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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2020‒03‒02
forty-four papers chosen by |
| By: | El-Enbaby, Hoda; Ecker, Olivier; Figueroa, Jose Luis; Leroy, Jef L.; Breisinger, Clemens |
| Abstract: | This paper characterizes smallholder farm households in Upper Egypt based on data from a comprehensive farm household survey. The results from the descriptive analysis in combination with findings from the global literature provide recommendations on how agricultural projects can be leveraged for improving nutrition. The importance of focusing on nutrition is underlined by relatively high undernutrition and overnutrition rates among the surveyed farm households: almost 18 percent of children under five years of age are stunted and almost 25 percent of them are at risk of being overweight. Agricultural interventions can impact nutrition through six main pathways, which are: 1) providing direct access to food from own production; 2) providing a source of income from which food and other nutrition needs can be met; 3) affecting food prices; 4) affecting women’s social status and empowerment; 5) affecting women’s time use from participation in agricultural work; and 6) affecting women’s health and nutrition from engagement in agricultural activities. The surveyed farm households purchase in the market most of the foods that they consume, cultivating crops primarily for commercial sale. This finding suggests that access to food markets and the level of food prices are key determinants of food and nutrition security among smallholder farm households in Upper Egypt. The survey analysis also identified potential levers for increasing agricultural productivity, including promoting more efficient use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides and improving farming practices to narrow the productivity gap between small-scale farmers and medium and large-scale farmers. As the role of women in agricultural activities in Upper Egypt is limited, the gendered pathways for leveraging agriculture for improved nutrition are less relevant. However, to achieve positive impact on people’s diet or nutritional status that goes beyond income and price channels, programs that reach farm households in Upper Egypt should include education and behavioral change communication activities, including on themes related to breastfeeding, dietary diversity, physical activities, and sugar intake. For such activities to be effective, it is important to consider the low literacy levels in the population. |
| Keywords: | EGYPT, ARAB COUNTRIES, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AFRICA, smallholders, nutrition knowledge, child nutrition, household expenditure, women farmers, role of women, nutrition, farm household survey, health knowledge, hygiene knowledge, agricultural interventions, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:menawp:20&r=all |
| By: | Tamru, Seneshaw; Minten, Bart; Swinnen, Johan F.M. |
| Abstract: | Exchange rate policies can have important implications on incentives for export agriculture. However, their effects are often not well understood. We study the issue of foreign exchange controls and pricing in the value chain for Ethiopia’s coffee - its most important export crop. Relying on unique pricing and cost data, we find that coffee exporters are willing to incur losses during exporting by offering high prices for coffee locally in order to access scarce foreign exchange. The losses in export markets are then more than recovered in importing, indicating rents - import parity prices are significantly lower than the prices charged for imported goods, so that profits on imports are much higher than the losses incurred in exporting. We further show that the high coffee wholesale prices are transmitted to farmers, so that they benefit from the rents downstream. These results suggest that a better exchange rate alignment to reduce the overvaluation of the local currency in this case would have a lower impact on export crop producer prices than typically is anticipated. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; trade; supply chain; coffee; food prices; exports; imports; exchange rate; coffee exports; coffee prices; rent distribution |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:136&r=all |
| By: | Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the spatial heterogeneity in dairy production in the highland production area around the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. We look at how urban proximity – defined as the travel time from the farm to the central market of Addis Ababa – affects the production decisions of Ethiopian dairy farmers. We sampled 870 households from the major rural production zones around Addis Ababa, where villages were stratified according to their distance to Addis Ababa. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find evidence of strong spatial heterogeneity in dairy milk productivity in Ethiopia. With each additional hour of travel time, the milk productivity per cow is reduced by almost 1 liter per day, a reduction by 26 percent on average. This spatial heterogeneity in milk productivity reflects a pronounced spatial variation in dairy production decisions (producing liquid milk or processed dairy products), the application of modern inputs, and marketing. When trying to disentangle the mechanisms through which urban proximity affects dairy productivity, we show that the effect of travel time mainly runs through farmers’ inclusion into ‘modern’ value chains and more specifically through their access to commercial milk buyers. This finding holds when we control for prices, indicating that access to commercial value chains are an important determinant of dairy productivity. However, as only a limited number of farmers now have access to such value chains in these settings, measures to make dairy value chains more inclusive to remote farmers can have important economic development benefits for them. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; supply chain; milk production; urban areas; towns; food prices; rural-urban food supply chain; urbanization; dairy industry; milk products; cities; dairy production |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:137&r=all |
| By: | El-Enbaby, Hoda; Ecker, Olivier; Figueroa, Jose Luis; Leroy, Jef L.; Breisinger, Clemens |
| Abstract: | The success of nutrition-sensitive agricultural interventions in countries in the Middle East and North Africa has not been examined in much depth. To narrow this knowledge gap, a smallholder farm household survey was conducted in six governorates in Upper Egypt in April and May 2018 following the winter cropping season. The survey provides comprehensive information on agriculture, nutrition, and health. Specifically, the study sought to identify potential levers and challenges along the agriculture-nutrition impact pathways, with attention to value chain development approaches for promoting horticulture. This policy note presents findings from the survey. It should be useful in the design and implementation of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs in Upper Egypt. |
| Keywords: | EGYPT, ARAB COUNTRIES, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AFRICA, smallholders, nutrition knowledge, child nutrition, household expenditure, women farmers, role of women, nutrition, farm household survey, health knowledge, hygiene knowledge, agricultural interventions, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:menapn:1&r=all |
| By: | Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw; Reardon, Thomas |
| Abstract: | We study post-harvest losses (PHL) in important and rapidly growing rural-urban value chains in Ethiopia. We analyze self-reported PHL from different value chain agents – farmers, wholesale traders, processors, and retailers – based on unique large-scale data sets for two major commercial commodities, the storable staple teff and the perishable liquid milk. PHL in the most prevalent value chain pathways for teff and milk amount to between 2.2 and 3.3 percent and 2.1 and 4.3 percent of total produced quantities, respectively. We complement these findings with primary data from urban food retailers for more than 4,000 commodities. Estimates of PHL from this research overall are found to be significantly lower than is commonly assumed. We further find that the emerging modern retail sector in Ethiopia is characterized by half the level of PHL than are observed in the traditional retail sector. This is likely due to more stringent quality requirements at procurement, sales of more packaged – and therefore better protected – commodities, and better refrigeration, storage, and sales facilities. The further expected expansion of modern retail in these settings should likely lead to a lowering of PHL in food value chains, at least at the retail level. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; supply chain; retail marketing; postharvest losses; milk; Eragrostis tef; trade; milk value chain; teff; rural-urban value chains |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:135&r=all |
| By: | Chambers,Thomas Timothy; You,Liangzhi; Wood-Sichra,Ulrike; Ru,Yating; Blankespoor,Brian; Kalvelagen,Erwin |
| Abstract: | This paper examines two new methods to generate gridded agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and compares the results with a traditional method. In the case of Brazil, these two new methods of spatial disaggregation and cross-entropy outperform the prediction of agricultural GDP from the traditional method that distributes agricultural GDP using rural population. The paper finds that the best prediction method is spatial disaggregation using a regression approach for all the key crops and contributors to agricultural GDP. However, the issue of degrees of freedom is an important limiting factor, as the approach requires sufficient subnational data. The cross-entropy method with readily available spatially distributed crop, livestock, forest, and fish allocation far outperforms the traditional method, at least in the case of Brazil, and can operate with national- and/or subnational-level data. |
| Keywords: | Livestock and Animal Husbandry,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Climate Change and Agriculture,Energy and Natural Resources,Forests and Forestry,Forestry,Coastal and Marine Resources,Food Security |
| Date: | 2019–08–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8985&r=all |
| By: | Melesse, Mequanint B.; Van den berg, Marrit; de Brauw, Alan; Abate, Gashaw T. |
| Abstract: | Using survey data collected from 996 representative households in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this paper documents several insights to help understand urban consumer food purchasing and consumption choices. The findings can be summarized as follows: 1) We find that households face important dietary gaps; a large proportion eats insufficient amounts of nutrient-dense vegetables, animal-source foods, and fruits. 2) The consumption of ultra-processed foods increases with income and may become a pressing health concern as incomes rise. 3) From a purchasing perspective, we find that consumers buy foods for different purposes at different outlets. Nearby kiosks and informal street markets are frequented for small food items and for fruits and vegetables, while formal open markets and consumer cooperatives are used for bulky food items. 4) Respondents make food and food outlet choices based on their health and food safety concerns, but few consider the nutritional value of food when purchasing it. Concurrently, the availability of a wide variety of healthy and safe foods is highly valued by most respondents for outlet choice. Among consumers in lower income categories, they tend to make food and food outlet choices based on prices and location convenience. 5) Although nutrition is not a primary concern when making choices about food, consumers appear to have reasonable nutritional knowledge. Most respondents considered a healthy diet to be primarily plant-based. Most people are aware that they should eat more fruits and vegetables and less sugary, fatty, and salty foods, but they have limited knowledge on the nutrient content of specific foods and the causes of obesity. 6) Labelling would not be an effective way to increase nutritional knowledge; most respondents have limited understanding of the information that labels provide. Rather, most respondents trust the information provided by health professionals over other sources. In sum, these results are potentially relevant for policy and the design of future programs for improving nutritional outcomes through enhanced diets. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; diet; feeding preferences; food consumption; food purchasing; consumers; consumer behavior; households; data collection; food preferences; food processors; food retailers |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:131&r=all |
| By: | Mekonen, Leulsegged Kasa; Minot, Nicholas; Warner, James; Abate, Gashaw T. |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the impact in the main cropping season of 2015 of a new approach to the distribution of improved seed in Ethiopia, known as Direct Seed Marketing (DSM). Under DSM, seed producers are allowed to sell seed directly to farmers, in contrast to the conventional seed marketing (CSM) system in which seed passes from seed producers to regional Bureaus of Agriculture to woreda Agricultural Offices to Development Agents, cooperative unions, and primary cooperatives, who, in turn, sell the seed to farmers. The study is based on a survey of 800 farmers, 118 agricultural extension workers, 75 seed sellers, and 24 seed producers in Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP), and Tigray regions. The performance of the DSM program in 2015 was evaluated on eight criteria: seed availability, sufficiency of supply, timeliness of delivery, seed pricing, quality, ensuring accountability for low-quality seed, ease of purchase, and use of public resources. The results indicate that DSM had heterogeneous effects across the different regions, showing the need to strengthen the sharing of experiences with the program across the regions of Ethiopia to scale up DSM’s benefits. However, when we consider the overall DSM program without regional disaggregation, the DSM and CSM systems do not differ significantly on most of the eight criteria, although DSM required significantly less of the time of the farmer-level agricultural extension agents, the Development Agents. DSM performed as well as CSM across the eight criteria examined, while requiring 39 percent less time for the involvement the Development Agents. Farmers’ subjective views of DSM were quite positive. On most criteria, 50 to 65 percent of farmers said DSM performed “better” or “much better” than CSM. The study also identifies specific areas where the performance of DSM needs to be improved. A review of international experience with seed systems is used to provide some additional recommendations regarding the longer-term development of seed systems in Ethiopia. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; crops; seed production; agricultural extension; seed quality; seed availabilty; seed systems; seed price |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:132&r=all |
| By: | Foster, Tim; Adhikari, Roshan; Urfels, Anton; Adhikari, Subash; Krupnik, Timothy J. |
| Abstract: | Groundwater irrigation plays a critical role in supporting food security, rural livelihoods and economic development in South Asia. Yet, large disparities in groundwater access and use remain across the region. In the Western Indo-Gangetic Plains (WIGP) of India and Pakistan, subsidized rural electrification and fuel for groundwater pumping has enabled significant growth in agricultural productivity over recent decades (Shah 2007). In many areas, groundwater development has however also contributed to over-extraction and aquifer depletion, especially in the WIGP (MacDonald et al. 2016; Mukherjee et el., 2017). In contrast, groundwater resources in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP) of Nepal and eastern India remain underexploited; current aggregated rates and areas of irrigation also appear to be only a fraction of estimated development potential (Saha et al., 2016). This limits farmers’ ability to grow crops outside the monsoon season, or to manage risks posed by rainfall variability and dry spells within the monsoon – both of which contribute to low productivity and rural poverty. |
| Keywords: | INDIA, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, PAKISTAN, NEPAL, groundwater, irrigation, diesel engines, agricultural productivity, costs, efficiency, land ownership, diesel pump irrigation systems, monsoon season, irrigation costs, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:csispn:15&r=all |
| By: | Saini, Smriti; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna |
| Abstract: | Farm mechanization is indispensable for enhancing agricultural productivity across the country. Over the years, the Indian government has instituted several schemes and programs to promote agricultural mechanization in the country. Until recently, state and central government schemes took the form of price subsidies, especially targeting critical farm equipment. More recently, the government has shifted to direct benefit transfers (DBT) for all agricultural inputs, including farm implements. While the central government instituted the broader schemes and programs, the specifics concerning subsidy disbursement have been left to state governments, with flexibility on which implements to promote and how much and when to disburse subsidy payments. These broad guidelines have been enshrined in several programs, chief among which is the National Mission on Agriculture Extension and Technology (NMAET). |
| Keywords: | INDIA, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, agriculture, mechanization, agricultural mechanization, subsidies, agricultural productivity, |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:csispn:16&r=all |
| By: | Rana, Abdul Wajid |
| Abstract: | Global warming is unequivocal, and since 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere has warmed (0.85oC over the period 1883 to 2012). Glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide. The amounts of snow and ice have diminished. The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass. The sea level has risen and on a global scale, the ocean warming is largest near the surface, and the upper 75 m warmed by 0.11°C per decade over the period 1971 to 2010. The increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, driven largely by economic and population growth, together with other anthropological drivers have caused changes in climate system. Continued emission of greenhouse gases is expected to cause further warming and changes in the climate system increasing the possibilities of severe and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystem. Surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century (0.3 to 1.7oC) and it is likely that heat waves will occur more frequently and last longer. The global ocean will continue to warm during the 21st century, with the strongest warming projected for the surface in tropical and Northern Hemisphere subtropical regions. The global glacier volume excluding glaciers on the periphery of Antarctica (and excluding the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets) is projected to decrease by 15 to 55%.1 Therefore, limiting climate change would need substantial and sustained reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through adaptation and mitigation strategies. These include innovation and investment in environmentally sound technologies and infrastructure, sustainable livelihoods and behavioural and lifestyles choices as well as effective institutions and governance. |
| Keywords: | PAKISTAN, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, climate change, irrigation, agriculture, water, global warming, greenhouse gases, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:pacerp:1&r=all |
| By: | Breisinger, Clemens; Raouf, Mariam; Thurlow, James; Wiebelt, Manfred |
| Abstract: | This paper goes beyond the “business†case for agricultural value chain development and presents an economy-wide framework to make the “development†case. We show that there are several key transmission channels that determine the economy-wide impacts of promoting various value chains, including forward and backward economic linkages, price responses, and net employment effects. These impacts all matter for household incomes, poverty, and dietary diversity. Results for Egypt show that agricultural value chain development generates economy-wide growth as well as growth in the agri-food system, but the impacts on employment suggest that agricultural growth can create new (and better) jobs in and beyond the agri-food system, but not necessarily more jobs. The results also show that productivity-driven agricultural growth in all crops is pro-poor and improves nutrition. However, potential adverse effects of livestock-led growth show that growth acceleration in single sectors can be negative, highlighting the importance of a systems analysis or, in our case, an economy-wide analysis. It is clear that no single sub-sector is best at achieving all the development outcomes examined. Moreover, the ranking of value chains by their development outcomes differs across sub-national regions. As such, results from this paper may provide useful decision support for the government and its development partners to select value chains depending on their priority development outcomes. |
| Keywords: | EGYPT, ARAB COUNTRIES, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AFRICA, YEMEN, ARAB COUNTRIES, MIDDLE EAST, SOUTHWESTERN ASIA, ASIA, supply chain; food Systems; employment; nutrition; economic growth; economic development; value chain; agricultural growth; employment effect; nutrition effect; Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model; C68 Computable General Equilibrium Models |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:menawp:18&r=all |
| By: | Gilbert, Rachel; Benson, Todd; Ecker, Olivier |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an updated analysis of the dietary patterns of Malawian households and their consumption of select nutrients - calories, protein, iron, vitamin A, zinc, and folate - using data from the third (2010/11) and fourth (2016/17) rounds of the Malawi Integrated Household Survey (IHS). Changes in food and nutrient consumption patterns between the two survey periods are examined across household wealth categories and across regions. Dietary diversity and patterns of food and nutrient consumption are found to differ significantly between rural and urban areas. Whereas urban households largely saw slightly increased or stable nutrient consumption between 2010/11 and 2016/17, most households in rural areas saw declines over this period. We also document small shifts in the relative amounts of foods consumed over this six-year period in both rural and urban households, with increased consumption of fish and pulses, legumes, and nuts, and decreases in meat, fruit, dairy, and root and tuber consumption. The contribution of animal-source foods as a share of total protein consumption remains low at between 10 and 20 percent, depending on the region, with the overall share of protein from animal-source foods falling slightly between the two surveys. With regards to adequacy of household diets for meeting nutrient requirements, in the absence of nutrient supplementation, many individuals will be subject to iron, vitamin A, and folate inadequacies. Of particular concern, the poorest households have very low nutrient consumption per person and have diets that rely on only a few foods from a small number of food groups. For all six nutrients, nationally just over half of the total amount of nutrient consumed came from food that was purchased. While we would expect this for urban households, even for rural households more than half of all calories and protein consumed came from foods that were purchased. For micronutrients consumed by rural households, between 40 and 50 percent came from purchased foods. While in the past, own production of food may have provided most Malawian households with most of the nutrients they consumed, this is no longer the case. For most Malawian households, including in rural communities, their food security and dietary nutritional needs now are equally tied to the market as to their own farming, if not more so. Drawing lessons from the analysis here for improving the food consumption data collected in the IHS surveys, more detailed and further disaggregated data would be beneficial, particularly to help estimate nutrients derived from fortified and processed foods. Additional information on how food is shared within households would also allow for a better understanding of nutrient inadequacies at the individual level. Collecting more information on the content of the meals that household members eat away from home would also be helpful in removing some uncertainty in the nutrient consumption estimates made from the data. Finally, additional information on food gifts received could clarify aspects of household coping strategies, the performance of formal social safety nets, and food choice. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI; SOUTHERN AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; diet; nutrition; nutrient deficiency; human nutrition; human nutrition research; nutrients; food consumption; households; nutrient intake; food access; trace elements; diet change; nutrition intake; dietary diversity; nutrient supplementation; |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:masswp:30&r=all |
| By: | Adjognon,Guigonan Serge; van Soest,Daan; Guthoff,Jonas Christoph |
| Abstract: | Does financial compensation for providing environmental conservation, improve the food security of the rural poor in the drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa? This paper explores this question using data from a randomized controlled trial of a large scale reforestation implemented by the Government of Burkina Faso. Members of communities located around selected protected forests were invited to plant indigenous tree species on degraded areas, and to take care of their maintenance. The financial compensation they would receive depended on the number of trees still alive a year later. The vast majority of the community members participating in the project were farmers, and the timing of the payments coincided with the lean season, when most farmers were at risk of food insecurity. Compared with the control group, the project's participants'households reported 12 percent higher food consumption expenditures, and a reduction in moderate and severe food insecurity by 35 percent to 60 percent. The transfers received were spent mostly on cereals, meat, and pulses, with no evidence of increased consumption of temptation goods. |
| Date: | 2019–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8974&r=all |
| By: | He Yin (SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA); Van Butsic (Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 101 Sproul Hall, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA); Johanna Buchner (SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA); Tobias Kuemmerle (Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany and IRI THESys, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany); Alexander V. Prishchepov (Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 København K, Denmark and Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Tovarisheskaya str.5, 420097, Kazan, Russia); Matthias Baumann (Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany); Eugenia V. Bragina (Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300, Southern Boulevard, Bronx Zoo, NY 10460-1099S, USA); Hovik Sayadyan (Department of Physical Geography, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia); Volker C. Radeloff (SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA) |
| Abstract: | Armed conflicts are globally widespread and can strongly influence societies and the environment. However, where and how armed conflicts affect agricultural land-use is not well-understood. The Caucasus is a multi-ethnic region that experienced several conflicts shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, most notably the two Chechen Wars, raising the question how agricultural lands were changed. Here, we investigated how the distance to conflicts and conflict intensity, measured as the number of conflicts and the number of casualties, affected agricultural land abandonment and subsequent re-cultivation, by combining social, environmental and economic variables with remotely-sensed maps of agricultural change. We applied logistic and panel regression analyses for both the First Chechen War (1994-1996) and the Second Chechen War (1999-2009) and interacted conflict distance with conflict intensity measures. We found that agricultural lands closer to conflicts were more likely to be abandoned and less likely to be re-cultivated, with stronger effects for the First Chechen War. Conflict intensity was positively correlated with agricultural land abandonment, but the effects differed based on distance to conflicts and the intensity measure. We found little re-cultivation after the wars, despite abundant subsidies, indicating the potentially long-lasting effects of armed conflicts on land-use. Overall, we found a clear relationship between the Chechen Wars and agricultural land abandonment and re-cultivation, illustrating the strong effects of armed conflicts on agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural land abandonment, armed conflict, ethnic conflict, land-use change, re-cultivation, warfare. JEL Classification: |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:294&r=all |
| By: | Pourzand, Farnaz; Noy, Ilan Noy; Kendon, Bell |
| Abstract: | We quantify the impacts climate change on New Zealand’s agriculture. We implement the Ricardian approach of land climate-pricing using QV data. We explore the nonlinear relationship between climate variables and farmland values while controlling for socio-economic and topographical-geographical features. Furthermore, we measure the persistence of drought using autoregressive (AR) model. We simulate future farmland values under climate change. Preliminary results show the heterogeneity in which rural land values are affected by climate depending on the land use category. The rural land value decreases with summer temperature among all land uses, while it increases with spring temperature. The cumulative impacts of soil moisture deficit in summer reduce farmland values. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis |
| Date: | 2019–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar19:302099&r=all |
| By: | Ward, Patrick S.; Gupta, Shweta; Singh, Vartika; Gautam, Shriniwas; Guerena, David |
| Abstract: | Agriculture in Nepal has historically suffered from low levels of productivity. Inadequate usage of fertilizer, poor fertilizer quality, and insufficient supply to satisfy demand have been identified among the major reasons behind this low productivity (Joshi, 2010). Other factors such as land fragmentation, lack of irrigation, lack of good quality seeds, inadequate public investment and more recently climate change (e.g., Niroula & Thapa; Joshi et al., 2012; Ghimire et al., 2015; Malla, 2008) also remain as challenges for Nepalese agriculture. Both the Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP, 1994-2014) and the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS, 2015-2034) have recognized the deficiencies in the fertilizer supply chain and have prioritized the widespread distribution and utilization of fertilizers as essential elements in their development strategies (Bista et al., 2016). With continuation of the fertilizer distribution issues, a voucher system has been proposed in the ADS (2015-2035) but is yet to be implemented. As with any type of transfer policy, proper identification of intended beneficiaries and calibration of voucher payments is critical for its successful rollout. It is therefore imperative that all concerned stakeholders including government agencies garner a more complete understanding of the true demand of chemical fertilizers to optimize policy design. Through this study, we determine the implicit value farmers place on fertilizers as well as other perennial costs associated with obtaining fertilizers, such as travel costs and certainty premia. |
| Keywords: | NEPAL, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, fertilizers, willingness to pay, farmers, productivity, agriculture, agriculture productivity, vouchers, diammonium phosphate (DAP), |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:csispn:13&r=all |
| By: | Ermgassen, Erasmus Klaus Helge Justus zu; Godar, Javier; Lathuillière, Michael J; Löfgren, Pernilla; Vasconcelos, André; Gardner, Toby; Meyfroidt, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Though the international trade in agricultural commodities is worth more than 1.6 trillion USD per year, we still have a poor understanding of the supply chains connecting places of production and consumption and the socio-economic and environmental impacts of this trade. In this study, we provide the first wall-to-wall subnational map of the origin and supply chain of Brazilian meat, offal, and live cattle exports from 2015 to 2017, a trade worth more than 5.4 billion USD/year. Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter, exporting approximately one-fifth of its production, and the sector has a notable environmental footprint, linked to one-fifth of all commodity-driven deforestation across the tropics. By combining official per-shipment trade records, slaughterhouse export licenses, subnational agricultural statistics, and data on the origin of cattle per slaughterhouse, we mapped the flow of cattle from more than 2,900 municipalities where cattle were raised to 152 exporting slaughterhouses where they were slaughtered, via the 202 exporting and 2,630 importing companies handling that trade, and finally to 151 importing countries. We find stark differences in the subnational origin of the sourcing of different actors and link this supply chain mapping to spatially explicit data on cattle-associated deforestation, to estimate the ‘deforestation risk’ (in hectares/year) of each supply chain actor over time. Our results provide an unprecedented insight into the global trade of a deforestation-risk commodity. |
| Date: | 2020–02–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:agrixi:efg6v&r=all |
| By: | Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | Costs of healthy diets are worryingly rising in a number of developed and emerging economies. However, less is known on these costs for developing countries. Using price data from a large number of markets in Ethiopia, we find that real prices of all nutritionally-rich food groups increased significantly (between 19 and 62 percent) over the period 2007 to 2016. This contrasts with (1) staple crops (grains, roots, and tubers), which did not show any price increase, and (2) oils, fats, and sugar, the prices of which decreased substantially. Using detailed nationwide datasets and relying on time series methods, we link these price increases to changes in local markets, demand and supply factors, transaction costs, and international trade. We find that prices of nutritionally-rich food groups – compared to cereals – are relatively less affected by international trade and exchange rate changes but more so by rapidly increasing local and city demand. This rising demand is likely due to recent income growth and rapid urbanization and the high-income elasticities for nutritious foods in Ethiopia. Moreover, we find that local production changes affected prices of nutritious items little, but national price rises were found to have been significantly linked with food price rises in commercial clusters in the country. Changes in transaction costs – fuel and transport costs – explained relatively little of the observed food price changes. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; food prices; retail prices; nutrition; food groups; healthy diets; nutritious foods; econometric analyses; real prices; price trends |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:134&r=all |
| By: | Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD); International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) |
| Abstract: | U.S. foreign agricultural assistance investments bring substantial economic, health, and security benefits to both developing countries and the United States. This report describes the food security investments of the U.S. Agency for International Development and how improving agriculture in developing countries brings positive returns to the United States and developing countries. The multiple benefits of foreign agricultural assistance include growth of agri-food systems of developing countries, and positive impacts on U.S. jobs and exports, technology spillovers that support U.S. agricultural production, health and nutrition of U.S. consumers, and global and U.S. security. |
| Keywords: | UNITED STATES, USA, NORTH AMERICA, AMERICAS, youth, governance, migration, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:synops:p15738coll2133419&r=all |
| By: | Rob Kuijpers |
| Abstract: | Value chain development (VCD) has become a popular policy instrument to help farmers in developing countries access markets. While VCD initiated by the private sector has received much attention in the literature, there is yet little research on public-led VCD. This paper provides a conceptualization of public-led VCD and discusses in what context it can be a relevant policy instrument. As an illustration, the paper then describes the project “SAFAL”, which directly intervenes in the aquaculture, horticulture, and dairy sector of South-West Bangladesh. Using a matched difference-in-difference methodology, it is estimated that SAFAL increased farmers’ output market participation, food production, and smallholder welfare, and reduced the number of days in which participating households were food insecure. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:licosp:649031&r=all |
| By: | Gine,Xavier; Barboza Ribeiro,Bernardo; Valley,Ildrim |
| Abstract: | Input subsidy programs (ISP) often have two conflicting targeting goals: selecting individuals with the highest marginal return to inputs on efficiency grounds, or the poorest individuals on equity grounds, allowing for a secondary market to restore efficiency gains. To study this targeting dilemma, this paper implements a field experiment where beneficiaries of an ISP were selected via a lottery or a local committee. In lottery villages, the study finds evidence of a secondary market as beneficiaries are more likely to sell inputs to non-beneficiaries. In contrast, in non-lottery villages, the study finds evidence of displacement of private fertilizer sales yet no elite capture. The impacts of the ISP on agricultural productivity and welfare are limited, suggesting that resources should be directed at complementary investments, such as improving soil quality and irrigation. |
| Date: | 2019–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9013&r=all |
| By: | Boxho,Claire Elise; Donald,Aletheia Amalia; Goldstein,Markus P.; Montalvao,Joao; Rouanet,Lea Marie |
| Abstract: | This paper documents novel evidence of positive assortative matching in African marriage markets along cognitive and socio-emotional skills, time and risk preferences, and education, using data from rural Mozambique, Cote d'Ivoire, and Malawi. |
| Keywords: | Educational Sciences,Gender and Development,Climate Change and Agriculture,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Telecommunications Infrastructure |
| Date: | 2019–07–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8943&r=all |
| By: | Hoffmann, Vivian; Awonon, Josue; Gelli, Aulo |
| Abstract: | Poultry rearing is widespread in rural Burkina Faso, and contributes to both the food security and cash income of smallholders farmers. The landlocked status of the country, coupled with increasing demand for poultry in urban areas implies an opportunity for significant, pro-poor growth through this sector. We use data from a survey of 1800 poultry producers to characterize smallholder poultry producers and their practices. We find that 88% of households in program areas raised poultry. While access to vaccination services and veterinary medicines at the village level is high, uptake of these services is limited, especially among smaller producers. Fewer women than men own poultry, but most women report that they control the proceeds from sales of their own birds, indicating the potential for development of the poultry sector to generate relatively equitable gains in terms of gender. Access to credit appears to increase women’s poultry ownership, but remains limited, as does women’s access to poultry output markets. |
| Keywords: | BURKINA FASO, WEST AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, poultry farming, poultry, animal production, poverty, women, gender, empowerment, smallholders, ownership, nutrition |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1908&r=all |
| By: | Trako,Iva |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of fertility on parental labor force participation in a developing country in the Balkans, with particular attention to the intervening role of childcare provided by grandparents in extended families. To address the potential endogeneity in the fertility decision, the analysis exploits the Albanian parental preference for having sons combined with the siblings'sex-composition instrument as an exogenous source of variation. Using a repeated cross-section of parents with at least two children, the analysis finds a positive and statistically significant effect of fertility on parental labor supply for parents who are more likely to be younger, less educated, or live in extended families. The IV estimates for mothers show that they increase labor supply, especially hours worked per week and the likelihood of working off-farm. Similarly, fathers'likelihood of working off-farm and having a second occupation increase as a consequence of further childbearing. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that this positive effect might be the result of two plausible mechanisms: childcare provided by non-parental adults in extended families and greater financial costs of maintaining more children. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Educational Sciences,Rural Labor Markets,Demographics |
| Date: | 2019–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8931&r=all |
| By: | Piñeiro, Valeria; Diaz-Bonilla, Eugenio; Paz, Flor; Allen, Summer L. |
| Abstract: | This study presents an economy-wide analysis for Guatemala, considering several tax options on sugar and SSB and then tracing their differentiated general economic effects. We focus on Guatemala, considering the increasing health burden imposed by obesity and the fact that it is also an important sugar producer and exporter. In the next section we describe the general conditions for sugar production and consumption in Guatemala. We then describe the economy-wide model utilized, the modeled scenarios, and finally, the results of the simulations before concluding. |
| Keywords: | GUATEMALA, LATIN AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, sugar, taxes, assessment, exports, food consumption, agricultural production, trade, health, nutrition, food systems, sugar production, consumption indicators, sugar exports, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:lacwps:3&r=all |
| By: | Breisinger, Clemens; Raouf, Mariam; Wiebelt, Manfred |
| Abstract: | In addition to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis and the creation of space for militant groups, the conflict in Yemen is also taking a heavy toll on the economy. According to estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF 2018) together with information on physical damages from the World Bank-led Yemen Dynamic Damage and Needs Assessment (World Bank et al. 2018), the accumulated impact of the conflict from 2015 to 2018 is estimated to be USD47 billion (in 2014 prices), nearly one and a half times total GDP in 2014. The poverty headcount for Yemen is estimated to have increased from 49 percent in 2014 to 77 percent in 2018. The results of economic recovery scenarios run within a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (DCGE) model of the Yemeni economy suggest that unless significant support is provided by the international community for reconstruction, poverty in coming years, even if the conflict ends, will remain high or increase even further. Poverty outcomes of alternative post-conflict transition options range between a national poverty rate of 84 percent in the worst-case scenario of economic stagnation and 50 percent in the best-case scenario that involves the recovery of physical capital, total factor productivity (TFP) growth increases in all sectors, and significant inflows of foreign aid. Under a recovery scenario with lower foreign aid, the poverty headcount is projected to fall, but only modestly. Only under a recovery scenario with high aid inflows are poverty levels projected to be below pre-conflict levels by 2025. |
| Keywords: | YEMEN, ARAB COUNTRIES, MIDDLE EAST, SOUTHWESTERN ASIA, ASIA, agriculture, supply chain, food systems, agrifood systems, poverty, Agriculture Investment for Development Analyzer (AIDA), AIDA model, |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:menapn:3&r=all |
| By: | Tilman Brück (ISDC - International Security and Development Center and Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops); Marco d’Errico (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations); Rebecca Pietrelli (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how conflict affects household resilience capacity and food security, drawing on panel data collected from households in Palestine before and after the 2014 Gaza conflict. During this escalation of violence, the majority of the damages in the Gaza Strip were concentrated close to the Israeli border. Using the distance to the Israeli border to identify the effect of the conflict at the household level through an instrumental variable approach, we find that the food security of households in the Gaza Strip was not directly affected by the conflict. However, household resilience capacity that is necessary to resist food insecurity declined among Gazan households as a result of the conflict. This was mainly due to a reduction of adaptive capacity, driven by the deterioration of income stability and income diversification. However, the conflict actually increased the use of social safety nets (expressed in the form of cash, in-kind or other transfers that were received by the households) and access to basic services (mainly access to sanitation) for the households exposed to the conflict. This finding may be related to the support provided to households in the Gaza Strip by national and international organizations after the end of the conflict. From a policy perspective, the case of the conflict in the Gaza Strip demonstrates that immediate and significant support to victims of conflict can indeed help restore resilience capacity. |
| Keywords: | resilience, food security, conflict, Gaza Strip JEL Classification: D12 - D80 - I12 - I32 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:269&r=all |
| By: | Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Avula, Rasmi; Pant, Anjali; Sarswat, Esha; Mathews, Pratima; Menon, Purnima |
| Abstract: | Appropriate nutrition during early life, coming mainly from adequate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, is essential for optimal growth and development. This Data Note describes the trends and patterns in key IYCF practices and food consumption patterns among children, summarizing state and district data from the third and fourth rounds of National Family Health Surveys (2006 & 2016). |
| Keywords: | INDIA, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, feeding, supplementary feeding, infants, children, child feeding, infant feeding, nutrition, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:poshdn:36&r=all |
| By: | Lee, Janice Ser Huay; Miteva, Daniela A.; Carlson, Kimberly M.; Heilmayr, Robert; Saif, Omar |
| Abstract: | Environmental and social problems triggered by the rapid palm oil expansion in the tropics have spurred the proliferation of sustainability certification standards, which are market-based initiatives intended to ensure commodity production is carried out in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. One such certification scheme, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), aims to mitigate the impact of oil palm production on local communities and ecosystems. While previous work has focused on the environmental impact of RSPO, little is known about its impact on village development and potential trade-offs with environmental goals. To address this gap, we evaluate the impact of RSPO on promoting village development and protecting ecosystems in Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia, the top global oil palm producer. Using observations from 11,000 villages over a period of 11 years, we apply rigorous quasi-experimental methods to quantify impacts along environmental and village development outcomes. We find that relative to noncertified concessions, RSPO resulted in small, often heterogeneous and geographically limited environmental and village infrastructure impacts relative to traditional oil palm concessions. Between environmental and development goals, we identify trade-offs on both islands. While in Kalimantan the impact on population was statistically insignificant, in Sumatra the trade-offs are correlated with a statistically significant decrease in the number of people in the treated villages. By illustrating the heterogeneity of the RSPO impacts, our results have important implications for understanding the mechanisms behind RSPO’s impacts and improving its design. |
| Date: | 2020–02–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:zrwpd&r=all |
| By: | Harris, Patrick |
| Abstract: | This study aims to understand how the macroeconomic and microeconomic indicators influence the export market of beef in Australia as well as the inclusion of a bivariate (0,1) dummy variable, accounting for extreme climate aberrations such as the ‘Millennium Drought’ and the 2017-current drought. Additionally, this study addressed whether there is a delayed effect of the independent variables on Australian beef exports and draw upon neoclassical economic growth theory to assess if this economic paradigm holds in the real world. The paper identified and evaluated the casual factors of Australian beef exports and found there to be a two-quarter lag in bank loans to agriculture and a one-quarter lag in RBA interest rate before their effect was statistically significant. The results explore the various implications that depend on the perspective of the stakeholder, whether that be the farmer or the government. |
| Keywords: | Beef ARDL Econometrics Australian markets |
| JEL: | E4 E43 Q13 Q14 Q17 Q18 |
| Date: | 2020–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:98766&r=all |
| By: | Abate, Gashaw T.; Dereje, Mekdim; Hirvonen, Kalle; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | Remote areas are often characterized by lower welfare outcomes due to economic disadvantages and higher transaction costs for trade. But their worse situation may also be linked to worse public service delivery. Relying on large household surveys in rural Ethiopia, we explore this by assessing the association of two measures of remoteness – (1) the distance of villages and primary service centers to district capitals and (2) the distance of households to service centers (the last mile) – with public service delivery in agriculture and health sectors. In the agriculture sector, we document statistically significant and economically meaningful associations between exposure to agriculture extension and the two measures of remoteness. For health extension, only the last mile matters. These differences between the two sectors could be due to the fact that more remote villages tend to have fewer agriculture extension workers who also put in fewer hours than their peers in more connected areas. This does not apply in the health sector. These findings provide valuable inputs for policymakers aiming to improve inclusiveness in poor rural areas. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; health; public services; geography; rural areas; trade barriers; health services; agricultural extension; remote areas; public service delivery; Q16 Agricultural R&D, Agricultural Technology, Biofuels, Agricultural Extension Services; I18 Health: Government Policy, Regulation, Public Health; J24 Human Capital, Skills, Occupational Choice, Labor Productivity; O15 Economic Development: Human Resources, Human Development, Income Distribution, Migration |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:133&r=all |
| By: | Eliezeri Sungusia (College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture); Jens Friis Lund (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); Christian Pilegaard Hansen (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); Numan Amanzi (College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture; Tanzania Forestry Research Institute); Yonika M. Ngaga (College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture); Gimbage Mbeyale (College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture); Thorsten Treue (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen); Henrik Meilby (Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | Around 20 years ago, Tanzania adopted the policy of participatory forest management (PFM) to create incentives for increasing villagers’ participation in forest management. The timing is thus fitting to reflect on the achievements and challenges of the PFM process so far. There have certainly been successes. Nonetheless, challenges remain. Notably, there is a mismatch between participation ideals and the way the process has been framed, or structured, as well as outcomes on the ground in terms of actual participation and forest management practices. This working paper presents experiences with PFM from a handful of sites across the country, relying on existing published literature as well as our own research experiences. Having been involved in a number of major PFM research projects in Tanzania, we, the authors, have a combined experience of more than 20 years of conducting research in this field. We summarize important findings that explain the observed chasm between participation ideals and local realities and offer some recommendations. While some of our diagnoses and recommendations may contradict conventional wisdom in forestry, we believe that this report contributes valuable insights to the continued efforts to further sustainable forestry in Tanzania. We begin by outlining the global ideals of participatory forestry. We then present an overview of the realities of PFM as they appear in existing research. We do not attempt an exhaustive survey of literature or our own research. Rather, we emphasize issues concerning the framing of PFM as a bureaucratic and scientific project, and how that shapes it in practice. We then present case studies illustrating some of the core problems with PFM before concluding with some general recommendations for improving participatory forestry policy and guidelines. |
| Keywords: | Forestry, Planning, Participation, Inventory, Tenure, CBFM, PFM, Africa, Tanzania |
| JEL: | Q15 Q23 O13 O21 |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:foi:wpaper:2020_02&r=all |
| By: | Baya, Wallace Thoya |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2019–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:302092&r=all |
| By: | Kumar, Anjani; Bathla, Seema; Verma, Smriti |
| Abstract: | Using the decennial All-India Debt and Investment Survey from 1981-82 to 2012-13, this paper delves into the spatial and temporal trends in private fixed capital expenditure and its composition, among rural households in India. We also assess its relationship with public investment in agriculture. Amidst sizeable ups and downs, the magnitude and rate of growth in private investment in agriculture has gained momentum from 2000s except in Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. An increasing preference of farmers to invest in residential land and buildings, and that at the cost of asset formation in farm business, is evident in agriculturally advanced states. Within agriculture, relatively higher investments in land improvement, machinery-implements, tractors, and livestock are identified over the period. Importantly, such investments are positively influenced by public investments in agriculture and irrigation in the high and low income states and also by public spending on input subsidy in the middle and low income states. An increase in public expenditure that is well targeted and is commensurate with farmers’ investment portfolio would reinforce a complementary relation between the two across-the-board. The impact of terms of trade on private investment though positive turns out to be statistically insignificant. Land acts as a constraint, indicating need for policy interventions that augment crop yield and can bring remunerative prices to farmers. A continued effort to improve the outreach of formal financial institutions for credit is warranted for higher private capital formation. |
| Keywords: | INDIA, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, public finance, private farms, capital, agriculture, household, agrifood sector, public expenditure, Q14 Agricultural Finance, Q18 Agricultural Policy, Food Policy |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1905&r=all |
| By: | Mumba, Moses |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2019–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:302073&r=all |
| By: | Thomas, Timothy S.; Dorosh, Paul A.; Robertson, Richard D. |
| Abstract: | We present results of model simulations of maize, wheat, and sorghum yields in Ethiopia through 2085. The analysis draws on climate outcomes from 32 global climate models and an agronomic crop model to estimate effects on the yields of these cereals of expected higher temperatures and, for most of Ethiopia, increased rainfall. The simulation results suggest that climate change will likely have only relatively small effects on average yields of maize, wheat, and sorghum in Ethiopia up to 2055, as agronomic conditions for cultivation of these crops may actually improve in large parts of the country. Nonetheless, yields will need to increase over time to enable cereal production to keep pace with expected demand growth due to increases in population and per capita incomes. Moreover, even if future changes in climate have only moderate impacts on average crop yields in Ethiopia, there is growing evidence that weather outcomes are likely to become more variable in the future, implying that severe droughts and floods may very well have a greater impact on cereal production in the future than in the past. |
| Keywords: | ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; climate change; yields; maize; wheat; sorghum; mathematical models |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:esspwp:130&r=all |
| By: | Tilman Brück (ISDC – International Security and Development Center); Oscar Mauricio DiÌ az BotiÌ a (Paris School of Economics); Neil T. N. Ferguson (ISDC – International Security and Development Center); Jérôme OueÌ draogo (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)); Zacharias Ziegelhöfer (ISDC – International Security and Development Center) |
| Abstract: | A recent strand of aid programming aims to develop household assets by removing the stresses associated with meeting basic nutritional needs. In this paper, we posit that such nutrition- sensitive programmes can reduce malnourishment by encouraging further investment in diet. To test this hypothesis, we study the World Food Programme’s “Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO)†in Niger, a conflict-affected, low income country with entrenched food insecurity. Under the PRRO, a household falls into one of three groups at endline: receiving no assistance; receiving nutrition-specific assistance; or receiving nutrition-specific assistance and nutrition-sensitive food for assets programming. When provided alone, food aid has no nutritional impact, relative to receiving no assistance. However, we observe pronounced positive effects when food aid is paired with assets-based programming. We conclude, first, that certain forms of food aid function well in complex, insecure environments; second, that assets-based programmes deliver positive nutritional spillovers; and, third, that there are theoretical grounds to believe that asset-based nutrition-sensitive programmes interact positively with nutrition-specific programming. |
| Keywords: | Impact evaluation; nutrition; food for assets; food aid; Niger; World Food Programme JEL Classification: CF35, H84, I15 |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:275&r=all |
| By: | Rudolph, M. |
| Abstract: | The West Bank, derived from its position on the western bank of the Jordan River, is the territory that came under Jordanian rule after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and that has been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967. Since this period, access to water in the West Bank has been largely controlled by Israel, with the consequence of severe water insecurities for Palestinians in sensitive areas like the Jordan Valley. This study, based on qualitative interviews conducted in July 2019, analyses how the infrastructure and power relations surrounding water governance have affected water security in the daily lives of Palestinians. It shows that while there are variations with regard to water access in the region, overall Palestinians in the Jordan Valley have serious difficulties in accessing acceptable quantities of water. In addition, they also experience water insecurities in terms of quality, distance and collection time, price and affordability, availability and reliability as well as safety. These water insecurities have had negative impacts on the physical, social and psychological well-being of Palestinians who are facing them. They affect women and girls to an even larger extent due to their productive and reproductive roles, that necessitate access to water (e.g., agricultural work, cleaning, cooking, bathing children) as well as due to their higher physiological water needs in comparison to men and boys, which are partly determined by social norms (e.g., wearing long hair and long clothes). The main obstacle to achieving water security for these people is the political context of the occupation with Israel having hegemonic control over transboundary water re-sources in terms of material, bargaining and ideational power. This is exemplified in the allocations of water resources and the management of water-related infrastructure according to the Oslo II Accord, that disadvantages the Palestinian side. The situation has further been worsened by the fragmented division of tasks related to the planning, regulation and distribution of water resources among the numerous Palestinian water sector actors, with women being rarely included in governance. Palestinians in the area have responded to shortcomings in terms of access to water with an array of flexible and adaptable strategies, such as storing water in tanks or reducing domestic water consumption. These strategies, also referred to as strategies of resilient resistance, as they show elements of both adaptation and resistance to the experienced conditions, are used on a daily basis, often in a combined manner, to improve water access. They are motivated by the connection between Palestinians and the land, which they believe should be protected from Israelis, as well as their lifestyles as farmers and herders. Refusing to submit to the control and ideology of the occupation, Palestinians also adopt the ideological and political strategy of ‘sumud’ (steadfastness) to continue with life despite the difficulties and insecurities they are facing. |
| Keywords: | water insecurities, water governance, hydro-hegemony, Palestinians, Jordan Valley, resistance, resilience, ‘sumud’ |
| Date: | 2020–02–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:euriss:124925&r=all |
| By: | Nguyen Chau, Trinh; Scrimgeour, Frank |
| Abstract: | This analysis investigates economic impacts of climate changes on Vietnam agriculture. The Ricardian approach is applied to ten-year panel data using the Hsiao two-step method. Estimates of the Ricardian model suggest heterogeneous impacts of climate change. Rising temperature is especially harmful to the Northern Central and the Southern region. Shortage of rainfall in spring only causes losses to the Central Highlands and Northern region. Rising summer precipitation is extremely harmful. Increases in precipitation help to harness the benefit of rising autumn temperature. The simulation indicates net agricultural surpluses in the long-run, with the Central Highlands being an exception. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2019–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nzar19:302100&r=all |
| By: | Bluffstone,Randall; LaFave,Daniel; Mekonnen,Alemu; Dissanayake,Sahan; Beyene,Abebe Damte; Gebreegziabher,Zenebe; Toman,Michael A. |
| Abstract: | Improved biomass cookstoves have been promoted as important intermediate technologies to reduce fuelwood consumption and possibly cut household air pollution in low-income countries. This study uses a randomized controlled trial to examine household air pollution reductions from an improved biomass cookstove promoted in rural Ethiopia, the Mirt improved cookstove. This stove is used to bake injera, which is very energy intensive and has a very particular cooking profile. In the overall sample, the Mirt improved cookstove leads to only minor reductions in mean household air pollution (10 percent on average). However, for those who bake injera in their main living areas, the Mirt improved cookstove reduces average mean household air pollution by 64 percent and median household air pollution by 78 percent -- although the resulting household air pollution levels are still many times greater than the World Health Organization's guideline. These large percentage reductions may reflect decreased emissions due to less use of fuelwood, given Mirt's energy-efficient design, and the likelihood that higher-emissions three-stone cooking is moved outside the main living area once a Mirt improved cookstove is installed. Households in the subsample who experience a greater decline in household air pollution tend to be less wealthy and more remotely located and burn less-preferred biomass fuels, like agricultural waste and animal dung, than households that cook in a separate area. |
| Keywords: | Health Care Services Industry,Energy Demand,Energy and Mining,Energy and Environment,Pollution Management&Control,Air Quality&Clean Air,Brown Issues and Health,Global Environment,Disease Control&Prevention |
| Date: | 2019–06–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8930&r=all |
| By: | Bjorn Van Campenhout; Bart Minten; Jo Swinnen |
| Abstract: | Driven by increased demand from both local and export markets and fa- cilitated by far-reaching liberalization and privatization policies, the dairy sub-sector in Uganda has undergone significant changes in the last decade. With a comparative advantage in milk production, the southwest of Uganda has started to attract considerable Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) in processing capacity, mainly targeting the export market. As a result, processing capacity increased five-fold and dairy became Uganda’s third most important export product, coming from negligible amounts a decade earlier. In this study, we use observational data collected at different nodes within the value chain to compare the structure of the chain and the roles and economic activities of different actors between export-led value chains and value chains that cater for the local market. Doing so allows us to identify the technological and institutional innovations that both result from the emergence of export-led dairy value chains and at the same time drive further upgrading. Our analysis underscores the importance of milk collection centers, which often take the form of farmer cooperatives, in providing many of the support services that enable other actors in the value chain to produce sufficient milk, and maintain milk sanitation levels necessary for an export sector to emerge. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:licosp:649037&r=all |
| By: | Pahl,Stefan; Timmer,Marcel Peter; Gouma,Reitze; Woltjer,Pieter J. |
| Abstract: | What is the potential for job growth in Africa under participation in global value chains (GVCs)? In this study the concept of GVC jobs is introduced which tracks the number of jobs associated with GVC production of goods. A novel decomposition approach is used to account for GVC jobs by three proximate sources: global demand for final goods, a country's GVC competitiveness (measured as the country's share in serving global demand) and technology (workers needed per unit of output). Based on newly assembled data, it is shown how GVC jobs and incomes have changed over the period 2000-14 in Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa, compared to developments in some other low- and middle-income countries in the world. The four African countries stand out in terms of a low share of GVC jobs in the (formal) manufacturing sector, and a relatively high share in agriculture due to strong backward linkages, especially in the case of food production. All countries benefitted highly from growing global demand for final goods. At the same time it appears that technical change in GVCs is biased against the use of labour, greatly diminishing the potential for job growth through GVC participation. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Food&Beverage Industry,Plastics&Rubber Industry,Business Cycles and Stabilization Policies,Textiles, Apparel&Leather Industry,Pulp&Paper Industry,Common Carriers Industry,Construction Industry,General Manufacturing,International Trade and Trade Rules,Industrial and Consumer Services and Products,Transport and Trade Logistics |
| Date: | 2019–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8953&r=all |
| By: | Weshah Razzak (School of Economics and Finance, Massey University, Palmerston North); El Mostafa Bentour (University of Grenoble Alpes, France) |
| Abstract: | We depart from the empirical literature on testing the finance led growth. Instead of regression analysis, we use a semi-endogenous growth model, which identifies two productivity growth paths: a steady state and a transitional path. Steady state growth is anchored by populationgrowth. In the transitional dynamic, productivity growth depends on the typical factors growth rates, and excess knowledge, which is the deviation of TFP in the financial sector from steady state growth. TFP is endogenous. It is an increasing function of global research efforts, which is driven by the proportion of population in developed countries that is engaged in research in finance, and the stock of human capital. We find positive evidence for this theory of TFP in the data of ten developed European countries and the United States. We also found some evidence for finance-led-growth, albeit weaker after the past Global Financial Crisis. |
| Keywords: | Semi endogenous growth, finance, productivity growth |
| JEL: | O40 E10 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mas:dpaper:2001&r=all |