bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Household Food Demand in Burkina Faso: Implications for Food Policy
Authors: Savadogo Kimseyinga , Brandt Jon A.
Published: January 2020

Chronic food production deficits since the early 1970s have prompted policymakers of Burkina Faso to emphasize technological research with the goal of increasing the production of the most‐consumed locally‐grown cereals: sorghum, millet and maize. Meanwhile, urban consumers have been developing preferences for rice and wheat, cereals that are primarily imported. This study estimates demand relationships among food items in Ouagadougou, Burkina. The results of the estimation suggest that prices, income, household composition, education, marital status and urbanization were jointly important in explaining household expenditure allocations. Both local and imported cereal consumption responded positively to an income increase. However, incremental income changes would lead to relatively greater consumption of locally produced cereals by low‐income households whereas high‐income households would consume relatively more wheat and rice. The household model is then used to demonstrate its relevance in addressing food policy issues, by forecasting the levels of urban grain demand under alternative income and demographic scenarios. With increased production due to advances in technology, the urban demand levels do not exhaust the rural surplus of local cereals, but deficits persist in the rice‐wheat sector. The results underscore the importance of technological research since Burkina could become self‐sufficient in at least the production of sorghum, millet and maize.
Fertilizer in Indonesian Agriculture: the Subsidy Issue
Authors: Hedley Douglas D. , Tabor Steven R.
Published: January 2020

Indonesia began subsidizing fertilizer in 1971 to encourage its use as a complement to the new, high‐yielding rice varieties that were becoming available. While providing considerable assistance to encouraging farmers to utilize these new HYVs and the associated package of inputs, the subsidy for fertilizer has attracted considerable attention in the light of the increasing budget limitations in Indonesia. The high levels of fertilizer and HYV use, the rapidly changing elasticities and cross elasticities among the major food crops, and the growing intersectoral linkages in the Indonesian economy suggest reasons for re‐assessment of the subsidy for fertilizer. The operation of the subsidy is explained, followed by a discussion of changes in the relevant elasticities for demand and supply of commodities and fertilizer. A static welfare analysis of the fertilizer subsidy is presented, showing that the economic subsidy is worth only 42% of the financial subsidy and that farmers are receiving only 7% of the financial subsidy. A simulation of the effects on the food crop sector of removing the subsidy follows the welfare analysis. The paper concludes with an exploration of the policy issues stemming from the results.
Agricultural Trade Liberalization in a Multi‐sector World Model
Authors: Krissoff Barry , Ballenger Nicole
Published: January 2020

Impacts of agricultural and nonagricultural trade liberalization on agriculture are assessed in a multi‐commodity, multi‐country framework. By modeling simultaneously all goods sectors of the economy, we evaluate the importance of: (a) relative price changes between sectors, and (b) income and exchange‐rate adjustments that follow trade liberalization in a world of floating rates.

Specifically, we compare two cases using a static world policy simulation (SWOPSIM) model: agricultural multilateral liberalization and complete multilateral liberalization with floating exchange rates for all countries/regions. In both cases agricultural commodity prices tend to increase, an effect which is more pronounced when currency values adjust. The developing countries, in particular Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, have the most significant advances in agricultural and total production when exchange rates vary. Moreover, the gains from international trade are extended to all countries/regions explicitly specified in the model.
Wheat Policy Options in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The Case of Zimbabwe
Authors: Morris Michael L.
Published: January 2020

Like many countries in sub‐Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe is experiencing rapid growth in wheat consumption and imports. Policy makers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere must decide whether increased domestic wheat production might reduce dependency on imports and at the same time contribute to economic efficiency and food security goals. The domestic resource cost framework was used to assess Zimbabwe's comparative advantage among six major irrigated crops and to measure the effects of current government policies on producer incentives. The results indicate that irrigated wheat production represents an efficient use of Zimbabwe's resources during times of abundant rainfall, but the nation enjoys a comparative advantage in tobacco, maize, and cotton production during times of water scarcity. Existing agricultural policies provide disincentives for commercial farmers, because private profitability is less than social profitability for the major irrigated crops. However, this tax occurs across all commodities with similar incidence, so that the private incentives among crops are not greatly distorted from their social pattern. Sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of these findings under a range of possible future economic and political developments. The domestic resource cost approach used in this study provides an operational method for measuring comparative advantage and should be of interest to policy analysts throughout sub‐Saharan Africa.
Measuring Benefits to Operation and Maintenance Expenditure in the Canal Irrigation System of Pakistan: A Simulation Analysis
Authors: Chaudhry Muhammad A. , Ali Mubarik
Published: January 2020

Estimates regarding benefits to O&M investments help rationalize financial allocation decisions. A distributed lag model is used to estimate the contribution to agricultural productivity of funds utilized for O&M of the canal system in Pakistani Punjab. Estimated parameters are used to simulate the effects of alternative O&M investment scenarios on agricultural output, farm prices and income. Marginal benefits to past and prospective O&M investments in the canal irrigation system were found to be fairly high, suggesting the need to allocate more funds for O&M of the canal system. Results indicate that O&M investments yield substantial gains to both producers and consumers, implying that funds required for O&M activities could be generated by taxing both these segments of society.
Structure of Public Support for National Agricultural Research Systems: A Political Economy Perspective
Authors: Pardey Philip G. , Kang M. Sandra , Elliott Howard
Published: January 2020

This paper initiates development of a set of stylized facts concerning the structure of public support for national agricultural research systems (NARS) within a neoclassical political economy framework. The aim is to place public funding of NARS in the broader context of the overall level of direct government assistance to agriculture. Using a newly constructed data set on NARS expenditures over the 1970‐85 period, we observe a growing disparity in agricultural research intensity ratios, which measure the level of public support for NARS in relation to agricultural gross domestic production (Aggdp) between low and high‐income countries. This growing disparity appears to be driven by much larger increases in support for agricultural research by high‐income countries, coupled with a significantly slower growth in the size of their agricultural sector, despite the propensity of low and middle‐income countries to increase real support to agricultural research.

As per‐capita incomes rise the public agricultural expenditure ratio, which measures public expenditures on agriculture relative to the size of the agricultural sector, Aggdp, increases substantially. Public expenditures on agriculture were indexed on agricultural and non‐agricultural populations to give a rough indication of the increasing incentives for rural 'distributional coalitions' to seek a redistribution of public expenditures in their favor.

A relative research expenditure (rre) ratio is developed, which measures the proportion of total public expenditure on agriculture spent on agricultural research. It provides an indication of the relative importance given to research on agriculture within the constraints imposed by overall public spending on agriculture. In contrast to the agricultural research intensity ratios, therreratios suggest that agricultural research appears to command as large a share of the public purse devoted to agriculture in low and middle‐income countries as it does in high‐income countries. Expectations derived from the neoclassical political economy literature that research may have fared relatively better in high compared with low‐income countries were not supported by the data.
Value of External Reviews of Research at the International Agricultural Research Centers
Authors: Fuglie Keith , Ruttan Vernon W.
Published: January 2020

The Consultative Groups on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) funds a decentralized system of International Agricultural Research Centers. To monitor the Centers, the CGIAR has instituted a system of program and management reviews. But there is some controversy concerning the proper role, cost, and impact of these reviews. In 1984 we conducted a survey of scientific and administrative staff at the Centers to elicit their perspectives about the benefits and costs of the reviews. We also canvassed the documentation prepared by the external review panels. In this paper we report some of the findings from this study and comment on what we feel is the proper role and scope for external reviews.

In particular, we feel that the efficiency of the review process can be improved if external program reviews focus on strategic issues, leaving peer review functions aside. Greater integration should be sought between external reviews and the internal planning arid review mechanisms of the Centers. The successes achieved by this international system of research institutes should lead to considerable confidence about both the system's research and managerial capacity, though not all Centers have achieved uniformly high rates of productivity.
Adoption of New Technologies in Ethiopian Agriculture: The Case of Tegulet‐Bulga District, Shoa Province
Authors: Kebede Yohannes , Gunjal Kisan , Coffin Garth
Published: January 2020

Adoption of agricultural production technologies in developing countries is influenced by a wide range of economic and social factors as well as physical and technical aspects of farming and the risk attitude of farmers. It is important to understand the role of these factors to ensure the development of appropriate technologies and the design of successful development projects. This study examines the impact of such factors on the adoption of single‐ox, fertilizer and pesticide technologies as part of a post‐drought recovery project in Tegulet‐Bulga district in Ethiopia.

Models to evaluate the probability of adoption are specified for the respective technologies and are estimated using a logit maximum likelihood procedure, results indicate that the most significant variable affecting the probability of adoption of all three technologies is farm size; the impact is negative for single‐ox technology and positive for fertilizer and pesticide use. Economic factors such as income, wealth and debt generally exhibit statistically significant influence on the adoption of single‐ox and pesticide technologies as do family size, access to outside information, education and experience.

The effect of socio‐economic factors on adoption of fertilizer and pesticide technologies is greater in the area which has more access to outside information and off‐farm activities (Ankober) than in more ‘self‐contained’ area (Seladengay). The impact of the degree of risk aversion of farmers is found to be significant and negative for single‐ox technology in both areas, and for fertilizer and pesticide technologies in only one area. The predicted probabilities of technology adoption by an average farmer are found to increase dramatically with the level of education and access or exposure to outside information.
Toward farm‐based policy analysis: concepts applied in Haiti
Authors: Martinez Juan Carlos , Sain Gustavo , Yates Michael
Published: January 2020

Many policies – on the delivery of inputs or on marketing systems, credit, or extension – influence the potential utilization of new technologies. Through 'farm‐based policy analysis' it is possible to use data generated in on‐farm research (OFR) to identify policy constraints to the use of new technologies, and to effectively communicate that information to policy makers. This paper describes a tentative framework for farm‐based policy analysis and suggests a sequence of five steps for the analysis: (1) identify the policy‐induced constraints; (2) determine the rationale behind the policy; (3) identify the decision makers to whom the results should be communicated; (4) identify solutions or policy options; and (5) communicate results to decision makers.

A case of farm‐based policy analysis from Haiti illustrates the concepts and methods described in the first part of the paper. On‐farm experiments in Les Cayes, Haiti, confirmed a response to nitrogen in maize, but adoption of the recommended practice and consequent gains in productivity and income were constrained by the scarcity of urea in the local market. An analysis of local supply and potential local demand for urea and the potential benefits of urea application was conducted, and results communicated to two target groups of decision makers: representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for fertilizer distribution policy, and representatives of private fertilizer enterprises. These groups responded by making larger supplies of urea available to local farmers. Adoption of the fertilizer recommendation and urea sales increased. The case demonstrates the potential value of farm‐based policy analysis building upon data from OFR.
Role of education and extension in the adoption of technology: a study of upland rice and soybean farmers in Central‐West Brazil
Authors: Strauss John , Barbosa Mariza , Teixeira Sonia , Thomas Duncan , Junior Raimundo Gomes
Published: January 2020

This paper explores reduced form determinants of the adoption of certain technologies by upland rice and soybean farmers in the Center‐West region of Brazil. We merge community level data on the availability and quality of publicly provided infrastructure, principally extension, to the farm level data containing information on farmer human capital as well as land quantity and quality. By using community level measures of availability and quality of extension, we avoid problems of endogeneity of farm level measures of extension use. We find positive impacts of farmer education on the diffusion process, in accordance with other studies. We also isolate effects of the quality in regional extension investment as measured by the average experience of technical extension staff. These results indicate that investments in human capital of extension workers does have a payoff in terms of farmer adoption of improved cultivation practices.
Adoption and abandonment of irrigation technologies
Authors: Dinar Ariel , Yaron Dan
Published: January 2020

Adoption and abandonment processes are analyzed for seven irrigation technologies. A procedure is developed to estimate the technology cycle and applied to data available for citrus groves in several regions of Israel, and Gaza. The technology cycle was used to estimate diffusion‐abandonment patterns for several irrigation technologies that have been abandoned. Results suggest that the technology cycle is unique to each technology and similar in length for all regions. Results predict the year of full abandonment of each technology. For modern technologies still in the diffusion phase, a logistic equation was fitted to the aggregated data. Results suggest that diffusion is significantly affected by economic variables such as water price, crop yield price, and subsidy for irrigation equipment. Use of the estimated equations for policy purposes suggest that water price and subsidy for irrigation equipment can be used to control the diffusion process (speed and ceiling) of the irrigation technologies.
Choice of utility function form: its effect on classification of risk preferences and the prediction of farmer decisions
Authors: Zuhair Sugu M.M. , Taylor Daniel B. , Kramer Randall A.
Published: January 2020

In applications of expected utility analysis, researchers are confronted with a choice among several utility functional forms. Subjective utility values and probability distributions for price and yield were elicited from Sri Lankan producers of minor export crops. Exponential quadratic and cubic utility functions were estimated. The choice of functional form was found to affect both the classification of risk attitudes and the prediction of harvesting strategy. The exponential function was the best predictor of harvesting strategy because it was the best predictor of mature harvesting. All three functions were equally poor predictors of premature harvesting.
Gendered impacts of fertilizer subsidy removal programs in Malawi and Cameroon
Authors: Gladwin Christina H.
Published: January 2020

Since the early 1980s, development experts and donor agencies have agreed on the importance of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) aimed at ‘getting prices right‘. Adoption of reforms were made preconditions for new loans or grants in many sub‐Saharan African countries. In both Malawi and Cameroon, one such required reform was government's eliminating fertilizer subsidies to the small farm sector, previously used to increase the profitability of intensive agriculture while keeping food prices artificially low. The aim of this paper is to review fertilizer subsidy removal programs for their impact on farmers, who in sub‐Saharan Africa are women. In theory, SAP programs should benefit women producers, because much emphasis is placed on renewing agricultural production and aligning farmgate prices with world prices. But in practice, will they benefit? Are SAPs gender‐neutral and affect men and women equally, or merely gender‐blind?
Trade and agricultural development in the 1980s and the challenges for the 1990s: Asia
Authors: Bautista Romeo M.
Published: January 2020

Asian developing countries have had varying experiences in trade and agricultural development in the 1980s, attributable in part to their differing stages of economic development and structural characteristics. Other important influences relate to the external economic environment and the policy choices made by their governments not only during the period but also in the preceding decade.

The achievements of Asian developing countries under the adverse external conditions of the 1980s are discussed in terms of their macrocconomic and agricultural growth, the commodity structure of agricultural growth, their food production and trade, the expansion and diversification of their agricultural exports, and the policy and nonpolicy factors affecting them. Special attention is given to the role of policy reforms implemented in China and the South Asian countries, following similar policy developments in Northeast and Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s, toward greater openness in their trade regime and increased private‐sector participation in the economy. These reforms have contributed to the observed acceleration in gup, agricultural, and export growth in the 1980s. However, macroeconomic imbalances have emerged that threaten the sustainability of economic liberalization in those countries.

The major challenges for the 1990s also differ among the Asian developing countries. In the industrially advanced Northeast economies of Taiwan and South Korea, the primary need is to ease the transition of the remaining rural population as farm incomes continue to fall and workers move to industrial and service activities. This challenge has to be addressed in the context of growing external pressure to further open their domestic market for agricultural imports. Among the Southeast and South Asian countries, there is a need to reduce the existing policy biases against agriculture, particularly against export crop production. Moreover, China and the South Asian countries face the additional challenges of continuing to deregulate their trade regime and internal markets, and of promoting macroeconomic stability.

Despite the external trend recently toward regionalism, Asian developing countries generally seem committed to an open trading system, on which in fact their past impressive economic performance has been predicated. An important challenge for them in the 1990s is to play an active role in arresting and reversing any protectionist tendencies arising from the formation of regional trading blocs and to support multilateral initiatives such as the Uruguay Round that promote global trade liberalization.
Role of agriculture in economic development revisited
Authors: Johnson D. Gale
Published: January 2020

While both Malthus and Ricardo viewed agriculture as impediments to economic progress, Mill and Marshall argued that the effects of diminishing returns to land could be offset. Mill emphasized that the progress of civilization, such as roads that reduced the cost of bringing products to market, and policy improvements, such as abolition of the corn laws, provided substitutes for farm inputs. Marshall argued that population growth could for a long time, through growth of organization and knowledge, offset the effects of diminishing returns.

Had the insights of Colin Clark dominated the policies of developing countries rather than the implications drawn from the dual sector models and the pessimistic views of Prebisch, agriculture's contribution to economic development would have been enhanced. The efforts to tax agriculture to support import substitution policies reduced rather than increased economic growth. Agriculture has important contributions to make to economic development, but must receive even handed treatment if the possible contributions are to be realized. A major failure of all governments has been the unwillingness to recognize that agriculture is a declining industry and to adopt policies that would assist farm people to adjust to the decline in demand for farm labor.
A gravity model analysis of meat trade policies
Authors: Koo Won W. , Karemera David , Taylor Richard
Published: January 2020

The conventional gravity model is revised for a single commodity and applied to meat markets to determine factors affecting trade flows of meat. This study demonstrates that the gravity model for a single agricultural commodity can be parameterized more effectively by using time series and cross‐section data rather than cross‐section data alone. This study reveals that trade policies and subsidies used by exporting and importing countries, livestock production capacity in countries, and distances play an important role in determining trade flows of meat. Long‐term agreements achieve the highest performance toward enhancing international meat trade. Import quotas and the hoof‐and‐mouth disease on beef greatly impair meat trade.
Sources of EC horticultural import growth from developing countries
Authors: Alvarez‐Coque José María García , Bautista Romeo M.
Published: January 2020

A decomposition analysis of horticultural trade flows is carried out to identify the main sources of change in EC horticultural imports from different LDC regions. Sources of change are associated with each region's international competitiveness, the relative openness of the EC market, the degree of trade preference enjoyed by the region, and the EC global import growth. The main contribution to the LDC export growth of fruit and vegetables to EC between 1975–79; and 1985–89 is found to be attributable to the global import growth effect. However, it has been significantly counteracted by the negative effect of a declining share of non‐EC suppliers as a group. Marked interregional differences in changes in regional preferences show a lack of a strong correlation between LDC export performance and the existence of preferential trade agreements with EC. While the potential for LDC export growth to EC is clear, the results seem to indicate that in general EC protection policies have adversely affected import growth from LDCs. Various factors influencing LDC export performance in horticultural products are discussed. Apart from EC protection policies and changes in trade preferences, domestic supply factors are of significance in explaining export growth, including a liberal trading environment, but also specific policies to promote exports of horticultural products. While non‐price competition weakens the discriminatory effect of preferential tariffs, there is a pressing need for developing countries to adapt to the demands of the European distribution system relating to quality, grades, and regularity of supplies.
Evidence of the empirical relevance of the infant industry argument for the protection of Brazilian ethanol production
Authors: Rask Kevin
Published: January 2020

The infant industry argument for protection of import competing industries has a long and almost entirely theoretical history in the literature. In this paper the empirical evidence of infant industry dynamics in the Brazilian ethanol industry is investigated. In Brazil ethanol has developed into a primary automotive fuel over the past 18 years. This import substitute is attractive because it allows decreased dependence on international oil supplies while at the same time it addresses environmental concerns because it is a clean‐burning renewable fuel. While ethanol was initially a high‐cost alternative to imported oil, observed cost reductions have led to an increased belief that this industry may in fact warrant the subsidization it has received because of infant industry reasons. The results of this study suggest that there is no empirical evidence of economies of scale and very little technical change. There appears to be no empirical validity to the infant industry argument for subsidization of the Brazilian ethanol industry.
‘Second‐generation’ MVs and the evolution of the Green Revolution: the case of Central Luzon, 1966–90
Authors: Otsuka Keijiro , Gascon Fe , Asano Seki
Published: January 2020

By now new modern rice varieties (MVs) with multiple pest and disease resistance have completely replaced early MVs, such as IR5 and IR8, except in a few areas of Asia. This study attempts to identify the changing impacts of ‘first‐generation’ and ‘second‐generation’ MVs on productivity in rice farming by estimating the yield function, while correcting selectivity bias arising from the choice of varieties. For this purpose, we used farm‐level survey data collected for eleven cropping seasons in Central Luzon in the Philippines from 1966 to 1990. We found that while the yield advantage of first‐generation MVs over traditional varieties was limited, the yield‐increasing effect of second‐generation MVs over first‐generation MVs was highly significant. In particular, the adoption of improved MVs significantly contributed to yield growth under the irrigated condition and during the dry season. Thus, we conclude that the Green Revolution would not have been revolutionary without the development and the diffusion of second‐generation MVs with multiple pest and disease resistance.
Effects of household size and composition on consumption in rural households in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe
Authors: Young Trevor , Hamdok Abdalla A.
Published: January 2020

This study, using a survey of rural households in Zimbabwe in 1990/91, focuses on the effects of changing household composition on patterns of expenditure and provides estimates of the ‘cost of a child’ as well as of family members in other age groups. In addition to age differences in the size and direction of responses to changing family composition, the paper highlights significant differences across product groups. These effects are more muted in larger households.
The cost of agricultural production risk
Authors: Babcock Bruce A. , Shogren Jason F.
Published: January 2020

We examine the relative influence of preferences and technology on producers' ex ante willingness to pay for a reduction in production risk. A risk averse producer pays both an Arrow‐Pratt risk premium to stabilize income and a ‘production premium’ to stabilize yield. Using soil‐nitrate risks as our motivating example, we demonstrate that the production premium accounts for 40‐85% of producers' willingness to pay for risk reduction. These results demonstrate the relative importance of technology over risk preferences when estimating the costs of agricultural production risk.
Farmers' perceptions and adoption of new agricultural technology: evidence from analysis in Burkina Faso and Guinea, West Africa
Authors: Adesina Akinwumi A. , Baidu‐Forson Jojo
Published: January 2020

Economists investigating consumer demand have accumulated considerable evidence showing that consumers generally have subjective preferences for characteristics of products and that their demand for products is significantly affected by their perceptions of the product's attributes. However, the role of farmers' preferences in adoption decisions have received very limited attention in adoption studies conducted by economists. This paper tests the hypothesis that farmers' perceptions of technology characteristics significantly affect their adoption decisions. The analysis, conducted with Tobit models of modern sorghum and rice varietal technologies in Burkina Faso and Guinea, respectively, strongly supports this hypothesis. Our results provide a strong case for future adoption studies to expand the range of variables used away from the broad socio‐economic, demographic and institutional factors to include farmers' subjective perceptions of the characteristics of new agricultural technologies.
Agriculture as a provider of public goods: a case study for Norway
Authors: Brunstad Rolf Jens , Gaasland Ivar , Vårdal Erling
Published: January 2020

A valid argument for support is that subsidies are remedies for market failures. Agriculture contributes positively to public goods as food security, landscape preservation and maintenance of population in remote areas. Using a numerical model we simulate what Norwegian agriculture would look like if the only purpose of supporting agriculture was to provide such public goods. This is compared to the consequences of the Uruguay round in GATT and possible future EU membership for Norwegian agriculture. Although the GATT agreement will change agriculture in the desirable direction, the agreement puts no substantial pressure on the current agricultural policy. EU membership on the lines laid down by the accession treaty between EU and Norway prior to the referendum in 1994 would have given a stronger impetus towards the optimal solution.
Sources of agricultural productivity growth and stagnation in sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Frisvold George , Ingram Kevin
Published: January 2020

This paper examines sources of agricultural growth in sub‐Saharan Africa. Growth in the stock of traditional inputs (land, labor, livestock) remains the dominant source of output growth. Growth in modern input use was of secondary importance, but still accounted for a 0.2‐0.4% annual growth rate in three of four sub‐regions. Econometric results support earlier studies that suggest that land abundance may be a constraint on land productivity growth. Growth in agricultural exports and historic caloric availability had positive impacts on productivity. These latter results suggest that positive feedback effects exist between export performance and food security on one hand and agricultural productivity on the other.
Implications of alternative environmental policies on phosphorus loading from poultry litter
Authors: Govindasamy Ramu , Cochran Mark J.
Published: January 2020

Degraded groundwater, impaired swimming, fishing, algae and weed problem are often associated with eutrophication from phosphorus (P) loadings in surface and groundwater. The concentrated growth of poultry industry and over application of litter on pasture lands may lead to excessive nutrient loadings in surface and groundwater. The Cooperative Extension Service recommendation suggests that no poultry litter should be applied if the soil test P exceeds 300 pounds per acre, irrespective of the marginal costs and benefits associated with one more unit of litter application on that piece of land. The objective of this paper is to model the economics of P loadings from poultry litter and analyze the policy implications of Cooperative Extension Service's recommendation on quantity restriction on litter applications with empirical evidence. The results indicate that there exists significant difference in the marginal values of soil between different soil series, indicating that the permit system can achieve the target at a lesser cost. In particular, the society as a whole can gain $2.7 per acre by allocating the litter to soil series 16 instead of soil series 20, provided that the contribution towards groundwater contamination from these two acres are the same.
Planting strategies of maize farmers in Kenya: a simultaneous equations analysis in the presence of discrete dependent variables
Authors: Hassan Rashid M.
Published: January 2020

A fairly comprehensive range of planting choices made by maize farmers in Kenya (including discrete endogenous variables creating self‐selectivity) is modelled and estimated as one system of interrelated decisions. Two‐stage and three‐stage probit procedures are used to handle the simultaneity and self‐selectivity problems. Results showed that population pressure and agroclimatic diversity are important determinants of crop intensification and planting regimes among maize farmers and further supported the importance of focusing maize research in terms of agroclimate and socio‐economic domains. Shorter maturity and efficient double and multiple cropping methods are needed to increase land productivity and intensity of labour use in areas of high population pressure and bimodal rainfall, i.e. mid‐altitude zones. On the other hand, technologies that would lead to increased productivity of capital and higher response to external inputs are desired for the highlands of Kenya. Access to extension and machine services, distance to the maize plot, and time of onset of the rains were also found to significantly influence the planting strategies of maize farmers.
Relative efficiency of women as farm managers: Profit function analysis in Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: Adesina Akinwumi A. , Djato Kouakou K.
Published: January 2020

The efficiency of women farmers in the agricultural sector of developing countries is passionately debated. Very few studies have examined this issue in African agriculture. All previous studies were based on production functions, but have been criticised as suffering from simultaneous equation bias because the input levels are endogenous. The profit function method avoids these problems. No previous study has used the profit function method to lest for technical, allocative and economic efficiency differences between women and men farmers. The objective of this paper was to determine whether women rice farmers are less efficient than men rice farmers in Côte d'Ivoire using the restricted normalised profit function method. Our results show that the relative degree of efficiency of women is similar to that of men. The paper provides empirical support for efforts to eliminate bias against women farmers in African agriculture.
The supply response of aggregate agricultural output in Jamaica
Authors: Gafar John
Published: January 2020

A dominant theme in the development literature is that individual agricultural products responds to price incentives, not because of shifts Between products, but that total agricultural output is not responsive to price. The econometric evidence tor Jamaica shows that this presumption is not valid. The paper begins by reviewing the growth experience of the Jamaican economy. It then analyzes the trends in agricultural production. The remainder of the paper provides the econometric estimates of broad agricultural output to price. The empirical evidence shows that aggregate agricultural output is responsive to price, but it will take lime for agricultural production to materialize. A summary of the published estimates of the supply response for individual crops is also presented.
Developments in biophysical and bioeconomic simulation of agricultural systems: a review
Authors: Oriade Caleb A. , Dillon Carl R.
Published: January 2020

This paper reviews the features and uses of some recent biophysical and bioeconomic simulation models in agricultural economics research. Problems associated with earlier models are discussed and the extent to which recent simulators have addressed these concerns is appraised. Some salient factors that will enhance the continued relevance of simulators as research and decision support tools are indicated.
Four case studies of agri‐food CVDs and a proposal for reforming national administered protection agencies
Authors: Meilke Karl D. , Sarker Rakhal
Published: January 2020

This paper reviews the role of national administered protection agencies, whose primary responsibility is the enforcement of national teade remedy laws. After reviewing four recent cases of trade disputes between Canada and the United States, it is argued that the role of national administered protection agencies should be changed. The growth of regional trading blocks, the increasing use of anti‐dumping and countervailing duty actions against fairly traded imports and the additional responsibilities assumed by the WTO in administering the Agreement on Agriculture strongly suggest that all trade disputes should be taken to the WTO for settlement. The role of national administered protection agencies should be changed to make them agents for trade liberalization. This would involve these agencies taking on three primary functions: (i) as transparency agents; (ii) as investigatory agents; and (iii) as advocacy agents.
Cap reform: modelling supply response subject to the land set‐aside
Authors: Ball V. Eldon , Bureau Jean‐Christophe , Eakin Kelly , Somwaru Agapi
Published: January 2020

This paper uses duality theory to develop a model of European Community agriculture. The model is used to investigate the impact of the land set‐aside provision of the recent package of reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy. We assume that producers chose output and variable input levels that maximize difference between revenue and variable cost. By including first‐order conditions for the allocation of land across its uses, we impose that the observed allocations are profit‐maximizing allocations. To overcome the problem of incorporating many outputs into an estimable production structure, we imposed a priori the restriction that the technology was weakly separable in major categories of outputs. With this restriction, it was possible to model production decisions in stages using consistent aggregates in the latter stages.
Buyer preferences for sheep and goats in southern Nigeria: A hedonic price analysis
Authors: Jabbar M.A.
Published: January 2020

A survey of two rural markets in southwest Nigeria over 14 months showed that supplies, sales and prices of sheep and goats varied widely during the period with a sharp peak during the Muslim festival of' Eid‐el‐Kabir and a smaller peak during the Christmas‐New Year period. Local West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep and goats and northern Y'ankasa sheep and Red Sokoto goats were traded in the markets and animals were purchased for rearing, trading, ceremonies, butchering/catering, sacrifice, and festivals. There were significant differences between species/breeds purchased for various purposes. A hedonic price model was fitted to determine factors influencing price. After adjustments were made for age, weight, sex, time of transaction and market, WAD sheep commanded higher prices than WAD goats and Red Sokoto goats for all purposes except for butchering/catering; Red Sokoto goats commanded similar or lower prices than WAD goats depending on the purpose for purchase; and Y'ankasa sheep, principally purchased for the Eid‐el‐Kabir festival, commanded marginally higher prices than WAD sheep. The market share of WAD sheep is currently small and is under competition from northern sheep and goats, so increased production of WAD sheep in the south will benefit both producers and consumers in the area. In general, the results indicate that buyers have preferences for specific breeds and species for specific purposes, so producers and sellers may benefit by targeting specific buyer categories and times of the year.
Investigating improved pasture productivity change on the New South Wales tablelands
Authors: Vere D.T.
Published: January 2020

The productivity of improved pastures in Australia's southeastern grazing regions is now believed to be in a state of long‐term decline. As yet, there is little economic evidence to support this perception. The analysis reported in this paper seeks to examine improved pasture Productivity change from an economic standpoint in a major Australian grazing area. The analysis rests on the central proposition that the Productivity of the livestock enterprises is a direct reflection of pasture productivity. Using both index number and econometric methods, the results indicate that while the annual growth in livestock and hence, improved pasture productivity has been positive over the period, there has been a significant decline in legume pasture productivity. Because these pastures comprise the bulk of improved pastures, the livestock Productivity of all improved pastures has declined in recent years. In contrast, the growth in livestock productivity from the perennial grass pastures continues to be high. The main reasons for legume pasture livestock productivity decline appear to be various important biological Problems and the long‐term decline farmers' terms‐of‐trade.
Measuring the social costs of suboptimal combinations of policy instruments: A general framework and an example
Authors: Bullock D.S. , Salhofer K.
Published: January 2020

Since most agricultural programs employ two or more policy instruments simultaneously, it is notable thai little research has attempted to find optimal instrument combinations and no research exists which evaluates the social costs (unrealized benefits) of combining instruments suboptimally. In our paper we report a simple and feasible method to find optimal policy instrument combinations, and we provide the first general, formal approach to measuring the social costs of suboptimal policy instrument combinations. Our approach is illustrated in an analysis for live major U.S. crops (corn, feed grains, wheat, rice, cotton). The simple model we employ for the illustration suggests that except lor the feed grains program, the observed programs combined policy instruments quite suboptimally. We conclude that agricultural economics research now can and should begin placing increased emphasis on studying optimal policy instrument combinations.
Understanding farmers' decision making processes and improving managerial assistance
Authors: ÖhlméYr Bo , Olson Kent , Brehmer Berndt
Published: January 2020

Few studies have been made of how farmers make decisions. Most research and teaching has focused on the decision event, not the whole process. Current knowledge of the decision making process is reviewed and described as a set of eight functions or elements: values and goals, problem detection, problem definition, observation, analysis, development of intention, implementation, and responsibility bearing. The relevancy of this view of farmers' decision making behavior is tested through a series of case studies. Based on these observations, the conceptual model of the decision process is revised to include four phases and four subprocesses. The four phases are problem detection, problem definition, analysis and choice, and implementation. The four subprocesses are searching and paying attention, planning, evaluating and choosing, and checking the choice. In addition, we note that farmers prefer the ability to continually update their evaluation and plans, a qualitative vs. quantitative analysis, a “quick and simple” vs. detailed and elaborate analysis, small tests and incremental implementation, and feed forward and compensation vs. post‐implementation evaluation. Implications of this fuller view of the decision making process for management assistance are discussed.
Credit constraints and smallholder dairy production in the East African highlands: application of a switching regression model
Authors: Freeman H.A. , Ehui Simeon K. , Jabbar Mohammad A.
Published: January 2020

Accurate assessment of farmers' credit constraint condition is important in order to understand the circumstances under which credit would have its greatest impact. In this study a switching regression model was used to determine the impact of credit on smallholder dairy farms in the East African highlands using farm level data from Ethiopia and Kenya. Farmers were classified as credit constrained or credit non‐constrained based on their responses from the farm level surveys. No consistent relationship was found between farmers' credit constraint condition and their borrowing status. Most of the variation in milk output per farm was explained by the number of crossbred milking cows in the dairy herd. As credit is likely to facilitate investment in crossbred dairy cows it will have substantial impacts on smallholder dairy farms especially if it is targeted to credit constrained farms.
Technology, market policies and institutional reform for sustainable land use in southern Mali
Authors: Kuyvenhoven Arie , Ruben Ruerd , Kruseman Gideon
Published: January 2020

To identify appropriate interventions that support sustainable land use; a farm household modelling approach is applied to analyze micro‐economic supply reactions to various policy measures. The modelling framework links agro‐technical and economic data, and takes both production and consumption decisions into account, allowing land use and production technology adjustments in accordance with farm household objectives. Different types of farm households are distinguished on the basis of their resource endowments, savings coefficients and time discount rate. Actual and alternative (sustainable) cropping and livestock activities for different weather regimes are defined for southern Mali. The effects on sustainable land use and expected farm household welfare of adopting alternative technologies and modifying prices, transaction costs, access to credit and land taxes are demonstrated. Even with full information on sustainable technologies, strong policy interventions are required to halt soil degradation. Structural policies proved to be more effective than price policies to reduce soil degradation while maintaining positive income effects. When prices are determined endogenously, structural policy loses some effectiveness as an incentive for sustainable land use due to the effect of additional supply on local cereal and meat Prices.