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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2022‒01‒17
thirty papers chosen by |
| By: | Oyinbo, Oyakhilome |
| Abstract: | Agricultural intensification associated with increased use of external inputs, such as inorganic fertilizer is widely considered relevant to improving farm income and welfare of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The emphasis on increased use of inorganic fertilizer will likely be associated with increased greenhouse gas emissions, especially nitrous oxide, as with the Asian Green Revolution. Yet, traditional agricultural extension systems typically provide generalized ‘blanket’ fertilizer recommendations that are not tailored to the plot-specific growing conditions of individual farmers, which could lead to negative environmental externalities. Within this context, a digital nutrient management decision support tool ‘Nutrient Expert’ has been co-developed in Nigeria to enable the extension system to transition from provision of generalized to plot-specific fertilizer recommendations. Using a three-year randomized controlled trial in northern Nigeria, this paper analyses the impact of farmers’ access to site-specific nutrient management recommendations, provided through the Nutrient Expert tool on environmental sustainability of maize intensification. The primary outcome of interest is global warming potential (greenhouse gas emission per unit maize yield), measured using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Tier 1 method. The preliminary results show that the provision of tailored recommendations to the treatment group led to a reduction in global warming potential compared with the control group, who were exposed to blanket recommendations. However, the observed effect size is small, and the effect is not statistically significant at the conventional significance levels. A plausible reason could be due to the on average, low fertilizer application rates in the study area compared with the often cited over application of fertilizer in most parts of Asia. Overall,this paper finds weak evidence of the causal effects of farmer-tailored nutrient management extension advice on mitigating the environmental impacts of fertilizer intensification under farmers’ conditions and management in maize-based farming systems of northern Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaewp:316602&r= |
| By: | Adewuyi, K. A.; Offar, G. |
| Abstract: | There is a growing concern in many developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa on the harmful effects of synthetic herbicide usage on the agro-ecology as well as food crop production. Therefore, this study focused on analysing the factors that influence the adoption of Bio-herbicide Technology as an alternative to the chemical herbicides used by rural farmers in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 330 small-holder farmers in the study area using structured questionnaires. The data obtained were analysed using Probit Regression Model. The results of Probit Regression identified the farmers age, educational status, farm-size, access to extension services, farming experience and membership in cooperative society as the factors which influenced adoption of the Bio-herbicide Technology by farmers in the study area. It was recommended that awareness campaign on the new Bio-herbicide Technology among farmers in the area should be intensified. The farmers access to education and extension services should be improved to enhance adoption of Bio-herbicides technology which will impact significantly on the food production in the area. Also, farmers should be encouraged to be part of cooperative societies as a way to improving the adoption of Bio-herbicides for increased productivity. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepa:316597&r= |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | The products and the variety of direct and indirect benefits that humans receive from nature and the various ecosystems (agricultural, forest, grass, mountain, river, marine, etc.) are commonly known as ecosystem services. Agricultural ecosystems of different types and their specific “agro-ecosystem” services are among the most widespread in the world. In recent years increasing attention is given to the system of (“good”) governance as a key to achieving public, collective, corporate, and private goals in relation to conservation and improvement of (agro)ecosystem services. Nevertheless, in Bulgaria, like in many other countries, there are few studies on the amount and importance of agro-ecosystem services, and the specific mechanisms, modes, factors, and efficiency of their management. This chapter tries to fill the gap and presents the results of a large-scale study on the structure and governance of diverse ecosystem services of Bulgarian farms. Firstly, it identifies the type, amount, and importance of various (provisional, economic, recreational, aesthetic, cultural, educational, supporting, water and air purification, biodiversity preservation, climate regulation, etc.) ecosystem services maintained and “produced” by the Bulgarian farms of different juridical type, size, specialization, and location. The study has found out that country’s farms provide a great number of essential ecosystem services among which provisioning food and feed, and conservation of elements of the natural environment prevail. Secondly, it identifies and assesses the efficiency and complementarities of specific modes and mechanisms of governance of ecosystem services used by the Bulgarian farms. The study had found out that a great variety of private, market, collective, public and hybrid modes of governance of farm activity related to agroecosystem services are applied. There is significant differentiation of employed managerial forms depending on the type of ecosystem services and the specialization of agricultural holdings. Furthermore, the management of agroecosystem services is associated with a considerable increase in the production and transaction costs of participating farms as well as big socio-economic and environmental effects for agricultural holdings and other parties. The factors that mostly stimulate the activity of Bulgarian agricultural producers for protection of (agro)ecosystems and their services are participation in public support programs, access to farmers' advice, professional training, available information, and innovation received direct subsidies from EU and national government, personal conviction and satisfaction, positive experience of others, long-term and immediate benefits for the farm, and integration with suppliers, buyers, and processors. The suggested holistic and interdisciplinary framework for analyzing the system of management of agro-ecosystem services is to be further extended and improved, and more widely and periodically applied in the future. The latter requires systematic in-depth multidisciplinary research in this new area, as well as the collection of original micro- and macro information on ecosystem survives, and forms, efficiency, and factors of their management. The accuracy of analyzes is to be improved by increasing representativeness through enlarging the number of surveyed farms and related agents, applying statistical methods, special "training" of participants, etc. as well as improving the official system for collecting agricultural, agro-economic, and agri-environmental information in the country. |
| Keywords: | ecosystem services, agriculture, type, amount, governance, importance, Bulgaria |
| JEL: | Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q18 Q2 Q3 Q5 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110966&r= |
| By: | Helene Gomes; Luc Doyen; Fabian Blanchard; Adrien Lagarde |
| Abstract: | Marine ecosystems, biodiversity and fisheries are under pressure worldwide because of global changes including climate warming and demographic pressure. In that regard, many scientists and stakeholders advocate ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM). But how such EBFM can be operationalized in ecological-economic terms remains unclear. To address such issues, we propose a model of intermediate complexity (MICE) relying on multi-species, resource-based and multi-fleet dynamics, also taking climate effects into account. The model is calibrated for the small-scale coastal fishery in French Guiana. From the calibrated model, we compare different fishing species in terms of sustainability through to 2070, including a predictive strategy and the normative strategies entitled Multi-species Maximum Sustainable Yield, Multi-species Maximum Economic Yield and Ecoviability. The sustainability assessment of fishing strategies relies here on profitability, food security and biodiversity constraints to be fulfilled over time. The results point overall to the long-term detrimental impact of climate change. The prognosis is particularly catastrophic under the most pessimistic climate scenario (RCP 8.5), with a potential collapse of both biomass of targeted species and fishing activity by 2070, regardless of the fishing strategies. However, under the optimistic scenario (RCP 2.6), our results demonstrate the interest of Ecoviability strategies in order to ensure sustainability and ecosystem-based management of fisheries. Such EVA strategies require a major reallocation of the fleets operating in the fishery. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability; Eco-viability; Climate Change; Ecosystem-based fishery management; Marine biodiversity |
| JEL: | Q22 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:bdxewp:2021-24&r= |
| By: | Tasso Adamopoulos; Loren Brandt; Chaoran Chen; Diego Restuccia; Xiaoyun Wei |
| Abstract: | Developing countries are characterized by frictions that impede the mobility of workers across occupations and space. We disentangle the role of insecure property rights from other labor mobility frictions for the reallocation of labor from agriculture to non-agriculture and from rural to urban areas. We combine rich household and individual-level panel data from China and an equilibrium quantitative framework that features the sorting of workers across locations and occupations. We explicitly model the farming household and the endogenous decisions of who operates the family farm and who potentially migrates, capturing an additional channel of selection within the household. We find that land insecurity has substantial negative effects on agricultural productivity and structural change, raising the share of households operating farms by almost 30 percentage points and depressing agricultural productivity by more than 10 percent. Quantitatively, land insecurity is as important as all other labor mobility frictions. We measure a sharp reduction in overall labor mobility barriers over 2004-2018 in the Chinese economy, all of which can be accounted for by improved land security, consistent with reforms covering rural land in China during the period. |
| Keywords: | land, labor mobility, agriculture, misallocation, household, productivity, China. |
| JEL: | O11 O14 O4 E02 Q1 |
| Date: | 2022–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-717&r= |
| By: | Rabi Mohtar |
| Abstract: | Addressing the increasing demands for water, energy, and food requires a coherent methodology to ensure that societies have access to them and that conflict over them is avoided. For example, agriculture and food production require water and energy; energy production also requires water and, in some instances, agricultural products. Water distribution and treatment can be very energy intensive. Therefore, the benefits of approaching the Water- Energy-Food (WEF) nexus in an integrated way are gaining popularity. The public sector, the private sector, civil society, combined with the geopolitical and socio-economic-climatic environment are all interactors that form a complex web in the management of these fundamental resources. The MENA region relies heavily on international trade to ensure national food and nutrition securities and, with world crises and changing global landscapes, this has created a concern among nations as to whether it is sustainable or focusing on creating greater food selfsufficiency is a better alternative. This policy brief illustrates the use of computer decision support systems (DSS) to aid in the underst |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:ppaper:pb52-21&r= |
| By: | Thomas Cherico Wanger; Francis Dennig; Manuel Toledo-Hern\'andez; Teja Tscharntke; Eric F. Lambin |
| Abstract: | Production of cocoa, the third largest trade commodity globally has experienced climate related yield stagnation since 2016, forcing farmers to expand production in forested habitats and to shift from nature friendly agroforestry systems to intensive monocultures. The goal for future large-scale cocoa production combines high yields with biodiversity friendly management into a climate adapted smart agroforestry system (SAS). As pollination limitation is a key driver of global production, we use data of more than 150,000 cocoa farms and results of hand pollination experiments to show that manually enhancing cocoa pollination (hereafter manual pollination) can produce SAS. Manual pollination can triple farm yields and double farmers annual profit in the major producer countries Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Indonesia, and can increase global cocoa supplies by up to 13%. We propose a win win scenario to mitigate negative long term price and socioeconomic effects, whereby manual pollination compensates only for yield losses resulting from climate and disease related decreases in production area and conversion of monocultures into agroforestry systems. Our results highlight that yields in biodiversity friendly and climate adapted SAS can be similar to yields currently only achieved in monocultures. Adoption of manual pollination could be achieved through wider implementation of ecocertification standards, carbon markets, and zero deforestation pledges. |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2112.02877&r= |
| By: | Li, Zhiyun; Ortiz-Bobea, Ariel |
| Abstract: | A growing empirical literature is analyzing the effects of weather fluctuations on a variety of economic outcomes with the goal of better understanding the potential impacts of climate change. In agricultural studies, constructing weather variables typically requires researchers to define a “season”, a time period over which weather conditions are considered relevant to the agricultural outcome of interest. While researchers often have the background knowledge to make reasonable assumptions about seasonality in crop-specific analyses, these modeling choices are less obvious when dealing with aggregate agricultural data encompassing multiple crops or livestock. In this article, we explore the consequences of assuming an incorrect season in such analyses. We first provide a conceptual framework to show that imposing an incorrect season essentially introduces non-classical measurement error in weather regressors, causing unknown biases in weather impacts. We confirm this finding in simulations. We then propose a tractable data-driven approach to recover the “true” underlying season. The approach consists of a grid search with cross-validation that evaluates the fit of models based on a wide range of season definitions. In simulations, we find the approach is effective at recovering the “true” season under certain data generating processes. Finally, we apply our approach to a US state-level panel of agricultural Total Factor Productivity. We find, unsurprisingly, considerable differences in seasonality across regions. Importantly, our empirical findings suggest that imposing arbitrary seasons lead to substantially different estimates of weather effects in either direction, in line with our theoretical and simulated results. This work contributes to the development of more robust empirical studies of climate change impacts on agriculture and beyond. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa22:316528&r= |
| By: | Elodie Letort (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Fanny Le Gloux (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Pierre Dupraz (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Date: | 2021–06–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03338439&r= |
| By: | Fanny Le Gloux (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Marie Laporte (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Sabine Duvaleix (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Pierre Dupraz (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Elodie Letort (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Date: | 2021–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03338454&r= |
| By: | Rosenberg, Andrew B.; Pratt, Bryan; Arnold, David |
| Abstract: | The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the largest agricultural land retirement program in the United States, with the General Signup competitive auction accounting for about one-half of enrolled acreage. In this study, we assess the land use impacts of the CRP, identifying the land uses that could have been retired had rejected offers in the 2016 General Signup instead been accepted. We also compare information from proposed offers with land use decisions after offers were rejected to determine the costs that the program would have to pay to avoid these land uses. In the immediate years after the Signup that we examine, 47 percent of acreage in fields with a rejected offer was planted in crops for grain, while 14 percent was planted in crops for forage, and 10 percent was used for grazing. We find that the fraction of land in each use is relatively consistent across a range of Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) scores. Further, we find that the cost effectiveness of retiring grain and other productive agricultural uses is relatively constant across a large range of EBI scores but is lower for the lowest scoring offers. Finally, we find that program land use impacts vary significantly across states and depend on prior enrollment status. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa22:316533&r= |
| By: | Behrendt, Karl; Paparas, Dimitrios |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaewp:316594&r= |
| By: | Schmidt, Lorenz; Odening, Martin; Ritter, Matthias |
| Abstract: | Weather is a pivotal factor for crop production as it is highly volatile and can hardly be controlled by farm management practices. Since there is a tendency towards increased weather extremes in the future, understanding the weather-related yield factors becomes increasingly important not only for yield prediction, but also for the design of insurance products that mitigate financial losses for farmers, but suffer from considerable basis risk. In this study, an artificial neural network is set up and calibrated to a rich set of farm-level yield data in Germany covering the period from 2003 to 2018. A nonlinear regression model, which uses rainfall, temperature, and soil moisture as explanatory variables for yield deviations, serves as a benchmark. The empirical application reveals that the gain in forecasting precision by using machine learning techniques compared with traditional estimation approaches is substantial and that the use of regionalized models and disaggregated high-resolution weather data improve the performance of artificial neural networks. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepa:316598&r= |
| By: | Roberto Esposti (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali - Universita' Politecnica delle Marche) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the non-monetary motivations of farmers' adoption of agro-environmental policies. Unlike the monetary (income) motivations, non-monetary drivers can not be directly observed but can be identified from observational data within appropriate quasiexperimental designs. A theoretical justification of farmers' choices is firstly formulated and a consequent natural experiment setting is derived. This latter admits heterogeneous, i.e. Individual, Treatment Effects (ITE) that, in turn, can be interpreted in terms of more targeted and tailored policy expenditure. A Causal Forest (CF) approach is adopted to estimate these ITEs for both the treated and not treated units. The approach is applied to two balanced panel samples of Italian FADN farms observed over the 2008-2018 period. Results show how heterogeneous the farmers' response and the associated non-monetary motivations can be, thus pointing to space for a more efficient policy design. |
| Keywords: | Agro-Environmental Policy, Common Agricultural Policy, Behavioural Motivations, Individual Treatment Effects, Causal Forests. |
| JEL: | C21 Q15 Q51 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:459&r= |
| By: | Djouak, Amar; Ceria, Clarisse |
| Abstract: | Long criticized, pluriactivity is now perceived as an alternative agricultural strategy and it is becoming a subject of support policies in certain territories. But having an off-farm professional activity can generate significant work overload and organisational problems that might be complicated to manage in the long term. This study focuses on pluriactivity as a dynamic strategy that evolves over time due to family circumstances and job opportunities. We differentiate the initial project of pluriactivity and the strategies farmers use in order to manage overwork. We use an original qualitative approach and 28 interviews of pluriactive farmers in “Nord Pas de Calais” (NPdC), region located in northern France. We find that even if the main motivations of pluriactivity are patrimonial and economic, the initial projects of pluriactivity vary a lot, for some farmers pluriactivity is a patrimonial investment or passion for farming project but for others pluriactivity is intended to be a short-run strategy until the farms gets bigger and more profitable. Then farmers develop different strategies that lead to develop the farm or they reduce farm activities because they cannot give more time to the farm. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaepa:316600&r= |
| By: | Singh, Dheeraj; Chaudhary, M.K.; Kumar, Chandan; Kudi, B.R.; Dudi, Aishwarya |
| Abstract: | Henna (Lawsonia inermis L.), is a perennial shrub dominating the agro-ecosystem of Pali district of Rajasthan, India, which is priced for its leaves which have natural dying properties. From ancient times, Henna has been employed as a cosmetic dye for hair, skin and nails and it has acquired a particular significance in Islamic culture. It is dryland shrub which can tolerate extreme dry and high temperature conditions and survives well on problematic soils with high pH and saline water where other crops cannot be grown. The development of Henna cultivation and processing in Pali, Rajasthan, is a blend of indigenous knowledge and people's innovations. Presently Henna cultivation in the region is under 40,000 hectares which is the largest area under this crop at single location and it is purely rainfed with no use of fertilizers or pesticides. In this crop generally, no fertilizers and plant protection measures are used and a single leaf cutting is taken every year under the rainfed conditions and two cuttings where water is available. Under rainfed conditions for a dense planting the dried leaf yield in the first year is about 250 kg ha-1 while over the second, third and fourth years the yield normally ranges from 500 to 2,500 kg ha-1. The crop starts generating returns from its second year onwards, which continues for 20 years while incurring only maintenance costs in the form of hoeing, weeding and harvesting. By following these measures, on average they produce 15-20 quintal dry Henna leaves ha-1 from their barren fields. The financial analysis indicated that Henna farming due to its high quality at Pali is a profitable and attractive option for farmers livelihoods. Sustainable income from Henna benefits the farmers of the district as it can tolerate high salinity, drought and incidences of pest and diseases. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaewp:316599&r= |
| By: | Beatriz Manotas-Hidalgo (Universidad Publica de Navarra) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how the pollution generated by oil operations in Nigeria can affect agricultural total factor productivity. I analyze oil spills, which are the main ecological disaster in Nigeria and lead to major environmental, economic, and social problems. Following a consumer-producer household framework, and applying a difference-and-difference approach, I estimate an agricultural production function. I find that farmers located less than 10 kilometers from oil spills suffer a relative reduction in agricultural output of around 2.73%. I also examine alternative mechanisms and find that oil-spill pollution can explain my results. I detect less owner-occupied land and a drop in labor income in urban areas close to oil spills, which could also be explained by a decrease in the labor productivity component. This study highlights an externality through which the oil industry affects living conditions in rural areas and stresses the importance of clean-up in areas close to oil spills. |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nav:ecupna:2109&r= |
| By: | Morgan, Stephen; Arita, Shawn; Beckman, Jayson; Ahsan, Saquib; Russell, Dylan; Jarrell, Philip; Kenner, Bart |
| Abstract: | In 2018, the United States imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from major trading partners and separately Section 301 tariffs on a broad range of imports from China. In response to these actions, six trading partners—Canada, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, and Turkey—responded with retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. exports, including agricultural and food products. The agricultural products targeted for retaliation were valued at $30.4 billion in 2017, with individual product lines experiencing tariff increases ranging from 2 to 140 percent. This report provides a detailed look at the impact of retaliatory tariffs on farmers at the State level by estimating the direct export losses associated with the trade conflict. Using the product-line econometric estimates from Grant et al. (2021) and the USDA, Economic Research Service’s State Exports, Cash Receipts Estimates, this report comprehensively assesses the direct effect of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports to these retaliating trading partners across States and commodities. From mid-2018 to the end of 2019, this study estimates that retaliatory tariffs caused a reduction of more than $27 billion (or annualized losses of $13.2 billion) in U.S. agricultural exports, with the largest decline in export losses occurring for exports to China. At the commodity level, soybeans accounted for the predominant share of total trade loss, making up nearly 71 percent ($9.4 billion of annualized losses) of the total, followed by sorghum (over 6 percent or $854 million in annualized losses), and pork (nearly 5 percent or $646 million in annualized losses). At the State level, losses were largely concentrated in the Midwest with Iowa ($1.46 billion in annualized losses), Illinois ($1.41 billion in annualized losses), and Kansas ($955 million in annualized losses), accounting for approximately 11, 11, and 7 percent, respectively, of the total losses. For soybeans, most of the trade lost by the United States was gained by Brazil. In 2020, U.S. agricultural exports to China significantly rebounded following the signing of the U.S.-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement (Phase One Agreement) and a separate retaliatory tariff waiver program; however, 1 year after the deal, U.S. market share still remained below pre-retaliatory tariff levels. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy |
| Date: | 2022–01–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:usdami:316892&r= |
| By: | Elodie Letort (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Fanny Le Gloux (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Pierre Dupraz (SMART-LERECO - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Date: | 2021–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03338416&r= |
| By: | Olatunji A. Shobande (University of Aberdeen, UK); Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | Purpose – This paper provides an analysis of the energy-carbon Kuznets curve hypothesis (CKC) using a second-generation panel methodology. Design/methodology/approach – Specifically, we investigate whether energy consumption, natural resources, and governance explain the CKC proposition. Our empirical strategy is based on the Westerlund panel cointegration test, augmented mean group (AMG), and vector autoregressive (VAR) panel Granger-causality tests. Findings – The results suggest that the CKC hypothesis is incomplete without these mechanisms, as they play a critical role in reducing carbon emissions in Africa. We recommend improving the environmental standards and proper regulatory and monitoring systems to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable development in the continent. Originality/value –The study revisits the CKC hypothesis with particular emphasis on governance and more robust empirical estimation techniques. |
| Keywords: | carbon cuts; Energy consumption; Governance; Climate crisis; Panel analysis; Africa |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:21/069&r= |
| By: | Al-Amin, A.K.M. Abdullah; Lowenberg-DeBoer, James; Franklin, Kit; Behrendt, Karl |
| Abstract: | Research shows that smaller field size favours biodiversity and it is hypothesized that autonomous arable crop equipment would make it possible to farm small fields profitably. To test this hypothesis algorithms were developed for machine time over a range of field sizes. The Hands Free Hectare (HFH) linear programming model was used to assess the economic implications of field sizes. The study considered rectangular fields in the West Midlands from 1 to 100 ha farmed with tractor sizes of 38 hp, 150 hp and 296 hp. Results showed that field times (hours/hectare) were longer for small fields with equipment of all sizes and types, but field size had the least impact for small equipment. The results showed that autonomous equipment reduces costs on farms with fields of all sizes. If temporary labour is available, conventional farms with small fields use the smaller equipment, but the extra hiring increases wheat production costs by £30-£40/ton over costs on farms with autonomous equipment. The larger 150 hp and 296 hp tractors were not profitable on the farms with small fields. The economic viability of autonomous equipment irrespective of field sizes shows that it could facilitate biodiversity gains and environment schemes, such as Environmental land management schemes (ELMS) in the United Kingdom and Agri-environment schemes (AES) in the European Union and elsewhere. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaewp:316595&r= |
| By: | Funke, Franziska; Mattauch, Linus; van den Bijgaart, Inge; Godfray, Charles; Hepburn, Cameron; Klenert, David; Springmann, Marco; Treich, Nicholas |
| Abstract: | Livestock is known to play a significant role in climate change and to negatively impact global nitrogen cycles and biodiversity. However, economically efficient policies for regulating meat production and consumption are under-researched. In the absence of first-best policy instruments for the livestock sector, second-best consumption taxes on meat can address multiple environmental externalities simultaneously, while improving diet-related public health. Here, we review the empirical basis for the 'social costs of meat' and study rationales for regulatory efforts to tax meat in high-income countries from the perspective of public, behavioural and welfare economics: (i) multiple environmental externalities, (ii) adverse effects on one's own health, (iii) animal welfare, (iv) learning curves for 'alternative protein technologies', and (v) distributional effects. We conclude that meat is significantly underpriced and provide preliminary estimates of the environmental social costs associated with meat consumption. We identify several directions for future research towards optimal meat taxation. |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2022-01&r= |
| By: | Simplice A. Asongu (Yaounde, Cameroon); Raufhon Salahodjaev (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) |
| Abstract: | This study explores the empowerment of women in politics on the environmental sustainability. Using data for the period 2015-2019 from 179 countries, we investigate the link between representation of women in parliament and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). To explore the causal effect, we rely on gender quotas, language intensity and land suitability for agriculture as instruments for the share of women in parliament. Our results suggest that 10 percentage points increase in instrumented proportion of women in parliament leads to 7.1 points increase in the EPI. The results remain robust to a number of robustness checks. |
| Keywords: | environmental performance, women in parliament |
| JEL: | Q50 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exs:wpaper:22/001&r= |
| By: | Xu, Yuelu; Elbakidze, Levan; Etienne, Xiaoli |
| Abstract: | The rapid development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) has raised public concerns about its land use and competition with agriculture. Using county-level data from 1997 to 2018, we find that on average, UOG development negatively affected crop acreage in the contiguous U.S. However, there exists significant regional heterogeneity. The relationship is positive in Southwestern region, U-shaped in Great Plains, and negative in Appalachia. There is significant difference in crop acreage between counties with and without UOG after 2008 in the contiguous U.S. and Great Plains. The reduction in crop acreage after 2008 was highest in Great Plains. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa22:316536&r= |
| By: | Isabelle Tsakok |
| Abstract: | Venezuela has hurtled from crisis to crisis since the 1980s oil glut. Time and again, successive governments, whether Democratic or Bolivarian Socialist have failed to utilize Venezuela’s plentiful oil revenues to build a stable, competitive, diversified, and inclusive economy, with sustainable food security for all. Years of ‘feast’ have alternated with years of ‘famine’ for decades. It is feared that, at the dawn of 2021, Venezuelans are literally in the grip of a looming famine. No end to this tragedy is in sight. What are the root causes of this still unfolding tragedy? There are many views on this, but this paper focuses on only one of Venezuela’s many tragedies: the inability of a well- endowed country to strengthen the agriculture and the food security of all its people in a sustainable way. Venezuela’s great asset—its enormous oil wealth—has turned out to be a persistent liability—the inability of successive governments to translate this abundant resource into sustainable and substantial investment in agriculture and other non-oil sectors to develop a diversified and inclusive economy within a stable price and macro-economic framework. It has remained an oil-dominated, inequitable, and unstable economy for decades, irrespective of the political and economic philosophy of the prevailing government. The development of agriculture has been undermined by the Dutch disease, exacerbated by policies that neglected (i) technology transfer; (ii) market access; and (iii) security of land tenure and usufruct rights for the majority of smallholders in a highly dualistic agrarian structure. Despite short term attempts to reverse the negative impacts of the Dutch disease, these turned out to be too little too late. More generally, government policies have swung from the extreme right—the neo-liberalism of price decontrol and privatization—to the extreme left—centralized control of prices and markets promoting a ‘Bolivarian Socialist’ agenda. Both extremes have relied heavily on welfare schemes generously funded by oil revenues. Neither extremes have worked. Add to these the seemingly intractable governance problems of corruption, non-accountable public administration, and recurrent coups. The onslaught of COVID-19 in early 2020 turned a dire food security situation into a desperate one. It is hard to see much sign of resilience in an exhausted nation, although the sheer will to survive the direst circumstances has always been the inherent resilience of humankind. |
| Date: | 2021–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:ppaper:pb11-21&r= |
| By: | Du, Qianqian; Mieno, Taro; Bullock, David; Edge, Brittani |
| Abstract: | A methodology is introduced that combines data from on-farm precision experimentation (OFPE) with remotely sensed vegetative index (VI) data to derive site-specific economically optimal side-dressing N rates (EONRs). An OFPE was conducted on a central Illinois field in the 2019 corn growing season; the trial design targeted six side-dressing N rates ranging from 0 and 177 kg ha-1 on field plots, and yields were recorded at harvest using a standard GPS-linked yield monitor. NDRE values were calculated from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery during the V10 to V12 corn growth stages of the experiment’s crop. After partitioning the field by NDRE quartile, economically N side-dressing rates were calculated after estimating each quartile’s yield response function. Consistent with agronomic expectations, results showed that the parts of the field with lower NDRE values had higher yield; but the impact of increasing NDRE levels on the side-dressing rate’s marginal product and EONR was not monotonic. Simulations predicted that compared to the side-dressing strategy the farmer would have implemented if not participating in the OFPE, net revenues could have been increased by $54 ha-1 by using the methodology presented, suggesting high potential value of combining OFPE and VI data. A key advantage of the proposed methodology is that the data’s inference space is the field to be managed. Further study is needed to improve the featured methodology. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:haaewp:316596&r= |
| By: | Peter Asare-Nuamah (UESD, Somanya, Ghana); Anthony Amoah (UESD, Somanya, Ghana); Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | This study complements the extant literature by assessing the role of governance dynamics in food security in Ghana for the period 1980-2019. The empirical evidence is based on the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) technique and governance is categorized into: political (entailing political stability and voice & accountability), economic (consisting of regulatory quality and government effectiveness) and institutional (entailing corruption-control and the rule of law) governance dynamics. The study finds that the engaged governance dynamics improve food security in Ghana. Policy implications are discussed with specific emphasis on the sustainable development goals. |
| Keywords: | Governance; Vulnerability; Food security; Sustainable development |
| JEL: | I38 Q12 R20 O20 O55 |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:21/090&r= |
| By: | François Libois (Paris School of Economics and INRAE, France); Jean-Marie Baland; Nicolas Delbart; Subhrendu Pattanayak |
| Abstract: | Since 1993, Nepal implemented one of the most ambitious and comprehensive program of decentralization of forest management in the world, widely considered as a success story in terms of participatory management of natural resources. Using quasi-experimental methods, we first quantify the net gains in tree cover related to the program in the Hills and Mountains of Nepal and describe their temporal evolution. We then discuss the mechanisms driving forest restoration, highlighting that while community forestry played a role in increasing forest biomass and forest size, it also reduced demand pressures by altering energy choices. |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nam:defipp:2106&r= |
| By: | Luis Fernando Melo-Velandia; Camilo Andrés Orozco-Vanegas; Daniel Parra-Amado |
| Abstract: | Given the importance of climate change and the increase of its severity under extreme weather events, we analyze the main drivers of high food prices in Colombia between 1985 and 2020 focusing on extreme weather shocks like a strong El Ni˜ño. We estimate a non-stationary extreme value model for Colombian food prices. Our findings suggest that perishable foods are more exposed to extreme weather conditions in comparison to processed foods. In fact, an extremely low precipitation level explains only high prices in perishable foods. The risk of high perishable food prices is significantly larger for low rainfall levels (dry seasons) compared to high precipitation levels (rainy seasons). This risk gradually results in higher perishable food prices. It is non linear and is also significantly larger than the risk related to changes in the US dollar-Colombian peso exchange rate and fuel prices. Those covariates also explain high prices for both perishable and processed foods. Finally, we find that the events associated with the strongest El Ni˜ño in 1988 and 2016 are expected to reoccur once every 50 years. **** RESUMEN: Dada la importancia del cambio climático y su impacto sobre la ocurrencia de eventos climáticos extremos, se analizan los principales determinantes que explican altos precios de alimentos en Colombia entre 1985 y 2020 haciendo énfasis sobre los choques extremos climáticos como por ejemplo un fenómeno de El Ni˜ño fuerte. Se estima un modelo no estacionario de valores extremos para los precios de alimentos en Colombia y se encuentra evidencia que sugiere que aquellos bienes perecederos son los más expuestos a las condiciones climáticas en comparación con bienes de alimentos procesados. El riesgo asociado a altos precios de alimentos perecederos es significativamente más elevado para bajos niveles de precipitación (temporadas secas) comparados con altos niveles de precipitación (temporada de lluvias). Este riesgo del clima explica en buena parte los altos precios de perecederos el cual no es lineal. Adicionalmente, el riesgo asociado al factor climático es significativamente más alto a aquellos otros determinantes de altos precios como lo son la tasa de cambio peso-dólar y la dinámica de los precios de combustibles. Estas variables también explican altos precios de los alimentos tanto procesados como perecederos. Finalmente, se encuentra evidencia que sugiere que eventos como El Ni˜ño fuerte observados en 1988 y 2016 fueron los más extremos y las estimaciones sugieren que eventos parecidos tienen una re-ocurrencia de una vez cada 50 a˜ños. |
| Keywords: | Extreme weather events, Extreme value theory, Food inflation, Return levels, Relative Risk ratio, Eventos climáticos extremos, Teoría de valor extremo (EVT), precios de alimentos, niveles de riesgo, razones de riesgo relativo |
| JEL: | C32 C50 E31 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:borrec:1189&r= |
| By: | Nawab Khan (Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan , China); Ram L. Ray (Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, USA); Hazem S. Kassem (Saud University, Riyadh , Saudi Arabia); Muhammad Ihtisham (Wuhan, China); Abdullah (Rawalpindi, Pakistan); Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Stephen Ansah (Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan, China); Shemei Zhang (Sichuan Agricultural University,Sichuan , China) |
| Abstract: | Increasing agricultural production and optimizing inorganic fertilizer (IF) use are imperative for agricultural and environmental sustainability. Mobile phone usage (MPU) has the potential to reduce IF application while ensuring environmental and agricultural sustainability goals. The main objectives of this study were to assess MPU, mobile phone promotion policy, and whether the mediation role of human capital can help reduce IF use. This study used baseline regression analysis and propensity score matching, difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) to assess the impact of MPU on IF usage. However, the two-stage instrumental variables method (IVM) was used to study the effects of mobile phone promotion policy on IF usage. This study used a national dataset from 7,987 rural households in Afghanistan to investigate the impacts of MPU and associated promotion policies on IF application. The baseline regression outcomes showed that the MPU significantly reduced IF usage. The evaluation mechanism revealed that mobile phones help reduce IF application by improving the human capital of farmers. Besides, evidence from the DID technique showed that mobile phone promotion policies lowered IF application. These results remained robust after applying the PSM-DID method and two-stage IVM to control endogenous decisions of rural households. This study results imply that enhancing the accessibility of wideband in remote areas, promoting MPU, and increasing investment in information communication technologies (ICTs) infrastructure can help decrease the IF application in agriculture. Thus, the government should invest in remote areas to facilitate access to ICTs, such as having a telephone and access to a cellular and internet network to provide an environment and facility to apply IF effectively. Further, particular policy support must focus on how vulnerable populations access the internet and mobile phone technologies. |
| Keywords: | mobile phone usage; propensity score matching; difference-in-difference; inorganic fertilizer usage; human capital; sustainable development; Afghanistan |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:21/066&r= |