | Despite the contribution of pesticide use to agricultural production, the negative externalities due to pesticide overuse increasingly concern the public. As the largest pesticide user, China aims to reduce its pesticide use in agriculture. However, the empirical analysis on the driving forces of pesticide use and to what extent pesticides are overused across different crops is far from enough. This paper aims to investigate the determinants and overuse of pesticides in grain production in China using provincial data. The results suggest that the prices of pesticides and grain products show a negative and positive relationship with pesticide use, respectively. The public agricultural extension system reform induces an increase in pesticide use. The estimation of a damage-control production function illustrates that pesticides significantly increase grain productivity but are commonly overused in grain production. It implies that the government's policy options with regard to the prices of pesticides and grain products as well as reform of agricultural extension system have played a crucial role in forming pesticide overuse in grain production in China. Acknowledgement : This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 71333006], the Ministry of Science and Technology of China [grant number 2016YFD0201301] and the Beijing Institute of Technology [grant number 20172242001]. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276978&r=agr |
| By: | Rickertsen, K.; Gustavsen, G.W.; Nayga, R.M.; Dong, D. |
| Abstract: | Immigration has made the U.S. more racially and ethnically diverse. With this diversity comes heterogeneity in dietary behaviors and health disparities. We used the food and nutrient database from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and estimated econometric models explaining the daily consumption of milk, meat, processed meat, fruits, and vegetables among immigrants and people born in the U.S. Tests for differences in consumption between immigrants with different race and ethnicity and their U.S. born counterparts were performed. In addition, we simulated the effects of time of residency on food consumption among the different immigrant groups. The results show that immigrants tend to have lower consumption of meat but higher consumption of fruits and vegetables than their U.S. born counterparts, but the differences begin to disappear after being in the U.S. for five years. The findings may help policymakers to craft food assistance programs aimed at reducing obesity and related health problems among different racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. Acknowledgement : The findings and conclusions in this presentation are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Research Council of Norway (BION R), Grant no 233800 provided financial support for this research. |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277041&r=agr |
| By: | Kuhn, L.; Hou, L.; Chen, X.; Huang, J. |
| Abstract: | The burning of agricultural residue is one large contributor to poor air quality in China. Due to technical requirements and adverse incentives, farmers are however still reluctant to give up this traditional form of residue management. Current policies are aiming at improving the spread of innovation by both coercive measures penalizing residue burning and programs supporting more sustainable alternatives. The current paper employs a fixed-effect model along farm-level and village level panel data collected in 2013 to assess trends in residue management and analyze the impact of three different policies on residue management choices of farmers in North-East China. Our data reveals that the 2008 residue burning ban could not achieve any significant reduction of residue burning. Instead we found that policies that focus on enabling farmers to comply with regulations, for instance machinery subsidies and demonstration sites, had a significant positive effect on sustainable residue management. While burning bans are still a necessary component of environmental policy, we therefore recommend placing highest priority on policies providing economic incentives to achieve long-term changes in farmers management strategies. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277374&r=agr |
| By: | Peng, Y.; Turvey, C.; Kong, R. |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to determine, how providing the right of collateral to LUR might change farmers investment behavior and incentivize entrepreneurial activity. To achieve this objective, we try to solve two issues. The first issue of economic importance is in understanding the market value of LUR transactions; creating now a tradable asset from one which held value but no market. To examine this we build an argument around the idea of economic and marginal rents from Ricardo. The second issue relates to the extent by which deepening the rural financial landscape by allowing the mortgaging of LUR will promote and advance much needed entrepreneurial activity. To explore this issue we draw on Schumpeter. Then, based on a survey of 1,465 farm households in rural China and an endogenous 2SLS model. We find that a positive and significant relationship between a willingness to mortgage LUR and entrepreneurship, which suggest that the new policy may well meet that objective. However, we do not find that that entrepreneurs alone will have a willingness to mortgage LUR; non-entrepreneurs traditional farmer types- would also be willing to mortgage LUR, but with a caveat that either group already has a disposition or demand for credit. Acknowledgement : Funding for this research from the China National Nature Science Fund with ratification number 71373205. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277308&r=agr |
| By: | Ayalew, H. |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of land tenure security on household welfare among poor house- holds in rural Ethiopia. Using the 2005 land title certification program as a quasi- experiment, we exploit the variation in the differential timing of certification between treated and control groups. Estimated results from binary and continuous treatment effect models point out that land tenure security significantly improves the welfare of poor households in rural Ethiopia. This effect varies depending on the length of house- hold's treatment duration. Households who have longer treatment duration receive a higher average welfare gain from the program. We also decompose the welfare effects of the program into different channels. Hired labor is the main mediator through which land title certification affects household welfare. Acknowledgement : I gratefully acknowledge Henrik Hansen, Finn Tarp, Elisabeth Sadoulet, Alain de Janvry, John Rand, Edward Samuel Jones, Yonas Alem, Benedikte Bjerge, Alexandra Orsola-Vidal, Kuranda Morgan, Daley Kutzman, for their invaluable comments on earlier versions; participants of the work in progress seminar at the University of California Berkeley, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Gothenburg, University of Copenhagen, Development Economics Research Group (DERG) at the University of Copenhagen, World Bank 2016 Land and Poverty Conference, the Nordic Conference in Development Economics in Copenhagen, Center for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) conference at Oxford University for helpful suggestions and comments. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277532&r=agr |
| By: | Weltin, M.; Zasada, I. |
| Abstract: | Sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture covers a broad range of practices that in an optimal combination should contribute to environmental protection as well as to the economic viability of farming. Farmers are likely to make a simultaneous adoption decision on a utility maximising set of SI practices. The aim of this study is to (i) detect which SI practices are adopted, (ii) analyse the influence of farmers characteristics as well as farm attributes on the adoption decision and (iii) evaluate whether the selection of different SI practices is interdependent. We draw on farm survey data from 2017. We use a SI conceptual framework that assigns practices to four fields of action (FoA) from farm to landscape level and land use to structural optimisation. Using multivariate probit modelling, we assess the determinants of adopting SI within each FoA, controlling for possible correlation of the adoption of practices across FoA. Results indicate that most farmers apply SI practices in a combined portfolio. Farmers are more likely to apply field-level interventions than SI practices that require regional cooperation. Decisions show dependence on each other with a tendency for complementarities and path dependencies in SI adoption. Acknowledgement : This research was financially supported by the European Commission under grant agreement 652615 and conducted in the context of the ERA-Net FACCE SURPLUS project VITAL, with the national funders NWO (Netherlands), BMBF (Germany), INIA (Spain), ANR (France). |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276982&r=agr |
| By: | Nadolnyak, D.; Griffin, B.; Hartarska, V. |
| Abstract: | One of the major demographic trends in the US is the aging of farm operators and landlords suggesting transition of farm ownership in the form of exit and disinvestment. This coincides with economic pressures on farmers incomes due to recent market volatility. We model retirement age farmers exit/disinvestment as the outcome of intertemporal utility maximization and identify the extent to which economic and demographic factors affect these choices using the Census of Agriculture farm-level data for the 1992-2012 period. Regression results highlight the role of demographic factors. Minority and female farmers are more likely to exit but female operators are less likely to disinvest, while family farms are less likely to exit. High sales farms are less likely to exit but more likely to disinvest possibly targeting a smaller production scale before retirement. The relative size of the non-agricultural economy is negatively associated with exit but positively with disinvestment, while off-farm work reduces exit probability only a little. However, flow economic variables such as return-on-assets and government payments do not seem to impact exit and disinvestment. These findings are largely consistent with the view that mainly demographic factors and size determine farmers decisions to retire, which has important policy implications. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277184&r=agr |
| By: | Bathla, S.; Kumar, A. |
| Abstract: | Growing inter- and intra-state income inequalities have been at the centre stage of policy discourse in India. A disaggregated analysis of income inequalities among agricultural households and the associated factors can be useful in deliberating the role of public policies toward inclusive growth and welfare. This paper estimates income inequality among agricultural households and identifies the factors that contribute to it by using a farm-level data from nationally representative survey conducted in 2003 and 2013. The results show that households income from crop and animal farming has doubled and that from wage and non-farm activities has increased by 1.3 times over the decade. The inequalities have not widened much but the Gini indices are drastically high in each state, irrespective of land size. The regression based inequality decomposition approach shows land, non-farm income and farm assets as major contributors to inequality with varying magnitude in each state. The contribution of these at all India is estimated at 25.8, 28.6 and 14.3 percent respectively. The findings suggest accelerating public investment and bringing equality in access to land, technology and credit for higher private investment and productivity. The real challenge in mitigating income gaps is to improve the viability of holdings that are increasingly getting fragmented. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277329&r=agr |
| By: | Nunez, A.L.; Fiorentino, R. |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this report is to provide an evaluation of the impact of supplementary irrigation in grain production in the northern area of the Province Buenos Aires, Argentina within the framework of risk analysis and with emphasis on risk related to weather. An economic analysis of a productive model in the mentioned area, characterized by fertile soils and considering a farm of 400 hectares destined integrally to the production of grains is carefully developed. This analysis clearly shows that the main impact of supplementary irrigation is associated with the reduction of variability in yields and with the increase of expected farm income and net revenue. The rate of return on investment on irrigated agriculture more than doubles the one related to rainfed agriculture. Acknowledgement : My name is Anibal Leandro Nu ez, argentinean economist finishing the studies of magister in agrarian economy (Universidad de Buenos Aires). I am currently working in the Ministery of Agro-industry. The work was done in conjunction with Dr. Raul Fiorentino (Ph.D University of California in Davis), who also works in the Ministery of Agro-industry. The purpose of this report is to provide an evaluation of the impact of supplementary irrigation in grain production in the northern area of the Province Buenos Aires, Argentina within the framework of risk analysis and with emphasis on risk related to weather. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277503&r=agr |
| By: | Muthini, D. |
| Abstract: | Abstract This paper uses the Average Treatment Effect framework to determine population potential adoption rates of KK 15 beans when awareness of the variety and knowledge of nutrition attributes is not a constraint. The KK 15 bean is a new variety that contains high levels of zinc and iron, and thus important in the fight against micro-nutrient deficiency in Kenya. The results show that actual population adoption rates of KK 15 beans was 21 percent for the variety aware group, and 31 percent for nutrition attribute knowledge aware group. After controlling for heterogeneous information exposure, the results show that the potential population adoption rates of KK 15 beans would have been 28 percent for variety awareness unconstrained, and 38 percent for nutrition knowledge unconstrained. Coefficients of the ATE model to determine factors influencing adoption are bigger than classical models, implying that the classical model under-estimates the effects. The adoption gap resulting from KK15 variety awareness exposure is 9 percent, and 6 percent for nutrition attribute knowledge. Policies aimed at improving adoption of bio fortified crops need to focus on improving access to information on the varieties and their nutrition attributes through nutrition sensitive extension services. Acknowledgement : THe authors of this paper akcnowledge the Germany Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture for sponsoring this study through the Agriculture and Diet Diversity in Africa (ADDA) Project. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277135&r=agr |
| By: | Li, H.; Wang, X.; Ren, Y. |
| Abstract: | With the substantial increase in family income, the prevalence of overweight has risen and become a serious threat to individual health and major health challenges in many developing countries. From the perspective of food consumption, this study attempts to shed light on the effect of family income on adults health outcomes of BMI and being overweight through three potential channels of nutrition intakes, dietary knowledge, and health insurance. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), the empirical estimations show adults BMI and the propensity of being overweight tend to increase with rising income in China. After identifying significant correlations between family income and potential channels considered, we conclude that approximately 34.14% and 33.75% of income effect on BMI and overweight could be explained by these three channels, especially, nutrition intakes taking the largest proportion is responsible for 26.96% and 28.08% of income effect on BMI and overweight, respectively. Additionally, we observe that there exists a significant heterogeneity in income-BMI gradients across various income quantiles and sub-samples, showing that income has higher effect on adults health for male and urban samples but it is not responsible for female sample. Acknowledgement : The authors acknowledge funding supports provided by National Natural Sciences of China (71742002; 71673008). |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277074&r=agr |
| By: | Costa, L.V.; Helfand, S.; Souza, A.P. |
| Abstract: | Public policies frequently are implemented simultaneously rather than in isolation. We seek to estimate the impacts and possible synergies of a rural development project (Pro-Gavi o) and the Brazilian conditional cash transfer program (Bolsa Fam lia). In partnership with the State Government of Bahia, Pro-Gavi o was an IFAD supported rural development project in 13 contiguous municipalities between 1997 and 2005. Census tract level data were extracted for the analysis from the 1995-96 and 2006 Agricultural Censuses. The evaluation uses Propensity Score Matching to construct a control group of untreated census tracts, and a difference-in-differences estimation to identify impacts. The outcomes analyzed include land productivity, agricultural income and child labor. Although Pro-Gavi o involved significant investments in the region, the results suggest little if any program impact, or synergies between the two programs. Alternative explanations for the null results are discussed. Acknowledgement : We thank the IFAD/Uniandes project on conditional cash transfers and rural development in Latin America for financial support of this research, CNPq and Capes for financial support of Costa s dissertation research, Fernanda de Alc ntara Viana who was responsible for the field work in Bahia, and IBGE for access to the Agricultural Census microdata. The views expressed are solely those of the authors. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277263&r=agr |
| By: | Noma, F. |
| Abstract: | Since the 2007-2008 world food crisis and accounting for the recurrent food crises which have affected West-Africa region within the last two decades; West-African countries have re-launched procurement programs and rebuilt food stocks. In Benin the procurement program was launched in 2008-2009. It is a state intervention on cereals market through the food reserve system. The food reserve policy operates two programs: a) market access program and b) food subsidy program implementing the fair-price-shop approach. The stratified random sampling technic was used and consumers households were clustered into participants and non-participants in the fair-price-shop program. Data were collected in 2014, 6 years after the start of the food reserve policy. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used and 210 respondents were surveyed. A treatment effect model was developed to accommodate the program operation rules; it accommodates simultaneous effect and variables of different types. The Multivariate Endogenous Treatment Effect model reveals that Fair-price-shop intervention approach as safety net program is effective at stabilizing maize market price, facilitating access to staple in shortage times and at selecting the periods for stocks release. Further it informs also, about the effectiveness of the program design in targeting the appropriate beneficiaries. Keywords: food reserve policy, fair-price-shop approach, Multivariate Endogenous Treatment Effect model. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277564&r=agr |
| By: | Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:zabfap:279770&r=agr |
| By: | Jiang, Y.; Wang, H.H.; Jin, S. |
| Abstract: | With the booming of e-commerce, consumers are turning to online markets for food. Among all countries, China has the largest food online buyers with 0.541 billion consumers shopping for food online. Thanks to the free services provided by multiple e-commerce and social platforms and to the developed delivery networks, farmers can sell their products online at low transition cost in China. Meanwhile, the capacities of online stores to highlight traceablity and production process and of platforms to reveal quality signals through consumer s reviewing and scoring systems, can decrease asymmetric information about food product quality and safety compared with offline markets. Thus, those special features of online market may in return to encourage farmers to change their marketing plans to sell more safe food online. Our paper uses choice experiment method to solicit farmers different production and marketing preferences, and finds that farmers perceive higher rewards selling safer products than conventional products when using e-commerce platforms, an evidence supporting the positive impact of online market channel on the supply of safer food. Acknowledgement : Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS) for their helpful support. We also gratefully acknowledge the support from China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277200&r=agr |
| By: | Van Campenhout, B.; Spielman, D.; Lecoutere, E. |
| Abstract: | In agricultural information dissemination campaigns through agricultural advisory services, seemingly small design attributes, such as the way the information is delivered, who delivers the information, or who is targeted by the message, can result in significant differences in effectiveness and inclusiveness of the intervention. In the context of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) mediated knowledge transfer, this study investigates the importance of the gender composition of the person(s) who provide(s) the information and the gender composition of the person(s) who receive(s) the information. In particular, we set up a field experiment among smallholder maize farmers in Uganda to assess if reducing asymmetric information within the household leads to improved outcomes. In addition, we study the effectiveness of promoting a more cooperative approach to household farming. Finally, we test for gender homophily effects, where female farmers learn more from female trainers. Effectiveness is assessed in terms of knowledge gained, adoption of modern inputs and recommend practices, yield, and poverty reduction. Outcomes are dis-aggregated by gender to study changes in intra-household equity and women empowerment. While endline of the study is planned for February 2018, we preview encouraging effects on knowledge transfer as measured immediately after administering the treatments. Acknowledgement : We acknowledge support from USAID's Global Development Lab and Digital Green. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277438&r=agr |
| By: | Ojo, T.; Baiyegunhi, L. |
| Abstract: | The study analyzed the determinants of rice farmers climate change adaptation strategies in Southwestern Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect cross sectional data from 360 rice farmers selected from three States in the region. Out of 11 adaptation strategies identified by the farmers, the five main identified adaptation strategy options were subsequently used as the dependent variables in the multivariate probit model. The result of the Multivariate Probit Model indicated that some household characteristics, access to services and location significant and statistically influenced the choice of adaptation strategies employed by the farmers in the study area. It is obvious the farmers are aware of long-term changes in climatic factors (temperature and rainfall, for example), they are unable to identify these changes as climate change. However, the positive pair wise correlation matrix from the MVP model indicate complementarities among all the adaptation strategies used by the farmers. The government could build the capacity of agricultural extension systems and make available climate change education scheme with ICT innovations. Government policies and investment strategies must be geared towards the support of education, credit and information about adaptation to climate change, including technological and institutional methods, particularly for smallholder farmers in the country. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277011&r=agr |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Lawal, Akeem |
| Abstract: | Demand for mechanization in Nigeria is growing in a fairly consistent way predicted by economic theories. The farming system has intensified and the use of animal traction has grown at a substantial rate. Demand side factors considerably explain the low adoptions of tractors in Nigeria. Where demand is sufficient for tractors, the private sector has emerged over time as a more efficient provider of hiring services (particularly farmer-tofarmer services) than the public sector. Conditions are consistent with the hypotheses that, because of generally low support for the agricultural sector in Nigeria in the past few decades, agricultural mechanization (tractor use in particular) has remained low despite the declining share of the workforce engaged in the agricultural sector. Agricultural transformation in the form of a declining agricultural labor force has happened partly through the growth in the oil industry since the 1970s. Instead of inducing further exit from farming, tractor adoptions in Nigeria might have helped those who have remained in farming to start expanding their production scale. A knowledge gap, however, still remains regarding the dominance of large tractors and the potential effects of tractor adoptions on smallholders who have yet to adopt them. |
| Keywords: | NIGERIA; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA ; agricultural mechanization; tractors; animal power; innovation adoption |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1750&r=agr |
| By: | Mizik, T.; Torok, A.; Jambor, A.; Kovacs, S.; Sipos, L. |
| Abstract: | The competitiveness of agriculture in international trade is a relatively understudied field in the literature, especially in Central Asia. The aim of the paper is to analyse the comparative advantage patterns in the agriculture of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Results suggest that agriculture still plays an important role in the region and the majority of countries are net food importers. Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia had the highest Balassa indices with cereals as leading export products and Belarus, Ukraine and Azerbaijan are also having some comparative advantage at the same time. Based on trade performances, several country groups were set up. Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova showed similar characteristics, while Russia with Kazakhstan as well as Belarus with Ukraine demonstrated similarity. Comparative advantages, however, have not turned out to be persistent according to stability and duration tests as survival chances fell significantly from 2000-2003 to 2012-2015. Acknowledgement : This work was supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office [grant number 119669, Competitiveness of Agriculture in International Trade: A Global Perspective ]. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277481&r=agr |
| By: | Owusu-Sekyere, E.; Owusu, V.; Donkor, E.; Jordaan, H. |
| Abstract: | The present paper has examined the welfare implications of safety and quality policy changes among beef consumers in Southern Ghana. The empirical results revealed profound heterogeneity in preferences for food safety and quality attributes at individual and segment levels. Four distinct consumer segments were revealed using a latent class model. We show that besides traditional socioeconomic factors; trust, competence and confidence in actors along food safety chain significantly impact on preferences for different food safety and quality policy attributes. Compensating surplus estimates reveal that welfare improvement arising from food safety and quality policy changes varies from one class to another. The findings show evidence of imperative segmental equity issues in food safety and quality policies. The welfare estimates indicate that evaluating willingness to pay values alone is not enough. The paper suggests that future research and policy decisions on food safety and quality changes take into account the segment of consumers whose welfare can potentially be improved or reduced due to the policy changes. Insights from this study are expected to assist policymakers in developing countries, especially in Africa to understand the welfare implications and effective food safety and quality measures Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276939&r=agr |
| By: | Guesmi, B.; Gil, J.M. |
| Abstract: | This study uses impact oriented monitoring (IOM) methodology recently proposed by Guinea et al. (2015) to identify and assess the socio-economic impact of public research organizations through case studies. IOM techniques overcome the most relevant limitations associated to mainstream research impact assessment (RIA). The IOM approach has been extended to a consideration of the multidimensional impact produced by the agricultural research and development. In contrast to previous studies, multi-criteria decision techniques based on ELECTRE III method are applied to derive global picture of impact. The methodology is expected to provide the Institute of Agro-food Research and Technology (IRTA) with useful information on how the research projects in the area of agro-food sector are generating impacts. Such analysis would support monitoring the impacts of agricultural research and assist in better targeting adequate research policy planning and project management strategies. The relevance of using new RIA approach can be evidenced by its applicability to other case studies and also its potential to be implemented in other agricultural research institutions in different countries. The use of refined methods has thus important implications. Acknowledgement : The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA). |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/ Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277554&r=agr |
| By: | Alves, A.; Ribeiro, E.; Tom, L. |
| Abstract: | In a context of extensive discussion about the occupation of agricultural areas in Brazil, the contribution of the present study is to analyze changes in use of land in the 558 Brazilian microregions from 1990-2016 as the objective of verifying agricultural activities that most won or lost area and identify the main factors that fueled the agricultural production of the country during the period. We analyzed 35 permanent and 33 temporary cultures using the Shift-share method, dividing the growth of each activity into five effects: yield, geographic location and area, the latter being subdivided into scale and substitution. The total harvested area grew 49.05%, from 50.5 to 75.3 million hectares. In the permanent activities there was 18.90% and temporary activities increased by 60.01%. Growth in the area of temporary crops was due to the expansion of agricultural frontier, as well as to the incorporation of previously occupied areas by permanent crops. The only two cultures, with positive substitution effects, were sugarcane and soybeans, which together were responsible for incorporating 96.14% of the entire area yielded by other activities. Coffee, orange, cassava, wheat, rice, beans, cotton and maize had a negative substitution effect, yielding 85.98% of area incorporated by other cultures. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277392&r=agr |
| By: | Liebenehm, S.; Waibel, H. |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze risk and time preferences as factors related to technology adoption. In the context of West African small-scale cattle farm households, we examine why the adoption of prophylactic drugs as an ex-ante risk management strategy to protect cattle from tsetse-transmitted African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT) despite experts recommendation is low. To do so, we conducted two types of economic field experiments: (i) to elicit farmers risk and time preferences, considering additional behavioral information beyond standard economic theory and (ii) to observe farmers adoption decision of alternative drug treatments to manage the risk of AAT. Results show that loss aversion and high discount rates are associated with low prophylaxis take-up. More specifically, farmers value losses of animals that are infected with AAT larger than gains from healthy animals and short-term benefits from therapeutic treatment over long-term benefits from prophylactic treatment. As a consequence, a loss averse and impatient farmer that is less likely to apply AAT prophylaxis forgives chances of higher and sustainable returns, thereby deteriorates risk management abilities and likely perpetuates poverty. We suggest that the consideration of farmers risk and time preferences can help improving the effectiveness of livestock extension and veterinary services in West Africa. Acknowledgement : This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) [grant number WA 1002/8-1]. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277480&r=agr |
| By: | Davids, T.; Meyer, F.; Westhoff, P. |
| Abstract: | Despite well-researched benefits and stated policy goals of increasing intra-regional trade, African policy makers continue to rely on export controls in an effort to keep prices at tolerable levels. Within the Southern African region, Zambia has been particularly prone to such policy action, typically in the maize sector, which has strong connotations to food security. Against the backdrop of drought-induced supply shortages of white maize in Southern Africa in 2016, this study applied a partial equilibrium model with bilateral trade flows to simulate the impact on prices and trade flow of imposing export controls in Zambia relative to an open trade scenario. The goal of reducing prices for domestic consumers was achieved at the expense of producers, who lose the market-induced price increase that would offset some revenue loss if trade was allowed to flow freely. Contrary to most previous literature on Zambian export controls, the impact of Zambian policy was also related to neighbouring markets, highlighting higher prices, reduced consumption and changes to typical trade flows. Price increases in neighbouring countries supported area expansion in subsequent years, inducing a shift in production towards these countries and highlighting the detrimental impact of trade control policies on long term production growth. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277353&r=agr |
| By: | Ali, M.K. |
| Abstract: | The prospect of future water scarcity due to growing demands and supply uncertainties due to climate change prompted the Government of Alberta, Canada to declare Water for Life strategy in 2003, under which an ambitious goal of improving conservation, efficiency and productivity of water use by 30% over 2005-2015 was targeted. Since irrigation is the largest (over 80%) consumptive sector of surface water in semiarid Southern Alberta, the success of this strategy is conditioned on sustainable water resource management in this sector via improvement in efficiency and productivity of water use. Using panel data for 12 irrigation districts over 2006-2015, this study applies the stochastic production frontier (SPF) methodology to estimate the technical and irrigation water use efficiency of these districts who manage roughly 3.45 billion m3 of surface water to service over 550,000 ha irrigated land in Southern Alberta. The SPF methodology is widely used in the literature of firm productivity because of its capability of distinguishing two potential sources of inefficiency one due to random phenomenon and another due to subpar management and operating skills. Results indicate that the 10-year average technical efficiency of the irrigation districts is 74.9% while their irrigation water use efficiency is 68.5%. Acknowledgement : This study is supported by the author s University of Lethbridge SSHRC Award (ULSA), 2017. The author is grateful to Jennifer Nitschelm of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development(AARD), Lethbridge for providing return flow data. |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277354&r=agr |
| By: | Femenia, F.; Carpentier, A.; Gohin, A.; Sodjadhin, R. |
| Abstract: | Crop rotations effects are key features of environmentally friendly crop production practices but they are poorly documented. The aim of this article is to present an estimation approach of these effects based on farm accountancy data. Estimating crop rotation effects on yield and variable input use levels from farm accountancy data is a challenging issue since farmers crop sequence choices are not observed. We propose to devise this estimation problem as a Bi-level Programming (BLP) problem designed to estimate the crop rotation effects while simultaneously reconstructing farmers unobserved crop sequences from farmers observed (current and previous) crop acreages. Our estimation approach is based on a well-defined statistical background. It relies on simple crop sequence yield and input use models as well as on an assumption stating that farmers are economically rational when deciding their crop sequence acreages. Our estimation approach also makes use of expert knowledge information on crop rotation effects for guiding the construction of the crop rotation effect estimators. An illustrative application based on French farm accountancy data demonstrate that the proposed estimation approach yields meaningful crop rotation estimates when suitably implemented. Acknowledgement : This research has benefitted from financial support from the European Commission. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277161&r=agr |
| By: | Dolgopolova, I.; Mohr, B.; Grebitus, C.; Roosen, J. |
| Abstract: | One of the reasons of higher calorie intake in younger adults is the consumption of food away from home. Emotions have been identified as an important factor influencing food consumption in this age group. A survey and an experiment have been developed to test if there exists the effect of emotions on the amount of calories ordered on an order terminal of a fast food restaurant. Results demonstrate that for the whole sample, none of the factors indicating emotions is significant. For underweight individuals, negative emotions led to an increase in calories ordered. For overweight participants, negative emotions led to a decrease in calories ordered. For the participants in the normal weight group, neither positive nor negative emotions played a significant role in the choice of food options. For overweight individuals order assistant and highlighting choices were most effective method of on-screen communications. We conclude that emotions play an important role in fast food choices of young adults, which is moderated by BMI in a way that negative emotions lead to an increase in calories ordered by underweight participants, while this is the opposite for overweight participants. Acknowledgement : This project was funded by the BMBF. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277397&r=agr |
| By: | West, J. |
| Abstract: | Climate variability requires adaptive production systems in agriculture often resulting in significant irreversible investments. Cultivar replacement programs in horticulture orchards that substitute older varieties for more heat- and drought-resilient varieties have enterprise values that are highly sensitive to the timing of such investments. Farm-level replacement programs are subject to multiple constraints around debt serviceability, operating costs, the replacement cycle and the rate of degradation of the existing orchard. The maximization of enterprise value subject to multiple constraints can be reduced to a multi-objective optimization problem. Over long horizons this optimization process generates a very-large solution space. Using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm we examine uncertainties around climatic effects and the timing of investments for horticultural operations and derive the optimal times to adapt using cultivar replacement techniques. We find that naive switching decisions using traditional valuation methods are found to be suboptimal and can initiate poor decisions, potentially undermining adaptation efforts. We further show that opposing economic and climatic conditions can adversely impact enterprise value based on mistiming the investment decision. Application of the GA solver is demonstrated using a vector-based GIS to a farm where individual portions of an orchard are subject to varying rates of production, degradation and age. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276940&r=agr |
| By: | Holtkamp, A.M.; Brummer, B. |
| Abstract: | The economic benefits of Indonesia's rubber production are increasingly questioned because of their associated problematic effects on the environment, such as disturbances of the native ecosystem through alien and invasive organisms and overall negative effects on biodiversity. In order to reconcile economic benefits and threats to ecological functions, the exact nature of the interaction between rubber production and the surrounding ecosystems needs to be analyzed so that adequate policy interventions could be devised. In this paper, we focus on the trade-off relationship between rubber output and the ecosystem disturbance, proxied by the prevalence of invasive plants. Our approach is based on a directional output distance function, which allows the simultaneous estimation of efficiency and of the determinants of environmental efficiency. We apply this model to a household level socioeconomic data set and a plot-level environmental data set, from Jambi in 2012. Our results point towards a concave trade-off curve, indicating that an increase in rubber output is accompanied by an increase in ecosystem disturbance. Farm specific efficiency estimates indicate subdued level of efficiency, illustrating the possibility to reduce ecosystem disturbance while simultaneously increasing rubber output. The inefficiency levels are found affected by several management related variables, e.g., the glyphosate application. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277518&r=agr |
| By: | Joshi, Kuhu; Joshi, Pramod Kumar; Khan, Md. Tajuddin; Kishore, Avinash |
| Abstract: | In this paper we apply duration analysis to study the factors driving the speed of adoption of a popular Basmati rice variety called Pusa 1121. We use data from a primary survey on variety adoption and crop economics conducted in 2017. The sample comprises of 1305 Basmati growing farmers from the north Indian states of Haryana and Punjab. Pusa 1121 was adopted rapidly by 60% farmers between 5 and 10 years from its release in 2005. Results from the duration analysis highlight the key role of superior quality traits of Pusa 1121 and assured market demand. Access to varietal information from extension agents also shortened farmers’ time to adoption. Moreover, we show that early adopters of Pusa 1121 positively influenced other farmers’ speed of adoption within their village network. |
| Keywords: | INDIA; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA ; basmati rice; abiotic stress; improved varieties; innovation adoption; extension activities ; variety adoption; duration analysis |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1756&r=agr |
| By: | Carpentier, A.; Reboud, X. |
| Abstract: | The observed dependence of current crop production on chemical crop protection is largely due to economic and technological factors. High yield and specialized cropping systems require high crop protection levels and pesticides allow achieving such protection levels at reasonable (private) costs. The main aim of this article is to show that behavioral factors may reinforce the effects of these economic and technological factors on farmers considering pesticides the ultimate in crop protection. Choice mechanisms described by K?szegi and Rabin (2007) imply that individual attitudes toward a given risk are endogenous in the sense that they depend on the best available means to cope with this risk. Building on this extension of Prospect Theory, we show that farmers exhibit strong aversion toward crop health risks when pesticide prices are relatively low. Indeed, the cheaper the pesticides, the higher the crop protection levels farmers refer to when considering pesticide sprays, and the more they feel that choosing low crop protection levels entails unacceptable risk taking. Our analysis also suggests that pesticide prices play a more important role in farmers crop protection choices than previously recognized. In particular, we show that pesticide taxes would unambiguously reduce farmers pesticide uses, by reducing pesticide profitability as well as farmers aversion toward crop health risks. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277528&r=agr |
| By: | Shi, X.; Zhou, Y.; Heerink, N.; Ma, X. |
| Abstract: | This study aims to identify the mechanisms through which land tenure governance affects grain efficiency in an integrated framework and to examine the impacts of the public governance, village self-governance, and relational governance of land tenure on the technical efficiency of contracted land and rented-in land. Farm level survey data collected from Liaoning, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu provinces covering the years of 2014 and 2015 is used for the empirical analysis. The findings indicate that (i) public governance associated with land certification significantly increases the technical efficiency of grain production; (ii) village self-governance and administrative land reallocations can serve as substitutes for the land rental market in optimizing the distribution of land resources and improving technical efficiency; and (iii) compared to multi-year transfer contracts, both annual and open-ended transfer contracts have negative impacts on technical efficiency. Keywords: land tenure governance, tenure security, technical efficiency, China Acknowledgement : Financial support for this paper has been gratefully received from the Natural Science Foundation of China (71373127, 71573134, 71773054 and 71603121) and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2016M601839). |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277477&r=agr |
| By: | Benin, Samuel; Ulimwengu, John M.; Tefera, Wondwosen |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the Biennial Review (BR) data and simple correlations to analyze the potential relationship between progress in recommitting to CAADP or mutual accountability and progress in meeting commitments in the other five broad areas. Various weighting systems are used to demonstrate the sensitivity of the weights chosen for computing the scores to develop the Africa Agricultural Transformation Scorecard (AATS). The current BR applies equal weights to the seven thematic areas, followed by equal weights to performance categories and indicators within each thematic area and performance category, respectively. The other weighting systems considered for the sensitivity analysis include equal weights applied at performance category or indicator level, differential weights based on the ease or difficulty in achieving various commitments using the Items Response Theory (IRT), and differential weighting system that gives more weight to performance categories or indicators that are more directly linked to agricultural transformation. |
| Keywords: | AFRICA; agriculture; poverty; agricultural development; land productivity; sustainable agriculture; development indicators; evaluation; Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP); Malabo Declaration |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1754&r=agr |
| By: | Lambrecht, I.; Schuster, M. |
| Abstract: | Many stylized facts about women in agriculture have been repeated for decades. Did nothing really change? Is some of this conventional wisdom simply maintained over time, or has it always been inaccurate? We use four rounds of cross-sectional data from Ghana to assess some of the facts and to evaluate whether gender patterns have changed over time. We focus on five main themes: land, cropping patterns, market participation, agricultural inputs, and employment. We add to the literature by showing new facts and evidence for more than 20 years. Results show that stylized facts do not always hold, and that some of these facts change over time. We find significant variation in the extent of (changes in) gender discrepancies across themes, different agroecological zones, ethnicities, household types and women s role in the household. Acknowledgement : We thank the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Funding for their support for this study under the Ghana Strategic Support Program. We are appreciative to the VLIR-UOS scholarship program to provide a research visit grant to Laura Pelleriaux, and we are especially thankful to Miet Maertens from the Division of Bioeconomics of KU Leuven, Belgium, for facilitating the early stages of the research. This work is undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276989&r=agr |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Agandin, John; Kolavalli, Shashidhara |
| Abstract: | This paper describes how modern service providers have emerged in the African agricultural sector, a subject that has been vastly understudied. The paper looks at providers of modern rice mills, power tillers, combine harvesters, and production services at a highly productive rice irrigation scheme in Ghana. These service providers earn net profits that are greater than the profits they would likely achieve from simply expanding rice production without investing in respective machines, suggesting that higher returns primarily induce the emergence of these modern providers. Surpluses and experiences from their years of rice production are likely to have provided the primary finance and knowledge required for entry. The service providers emerged by exploiting both the economies of scale and the economies of scope, keeping rice production as the primary source of income, instead of specializing only in service provisions. Key policy implications are also discussed. |
| Keywords: | GHANA; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; irrigation schemes; power tillers; combine harvesters; mills; agricultural sector; modern service providers; entry costs; rice |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1678&r=agr |
| By: | Anderson, Kym |
| Abstract: | Despite favourable growing conditions, Australia's production or exports of wine did not become significant until the 1890s. Both grew in the 1920s, but only because of government support. Once that support was removed in the late 1940s, production plateaued and exports diminished: only 2% of wine production was exported during 1975-85. Yet over the next two decades Australia's wine production quadrupled and the share exported rose to two-thirds – before falling somewhat in the next ten years. This paper explains why it took so long for Australia's production and competitive advantage in wine to emerge, why it took off spectacularly after the mid-1980s and why it fell in the ten years to 2015. It concludes that despite the recent downturn in the industry's fortunes, the country's international competitiveness is now firmly established and commensurate with its ideal wine-growing climate, notwithstanding the likelihood of further boom-slump cycles in the decades ahead. |
| Keywords: | boom-plateau wine cycles; comparative advantage; wine competitiveness; wine trade specialization |
| JEL: | D12 F15 L66 N10 |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13201&r=agr |
| By: | Boza, S.; Mora, M.; Osorio, F.; Munoz, J. |
| Abstract: | Informal economy is particularly present in small-scale farming, although little attention has been paid so far. This article aims to contribute to a further understanding of the attitudes of small scale, family farmers, toward incorporating into the formal economy. For this, a survey was conducted of family farmers located in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. The questionnaire was divided into the following sections: i) personal characteristics of the farmer, ii) technical and production features, iii) level of formalization and iv) statements regarding attitudes toward formalization. The data collected was processed by descriptive and multivariate techniques such as factor and cluster analysis. The results showed that farmers perceive formalization as a complex process which entails unpleasant obligations, and that they do not consider it really necessary. There are some distinctions, however, that allow two clusters to be identified: Favorable (18.82%) and Reluctant (81.18%). The first group has a positive attitude both in terms of the formalization process and its overall impact, but it represents a small percentage of the farmers. We conclude that to increase family farming incorporation in formal economy accurate and understandable information, as well as the adaptation of the processes and obligations to farmers situation is necessary. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276960&r=agr |
| By: | Njiraini, G.; Ngigi, M. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines innovations for bridging gender gaps in agricultural value chains in Africa. It focuses on innovative platforms for addressing gender gaps, considering women contribute up to 40 percent of labor in agricultural production. Women remain at the bottom of value chains and face gender-specific constraints attributable to gender and social norms, discriminatory beliefs and practices, gender-blind designs and delivery of technologies and innovations which impede women s participation in value chains. Consequently, women are unable to adjust to challenges and opportunities of technological progress, commercial orientation, and global integration. This paper suggests that gender-sensitive technological and institutional innovations is essential to promote women s participation in agricultural value chains and bridge the gender gap while upholding gender-specific outcomes. The study shows that women rely on alternative institutional innovations and arrangements such as group-based approaches in order to improve their participation in value chains which implies the call for policies that nurture and strengthen these kinds of institutions. Integrating research, designing value chain interventions and monitoring and evaluation with a gender lens is essential in order to accelerate women s participation in value chain development programmes, while allowing them to be role models and spearhead their own empowerment. Acknowledgement : We acknowledge the financial support from the Center for Development Research under PARI project |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277080&r=agr |
| By: | Valdes, R.; Von Cramon, S.; Engler, A. |
| Abstract: | There is a notable absence of careful empirical analysis of the link between agricultural and fuel prices in spatially separated markets within developing countries. The aim of this article is to analyze the influence of fuel prices on the spatial price transmission between both a central and a regional horticultural market in Chile. We implement a regime-dependent vector error correction model where price transmission parameters depend to the dynamics imposed by a stationary exogenous variable, which in our case is the Chilean fuel price. We identified two price transmission regimes characterized by different equilibrium relationships and short-run adjustment processes. This implies that fuel prices affect price transmission elasticities and the speed of adjustments between spatially separated markets. The results suggest that fuel prices affect wholesale prices through transport costs and that there is a pattern of increasing marketing costs as the distance from origin to market grows. Also, the extent of that impact depends on each product ?s attributes, such as, transport and storage method, seasonality issues and perishability, among others. Acknowledgement : Funding for this research comes from the Chilean Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT)-Folio No. 21120286. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277064&r=agr |
| By: | Kvartiuk, V.; Herzfeld, T.; Ghukasyan, S. |
| Abstract: | Agricultural policy s support to farmers, measured in real terms, differs considerably across Russian regions. What explains these large differences in regional agricultural support? We argue that traditional approaches of agricultural economics cannot fully explain this variation and we draw upon the political eocnomy literature. In particular, we explain allocation and distribution of agricultural subsidies studying the incentives of federal and regional politicians. Electoral pressures arising from competing with other political parties may push federal politicians to target either loyal or easily swayed voters and regional ones to strategically target special interst groups. Vertical organization of the Russian dominant party may generate perverse accountability links between local governors and regional agricultural interest groups. We utlize a unique dataset on the agricultural subsidies in 2008-2015 in order to test the hypotheses. The evidence suggests that federal government targets swing regions in distributing agricultural subsidies and local governments are more likely to allocate larger co-funding shares facing higher political competition in the region. In addition, regions with better organized large-scale agricultural producers and elected governors are more successful in maximizing obtained agricultural subsidies from the federal level. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Political Economy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277040&r=agr |
| By: | Stranieri, S.; Soregaroli, C.; Platoni, S. |
| Abstract: | The adoption of food standards to regulate product characteristics or its processing methods is widely widespread. Food economics literature has intensively explored the firm incentives for the adoption of safety and quality standards. A growing body of literature discusses on voluntary standards as alternative forms of governance of vertical relationships due to the increase of information transparency provided. There is a gap in the understanding of the determinants leading food firms to choose such alternative forms of transaction governance. The present study aims at exploring the significant drivers of voluntary standard adoption. To answer the questions we start from Transaction Cost Economic theory and we refer to an extended conceptual framework based on transaction risks, namely, risks arising from the opportunistic behaviour of economic agents (internal risks) and other risks related to unexpected changes in the economic environment (exogenous risks). Data was collected through interviews on an EU representative survey concerning the non-GMO voluntary standard in the soybean supply chain. The survey includes 363 companies from 15 EU countries. Preliminary results of the logit model suggest a positive relationship of transaction internal risks with the adoption of the voluntary non-GMO standard and a negative relationship of exogenous risks with the implementation of the standard. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277391&r=agr |
| By: | Alexei P Kireyev |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the significant macro-fiscal challenges posed by climate change in Djibouti and the costs of mitigation and adaptation policies. The paper concludes that Djibouti is susceptible to climate change and related costs are potentially large. Investing now in adaptation and mitigation has large benefits in terms of reducing the related costs in the future. Reforms to generate the fiscal space are therefore needed and investment for mitigation and adaptation to climate change should be built into the long-term fiscal projections. Finally, concerted international efforts and stepping up regional cooperation could help moderate climate-related macro-fiscal risks. |
| Date: | 2018–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:18/233&r=agr |
| By: | Chalmers, N.; Revoredo-Giha, C. |
| Abstract: | All the main demographic groups (Female and Males aged 11 upwards) in the United Kingdom (UK) do not consume the government s recommended 5 a day target for fruit and vegetables. Understanding how a 50 percent increased consumption of fruit or vegetables would impact on the whole diet of these demographic groups requires the incorporation of price and income elasticities and a diet model similar to Irz et al (2015). This study used data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) and price data from Kantar Worldpanel for the period 2008 to 2013. This study has estimated eight demand systems which represent the eight demographic groups of interest. This is a departure from the previous literature which has relied on household level demand systems to represent the different demographic groups. This study estimated similar diet models to Irz et al (2015) and found that increasing fruit consumption would have the most beneficial change in diet as measured by the Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR). The demographic group of Males aged 11 to 15 resulted in an approximate increase in the MAR of 5 percent thus experienced the largest improvement in diets as a result of a 50 percent increase in fruit. Acknowledgement : This work was funded by the Scottish Government s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) Theme 3 programme (Food, Health and Wellbeing). |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277060&r=agr |
| By: | Jo Hendy (Interim Climate Change Commission); Levente Timar (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Dominic White (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | New Zealand faces the challenge of using our land in ways that are not only resilient to future pressures and sustain our rural communities but also enhance our natural environment. For the public and private sectors to make robust land-use decisions under uncertainty, high-quality modelling tools and data are essential. The drivers of land-use decisions are complex and models provide a structured methodology for investigating these. While New Zealand is fortunate to have a range of different modelling tools, these have historically been used in a sporadic and ad hoc way, and underlying datasets are deficient in some areas. As the foundation for more strategic development of New Zealand’s modelling capability, this paper profiles the main land-sector and farm- and production-related models and datasets currently applied in New Zealand. It also explores priority policy areas where modelling is needed, such as achieving emission reduction targets; managing freshwater, biodiversity and soil quality; and understanding the distributional impacts of policy options as well as climate change. New Zealand’s modelling capability could be strengthened by collecting and sharing land-use data more effectively; building understanding of underlying relationships informed by primary research; creating more collaborative and transparent processes for applying common datasets, scenarios and assumptions, and conducting peer review; and conducting more integrated modelling across environmental issues. These improvements will require strategic policies and processes for refining model development, providing increased, predictable and sustained funding for modelling activity and underlying data collection and primary research, and strengthening networks across modellers inside and outside of government. |
| Keywords: | Land-use, modelling, data management, Policy analysis |
| JEL: | C31 D58 Q4 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:18_16&r=agr |
| By: | Andam, Kwaw S.; Asante, Seth |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data from a sample of 679 food processing firms in Ghana to estimate changes in employment by the food processing sector from 2014 to 2017, to analyze the determinants of firm exit during the same period, and to analyze the determinants of firm growth from the firm’s establishment up to 2017. In modeling the determinants of firm growth, the focus is on the effects of formal status as a food processing firm, which is defined in this paper as registration as a business for tax purposes and registration with the national food regulator, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). |
| Keywords: | GHANA; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; employment; food safety; food policies; food processing; enterprises; firms; firm exit ; small enterprise development |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1755&r=agr |
| By: | Singha, C. |
| Abstract: | The study assess the key determinants of the decision to adopt soil conservation in Teesta River Watershed, in Darjeeling District in the Eastern Himalayas. In this watershed, there have been soil conservation both by the individual farmers on their own farm and by the government at the sub-watershed level. We collected data through a primary survey conducted during 2013. This study explicitly accounts for possible neighbourhood effects in influencing adoption. This is captured both by identifying adoption practices among farmers who are immediately upstream, and using spatial econometrics that incorporate the spatial distance between neighboring farms. We use Bayesian formulation of a standard probit model in conjunction with Markov Chain Monte Carlo to estimate the model. The findings suggest positive evidence of neighbourhood impact on farmers in adoption decisions. We also examine if adoption decisions differ between farmers residing in treated and untreated sub-watershed and conclude that they do not. Acknowledgement : I thank the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) for supporting the study financially. This study is part of my PhD dissertation at Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics. I extend my warm gratitude to J V Meenakshi and M N Murty for their supervision, suggestions and encouragements throughout the study. Thanks are also due to K L Krishna, Sanjeev Sharma, Raushan Kumar, Aditi Singhal, Divya Gupta, Bipasha Choudhury, Koushik Singha, Tamash Ranjan Majumdar and Sameer Lama |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277549&r=agr |
| By: | Chengappa, P.G.; Devika, C.M.; Manjunatha, A.V. |
| Abstract: | Indian coffee sector is at an important point of transition, wedged between quality and value segments of the market. The trend towards Robusta has reduced the share of Arabica coffee resulting in moving away from the quality segment of the market. The value chain analysis of conventional, certified, and organic coffee indicated that chains for coffee are largely diffuse in nature, with limited coordination in terms of quality and specifications in the conventional chain. Coordination is stronger in certified and organic chains, but incentives and motivation for upgrading largely stem from individual efforts to add value rather than those taking place at the chain-level. Clearly, organic and certified coffee proved to beneficial as compared to conventional coffee in terms of gains to the actors and sustainability point of view. There is a potential niche for India to develop eco-friendly coffees by leveraging the natural environment and biodiversity present in its coffee growing region Western Ghats, a hotspot of biodiversity. These suggest that integrating sustainability principles in a broad-based branding strategy could be difficult at the level of the chain without institutional support or the entry of chain champions. Acknowledgement : The authors thank the Research Funding Agency - Norwegian Research Council s NORGLOBAL and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) for their contribution. |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277025&r=agr |
| By: | Prakash, P.; Kishore, Prabhat; Jaganathan, D.; Immanual, Sheela; Sivakumar, P.S. |
| Abstract: | This paper has examined the spatio-temporal changes in area, production and yield of sweet potato in India and its impact on economics of sweet potato cultivation in selected districts of Odisha. Compound annual growth rate, farm business analyses and Garrett’s ranking technique were used to assess the growth rate, cost and returns and constraints faced by the farmers. The cost and returns analysis indicated that the labour cost accounted for 42 per cent of the total cost of production and the sweet potato production is profitable. Yield had a greater impact on improving profitability. The constraints in the sweet potato cultivation were non-availability of quality planting materials, lack of storage, lack of appropriate price and high marketing cost among producers. These constraints may be addressed by the timely and adequate supply of vines, creating awareness about improving cultivation practices and reforming the market system of farm produce in Odisha which provides better avenues for increasing farmers’ income. Acknowledgement : The authors acknowledge the Director, CGIAR-IFPRI, South Asia Office, New Delhi. The research of primary survey undertaken for this project was made possible by generous support from Bill Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) under the TARINA project. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277216&r=agr |
| By: | Wang, D.; Qian, W. |
| Abstract: | Based on the data of China Household Income Project 2013(CHIP 2013), this paper empirically studies the impact of land expropriation on the objective and subjective welfare of farmers and explores its influence mechanisms. We firstly estimate the net effect of land expropriation on land-lost farmers individual income and happiness. The result shows that although the land expropriation improves their individual income, it significantly reduces their happiness scores. After we use another dataset CFPS2010 to solve endogeneity of geographical selection and apply propensity score matching (PSM) method to solve self-selection bias, the results are also robust. Then, the mechanism analysis shows that off-farm employment plays a mediation effect role so that land expropriation promotes rural labor transfer to non-agricultural employment market and increase their income, but higher occupation switching costs and the lack of social security is one of the important reasons resulting in the decrease of the landless farmers' happiness. To trace the institutional reason, China s splitted land system and its characteristic land expropriation compensation system not only deprived of farmers' land value-added income opportunities, but also failed to fully consider the occupational transformation and long-term security of landless farmers. Acknowledgement : The main funding source for the research is the National Natural Science Foundation of China(71673241).Thanks to Prof. Lu Ming for giving us advice during the research. |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277301&r=agr |
| By: | Panagiotou, Dimitrios; Stavrakoudis, Athanassios |
| Abstract: | The present work analyzes free-on-board against uniform delivered strategic prices in pure and mixed duopolistic spatial markets with reference to the food sector. Along with investor owned firms (IOFs) that maximize profits, we introduce member welfare maximizing cooperatives (COOPs) and examine their impact on the strategic pricing choices. Demand is price responsive. We use a two stage game between two IOFs, between an IOF and a COOP, and between two COOPs. The findings indicate that the introduction of COOPs acts as a disciplinary factor regarding the pricing behavior of the IOFs. As competition in the spatial market escalates, we move from the quasi--collusive (FOB,FOB) Nash equilibrium, where there are only IOFs in the market, to the more aggressive (UD,UD) strategic pricing configuration where COOPs replace one or both IOFs in the market. |
| Keywords: | oligopoly spatial competition; mixed; free-on-board; uniformly delivered |
| JEL: | C72 D40 L13 Q13 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:89801&r=agr |
| By: | Khamthara, P.; Zeng, D.; Stringer, R.; Yi, D. |
| Abstract: | Promoting horticultural crop adoption is a widespread development strategy in developing countries to augment agricultural households income. Other than the income effects demonstrated in previous research, horticultural farming's indirect welfare effects such as child education are less well understood. Educational investment is vital for rural development and long-term agricultural productivity. This study analyzes how horticultural farming affects agricultural household education investment, using cross-sectional data of Indonesian Family Life Survey covering seven provinces in Eastern Indonesia (IFLS East). The multiple outcome variables include education spending, number of hours spent in school, and grade repetition. The possible endogeneity of horticultural farming is carefully addressed through instrumental variables estimation. The overall result indicates a positive impact of horticultural farming on child education spending for primary school children in both genders. We also found negative effects of staple crop farming on education spending and number of hours spent in school. This research contributes to existing empirical research in horticultural development, demonstrating horticultural crop adoption would not only increase household income but also household education investment. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277192&r=agr |
| By: | Raffaelli, R.; Menapace, L. |
| Abstract: | Indirect questioning (IQ), i.e., asking respondents to predict the behavior of others, has been employed in stated preference studies as WTP elicitation technique. This technique, also referred to as Inferred Valuation, represents a promising approach for reducing hypothetical bias when it is not possible to sell actual goods to participants and when the social desirability bias is a potential problem (e.g., preferences for sustainable food attributes). To date, several issues associated to the use of IQ have not been adequately investigated. We carried out a Discrete Choice Experiment on field to verify the effects on estimated WTPs of: i) different IQ framing, ii) monetary incentives associated to predictions; and iii) the order of presentation. First, by employing two different question formats (e.g. asking to predict others behavior in a real market situation or in a hypothetical situation) we uncover how respondents are able to anticipate the tendency of others to provide socially desirable answers. Second, monetary incentives create a rewarding environment that indirectly affects WTPs obtained from direct questions. Third, we uncover a potential debiasing effect on WTPs of asking respondents to make predictions about others before stating their own preferences, which could have interesting implications for practitioners. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277039&r=agr |
| By: | Sandra Rigot (USPC) |
| Abstract: | The climate change and energy transition issues are a crucial stake for our societies. Indeed, while a large body of scientific work has shown the link between climate change acceleration and greenhouse gas emissions from productive processes, other studies have highlighted that profound changes in the climate would lead to increased risks for economic and financial activity and could have human impacts. The pursuit of high growth based on fossil fuels would lead economies to a disaster scenario. In the worst-case scenario, the IPCC estimates that the planet could heat up by 4.8 ° C compared to the average temperature of the period 1986-2005 and the water rise by nearly a meter (threatening very populous coastal territories) not to mention the upsurge of extreme weather events. These gloomy forecasts highlight the urgency of action to try to contain global warming.This transition to a low-carbon path requires taking on new challenges, including a substantial and sustainable GHG reduction through improved energy efficiency and decarbonation of production systems. This involves many risks related to producers? resilience, technological capabilities, the nature of policy instruments and their calibration to guide the transition. In the end, climate change involves two types of risks that can coexist: on the one hand, physical risks that result from damage directly caused by meteorological phenomena; on the other hand, transition risks resulting from adjustments made for a transition to a low-carbon economy. For companies in particular, they involve new risks but also opportunities that are not well taken into account in their reporting.This article aims to draw up an inventory of the environmental reporting of CAC 40 companies over the period 2015-2017. The choice to study the French case is explained by its leadership in terms of transition. The idea is i) to understand the climate reporting practices of these companies, depending on the sectors and focusing on four areas that reflect how they can exploit, govern, develop their strategies and manage their risks ( in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) analysis grid, an international initiative launched by Financial Stability Board in late 2015, (ii) to question the appropriateness of an intervention by the accounting standard-setter on the subject. |
| Keywords: | accounting, environmental reporting, climate risks |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:8110046&r=agr |
| By: | Hunecke, C.; Meyer, S.; Brummer, B. |
| Abstract: | As information about availability and suitability of innovation is one of the key factors in the diffusion and adoption of agricultural technology, its transmission is of crucial importance. Farming neighbors are often mentioned as the most significant origin of knowledge. However, various sources, like extension services, technology providing companies or other stakeholders are also possible in case of adoption of automatic milking systems in Germany. One instrument in describing the flow of information are social networks by defining links between different agents through which it can spread from one to another. Thus, different network structures, like a neighborhood network, a sales structure network, a dairy factory network and two extension service networks, are created to analyze their impact and performance in the process of diffusion and adoption of technology by displaying information transmission patterns originated from different sources to the farmers. For measurement, the endemic-epidemic hhh4 model for surveillance data is applied to capture the dynamic contagious process of diffusion. Regarding the performance, the neighborhood network provides the best fit for explaining the adoption of technology. Furthermore, the sales structure of the manufacturer also plays an important role in the distribution. In contrast, German consultation centers are less relevant. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277543&r=agr |
| By: | Nishihara, Y.; Takahashi, D.; Fukui, S.; Yoshida, R.; Tamaki, E. |
| Abstract: | Climate change threatens global food security and farm management by affecting the quantity and quality of food. Our purpose is to accurately predict the effect of climate change on rice production in Japan. To estimate the rice quantity and quality under the future climate conditions, we simulated rice growth and quality models by three different scenarios of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. For assessing the economic impact of climate change, we exchanged the results of rice yield and quality to the price. We focus on Kosihikari, the most popular cultivar among consumers and widely produced in Japanese rice farming, although being vulnerable to heat stress. The estimated results provide two insights. First, an increase in the quantity of rice yield due to climate change has a stronger economic impact than the decrease in quality even under the future climate conditions scenario with the lowest GHG-emission. Second, the impact between eastern and western Japan is different. In eastern Japan, the rice yield would increase while in western Japan, quality would deteriorate. This means the Japanese will be faced with an oversupply of rice, and suggests that rice farmers in western Japan will be obliged to adopt new strategies to improve revenue. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277506&r=agr |