bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of hybrid rice on input demand and productivity
Authors: Lin Justin Yifu
Published: January 2020

This paper uses farm‐level data collected from a sample of 500 households in Hunan province, China, to analyze the impact of hybrid rice on input demand and productivity. Based on regression analyses, it is found that, compared with conventional modern varieties, hybrid rice uses about 4% less labor inputs, 2% less draft animal services, and 6% more chemical fertilizers. The lesser requirements for labor and draft animal services probably arise from hybrid rice's lower seeding rate. Due to heterosis and high seed costs, the use of F1 seed is economized to about one‐third to one‐fourth that of conventional varieties. Therefore, less labor and animal power is needed for seed‐bed preparation and transplanting. It is also found that, given the same level of inputs, the yield advantage of hybrid rice over the conventional modern varieties is about 19%. Because of the productivity potential, hybrid rice is a candidate for the second‐generation “Green Revolution” in other parts of Asia.
Extensification of agriculture and deforestation: empirical evidence from Sudan
Authors: Elnagheeb Abdelmoneim H. , Bromley Daniel W.
Published: January 2020

Extensification of agriculture is one of the major factors contributing to the destruction of forests in Africa. In Sudan, such horizontal expansion comes at the expense of land devoted to trees and other vegetation, thereby inducing conditions that are inimical to sustainable agricultural production. Different factors have contributed to extensification. Although high economic returns from crop (mainly sorghum) production was an important factor encouraging extensification of rainfed mechanized farming, other factors outside agriculture have also contributed to that expansion. This paper uses data from eastern Sudan and an acreage response model, to identify the most important factors influencing acreage expansion. Different measures and forms of risk were used in the acreage response model. The paper shows how policies in the energy sector can indirectly influence acreage expansion in the agricultural sector.
The law of one price: a test based on prices for selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture
Authors: Delpachitra S.B. , Hill R.L. St
Published: January 2020

The law of one price (LOOP) is an essential foundation of both the pure theory of trade and monetary theory. Strictly speaking, the law relates to prices of individual commodities. However, empirical tests of LOOP have often relied on aggregated data. In this paper, a model is derived and estimated using price data for 15 selected inputs in New Zealand agriculture. The results offer no support for the LOOP in the short run, and the results for the long run are mixed. It may be inappropriate, therefore, to assume that the LOOP holds generally in modelling exercises, particularly when models are used for policy purposes.
Ex ante assessment of the returns to livestock disease control in Indonesia
Authors: Patrick I.W. , Vere D.T.
Published: January 2020

Agriculture's importance in the process of economic growth highlights the role of sustained advances in farm production practices by improving the quantity and quality of farm products. In this context, investment in improved agricultural technology continues to be an important avenue of assistance to the developing countries. However, the increased resource pressures facing both aid donors and recipients have emphasised the need for the prior assessment of the potential benefits of aid projects to assist effective aid planning and management. Here, the main requirements are to establish viable project goals for translation into effective programmes, to predict the likely project impacts, and to evaluate the potential benefits and costs of adopting the project's outcomes. An ex ante assessment of assistance in controlling a major livestock disease in Indonesia's eastern islands is described in this paper. The annual net benefits from controlling this disease ranged between $A0.45 and $A2.5 million according to the mortality rate reduction achieved. The benefits were shared between beef producers and consumers according to the market elasticity conditions assumed.
Alternative models of input allocation in multicrop systems: Irrigation water in the Central Plains, United States
Authors: Moore Michael R. , Gollehon Noel R. , Carey Marc B.
Published: January 2020

This paper compares three models of input allocation in multicrop systems. In addition to the variable input and satisficing models analyzed in previous research, an allocatable fixed input model of short‐run input use is derived. The empirical application studies irrigation water use in the Central Plains region of the United States. Based on results from model specification tests and prediction accuracy measures, the allocatable fixed input model dominates both other models in explaining multicrop water allocation. In addition, the paper presents an alternative approach to the study of deficient data on multicrop production. By transferring econometric results from analysis of ‘non‐deficient’ crop‐level data, input allocations in deficient data sets can be predicted.
Role of information in the adoption of best management practices for water quality improvement
Authors: Feather Peter M. , Amacher Gregory S.
Published: January 2020

This study investigates the role of information in influencing the adoption of improved farm management practices. A lack of producer information regarding both the profitability and the environmental benefits of adopting improved practices may be a reason why widespread adoption of these practices has not occurred. Compared to direct regulation or financial incentives, raising producer information levels may be a more cost‐effective method of increasing adoption. The United States Department of Agriculture has recently established and begun implementing a program based on this idea. To test the validity of the program, a two‐stage adoption model is specified and estimated using data from a survey of producers in the program area. The results indicate that producer perceptions Play an important role in the decision to adopt. Changing these perceptions by means of an educational program may be a reasonable alternative to financial incentives in encouraging BMP adoption.
Measurement of cost inefficiency with safety first measure of risk
Authors: Parikh Ashok , Shah Mir Kalan
Published: January 2020

The objectives of this paper are to incorporate a measure of risk aversion in the translog frontier cost function to estimate cost inefficiency. Risk‐averse behaviour of farmers is hypothesised to reduce efficiency by leading to a situation in which the marginal value product of an input is less than price. In developing agriculture, farmers are aware of their subsistence needs and seek to minimize the probability of their incomes falling below a disaster level of income. Using such a safety first principle, a measure of risk‐taking is developed and explained by socio‐economic characteristics. This measure is used in the translog cost function as a fixed input and, using the frontier approach (with half normal distribution of inefficiency disturbance), a measure of cost inefficiency is obtained. This is related to socio‐economic characteristics such as education, assets and holding size. A survey data of 436 farmers for the North‐West Frontier Province of Pakistan is used to reach policy conclusions for reducing cost inefficiency.
Demand for food in Myanmar (Burma)
Authors: Soe T. , Batterham R.L. , Drynan R.G.
Published: January 2020

Aggregate quarterly time series data from 1975 to 1987 on government procurement prices and open (black) market prices were used in estimating an almost ideal demand system (AIDS) and double‐log models for consumption of foodstuffs in Myanmar. The results from the AIDS model were superior to those from the double‐log models.

The estimated income elasticity of demand for non‐meat foodstuffs was high, even for low‐quality rice, which has been shown to be an inferior good in other Asian countries. The income elasticities for the non‐cereals (groundnut oil, sesame oil, pulses, potato and onion) are positive and less than one. Contrary to expectation, the income elasticities for all meat items are low. Own‐price elasticities for most foodstuffs were less than one. The estimated cross‐price elasticities indicate the complementary nature of the basic food items to rice.

A brief analysis of the effects of taxing Myanmarese rice exports and subsidising consumers indicated that there are net costs to government, unevenly distributed welfare gains to consumers and welfare losses to farmers.
Value of moving from central planning to a market system: lessons from the Israeli water sector
Authors: Becker Nir
Published: January 2020

This paper explores the implications of the transformation of the system of water resources allocation to the agricultural sector in Israel from a one in which allotments are allocated to the different users without any permission to trade with water rights. A mathematical planning model is used for the entire Israeli agricultural sector, in which an ‘optimal’ allocation of the water resources is found and compared to the existing one.

The results of the model are used in order to gain insight into the shadow price of the different water bodies in Israel (about eight). These prices can then be used to grant property rights to the water users themselves in order to guarantee rational behavior of water use, since now one can sell their rights at the source itself. The implication is clear with regard to any possible movement towards a market system in any other sector. From the dual prices of the primal problem we can forecast the equilibrium prices and their implications for the different users. The central government does not have to interfere with the market mechanism because, as will be shown, every farmer has the option to sell his right or to use it. As participation in the market is voluntary, every farmer makes a decision that is both individually and socially rational. However, in moving from a central planning allocation to a market mechanism, the government has another task, which is to grant the property rights in order for the market to begin to evolve. It is not guaranteed that under any initial allocation a decentralization of the system will benefit all the regions but at least part of the problem is to be resolved between the regions themselves.

As the results shows, there is a potential budgetary benefit of 28 million dollars when capital cost is not included and 64 million dollars when they are included.
Labor productivity measurement in Japanese agriculture, 1956–90
Authors: Kuroda Yoshimi
Published: January 2020

This paper investigates the factors responsible for a drastic decline in the growth rate of labor productivity of the agricultural sector for the 1956–90 period. This investigation is carried out by a newly devised procedure which decomposes the growth rate of labor productivity into (1) the total substitution effect which consists of the effects due to factor price changes and biased technological change, and (2) the TFP effect composed of the effects due to scale economies and technological progress. Based on empirical estimation of the translog cost function, it was found that the total substitution effect contributed to the growth of labor productivity much more than the TFP effect did for the period under question.
Soil conservation and governmental policies in tropical areas: Does aid worsen the incentives for arresting erosion?
Authors: Grepperud Sverre
Published: January 2020

This paper focuses on how farmers respond with respect to the adoption of soil conservation measures to governmental agricultural policies aiming at supporting smallholders. A simple micro‐economic framework was chosen to undertake an analysis of farmer choices among three activities; farming, adoption of soil conservation measures and off‐farm work. The model shows that governments have to be cautious when designing support measures if improved resource management is a policy goal. In the design of such measures, attention has to be paid both to (1) the distribution in land quality, and (2) the distribution in the net returns from adopting soil conservation measures.
Landlords and farmers: implications of disparities in bargaining power for tenancy in agriculture
Authors: Andersson H.
Published: January 2020

The equilibrium allocation of owner operated and rental land in the agricultural sector is examined given risk averse agents, risky returns and asset price risk. The model is extended to account for disparities in bargaining power among landlords and farmers. In the absence of disparities, the competitive equilibrium allocation satisfies the general conditions for optimal risk sharing with an adjustment factor similar to the optimal hedge ratio.

Differences in bargaining power result in deviations from the optimal risk sharing conditions. Numerical simulations of tenancy structure are conducted for a developed agricultural economy exposed to various forms of risk. Estimates of parameter values representing the riskiness of returns and asset prices in this study are based on vector auto regressive techniques. The simulations show that a substantial reduction of the rental ratio is obtained in a situation where farmers are equally or more risk averse than landlords. Consequently, the results indicate that the importance of the tenancy institution as a risk sharing mechanism is severely mitigated in the presence of asset price risk, risky returns, relatively risk averse farmers and disparities in bargaining power.
A partial adjustment model with rational expectations applied to the goat sector in Greece
Authors: Fotopoulos Christos V.
Published: January 2020

In this paper an attempt is made to examine the rational expectations hypothesis for the goat‐meat sector in Greece within the framework of a single equation method that describes the factors affecting demand and supply. The structural equations of the model are estimated by applying the Cochrane‐Orcutt technique. The calculated elasticities suggest that Greek goat producers should pay more attention to milk rather than meat production. Statistical indications also confirm the effects of the Chernobyl accident upon the goat sector. Moreover, the forecasting ability of the model has been tested using simulation procedures, which indicate a small deviation between theoretical and observed values. Finally, some further implications concerning the goat sector are drawn from this analysis.
Dynamic modelling of agroforestry and soil fertility interactions: implications for multi‐disciplinary research policy
Authors: Babu Suresh Chandra , Hallam Arne , Rajasekaran B.
Published: January 2020

This paper attempts to contribute to one of the major aspects of international research agenda in agroforestry. A general framework is developed in this paper to capture the dynamic interactions of various components of agroforestry system. Using a multi‐seasonal model of agroforestry, the competition among the system components in resource and input use and the trade‐offs between different outputs of agroforestry system are analyzed. Policy implications for multi‐disciplinary research are derived. It is argued that quantifying the potential benefits of agroforestry system requires reformulation of existing economic methods of analyzing agroforestry technology to contribute to the fuller understanding of the dynamic interactions among its various components.
Efficient income redistribution for a small country using optimal combined instruments
Authors: Salhofer K.
Published: January 2020

In this paper I improve Gardner's surplus transformation curve framework by assuming that governments are able to vary many policy instruments simultaneously instead of only one. I use my framework to find the combination of the currently used instruments which provides the most efficient income redistribution for the Austrian bread grains market. Comparing the most efficient policy with the actual policy reveals that 464 × 106 Austrian shillings were wasted. I theoretically compare for a small country the transfer efficiency of every possible pair of the four major agricultural policy instruments: floor price, (production) quota, co‐responsibility levy, and deficiency payments. Without considering the marginal cost of public funds (MCF), deficiency payments cum quota (equal to a fully decoupled direct income support) is the most efficient policy, succeeded by floor price cum quota, and floor price cum deficiency payments. If the MCF is taken into account, the ranking crucially depends on the market parameters, the transfer level, and the value of the MCF. For the Austrian bread grains market, I empirically demonstrate that given the present support level, a fully decoupled direct income support redistributes income most efficiently as long as the MCF is lower than 1.17. Beyond this value a floor price cum quota policy becomes more efficient. A floor price cum deficiency payments policy is never superior to the floor price cum quota.
Quantifying the socio‐economic determinants of sustainable crop production: an application to wheat cultivation in the Tarai of Nepal
Authors: Ali Mubarik
Published: January 2020

This study specifies a procedure to quantify the determinants of sustainable crop production, and applies the method to wheat cultivation in the Tarai of Nepal. Three aspects of sustainability were considered. First, the fertility of the land was found to have deteriorated owing to long‐term practices incompatible with soil and drainage conditions. Three‐quarters of the farmers had reduced land fertility and for one‐third of them the wheat yield was at least 20% lower than for farmers who applied farmyard manure to every crop and adopted a rotation consistent with soil and drainage conditions. Secondly, the study found that it was possible to improve resource‐use efficiency in wheat production to give 25% higher production at current levels, type, and quality of farm resources. Resource‐use efficiency was significantly related to farm management practices such as crop stand, variety, disease, and land preparation quality, and socio‐economic factors such as off‐farm job opportunities, poor plot accessibility, and migration. Thirdly, the increasing population pressure on land, decreasing livestock number per cropped area, and diminishing fuel wood sources, significantly reduced farm‐based nutrient cycling because farmyard manure had to be used for fuel. This had implications for the higher use of the fossil‐based inputs in crop production.
Sustainable development of forest resources in industrialized countries
Authors: McKillop William , Sarkar Amin
Published: January 2020

There is no general consensus about what sustainable development means. We seek to clarify the meaning and utility of the concept by focusing on forest resources in countries possessing higher levels of per capita incomes. The meaning of sustainable development becomes complex when one asks what social goals are being pursued, what types of stability are permitted, whether amenities and commodities should receive equal consideration, and to what landbase the concept should be applied. A simulation/linear programming model of California's private forest resource is used to demonstrate that strict decade‐to‐decade ‘even‐flow’ stability of production may result in lower aggregate levels of output over a prolonged planning period, with ending levels of the stock resource that are scarcely greater than when output is permitted to vary over the planning period. The model was also used to show that greater levels of output and ending stocks are possible when the land base for sustainability assessment is not a restrictively small geographical area or a single class of ownership. In the case of National Forests and other public lands, the application of the sustainable development concept is significantly more complex because of the importance of amenity values and because of the inherent conflict between development and the preservation of ecosystems in a pristine state.
Agreement on agriculture in the Uruguay Round of GATT: from Punta del Este to Marrakesh
Authors: Hassan Zuhair A.
Published: January 2020

To help appreciate the outcome of the negotiations, this paper will attempt to provide answers to the following questions. Why did the agreement take as long as 7 years to negotiate? What were the major obstacles to reaching an agreement? How did the negotiators reconcile differing points of view on issues such as the role of border measures and domestic policy measures in agriculture? What has been accomplished during the negotiations? Was the agreement successful in reforming agriculture? What are the likely effects on agricultural commodity prices in implementing the agreement?
Impacts of trade liberalizations under the Uruguay Round on the world sugar market
Authors: Devadoss Stephen , Kropf Jurgen
Published: January 2020

The impacts of the Uruguay Round policy provisions on the world sugar market show that these policies will stabilize the world sugar price at slightly higher levels than in the baseline. Global sugar consumption will increase as a result of the income growth caused by the Uruguay Round. Economic resources will be allocated more efficiently among the sugar industries of the various countries. However, the impacts on the sugar industries in countries with strong producer supports will be rather small because the negotiation process of the Uruguay Round has accommodated the changes in sugar policies already implemented by individual countries in the past few years. Low‐cost sugar producing countries will benefit from the higher world sugar price, and consumers in countries with protected markets will benefit from lower domestic prices.
Farm productivity in Rwanda: effects of farm size, erosion, and soil conservation investments
Authors: Byiringiro Fidele , Reardon Thomas
Published: January 2020

This paper examines the effects of farm size, soil erosion, and soil conservation investments on land and labor productivity and allocative efficiency in Rwanda. There were several key results. First, there is a strong inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity, and the opposite for labor productivity. For smaller farms, there is evidence of allocative inefficiency in use of land and labor, probably due to factor market access constraints. Second, farms with greater investment in soil conservation have much better land productivity than average. Those with very eroded soils do much worse than average. Smaller farms are not more eroded than larger farms, but have twice the soil conservation investments. Third, land productivity benefits substantially from perennial cash crops, and the gains to shifting to cash crops are highest for those with low erosion and high use of fertilizer and organic matter. Program and policy effort to encourage and enable farmers to make soil conservation investments, to use fertilizer and organic matter, and to participate in cash cropping of perennials will have big payoffs in productivity. Land markets that allow smaller farmers to buy land could also increase aggregate productivity.
Food aid, food policy and the Uruguay round: implications for Bangladesh
Authors: Warr Peter G. , Ahammad Helal
Published: January 2020

The relationship between the effects of food aid and those of the completion of the Uruguay Round of the GATT are studied in this paper, focusing upon the food aid recipient countries, and taking Bangladesh as an illustrative example. It is argued that, among other factors, the magnitudes of these effects depend crucially on the policy environment within the food aid recipient country itself, particularly the government's policy with respect to commercial food imports. It is shown that when the quantity of Bangladesh's commercial food imports is controlled by the government, the benefits derived from food aid are smaller than when these imports are liberalised. Likewise, the negative effects that the Uruguay Round may be expected to have on Bangladesh will also he larger if commercial food imports are subject to quantitative controls than if they are liberalised.

The effects the Uruguay Round will have on Bangladesh will also depend on the way food aid donors respond to the Round. If donors reduce the volumes of food aid, either because of reduced food surpluses resulting from lower agricultural subsidies, or in response to increased international food prices resulting from the Round, the losses incurred by Bangladesh will be magnified. But these effects will also depend heavily on whether Bangladesh itself participates in the liberalisations that are central to the Round itself. If it were to participate fully, the negative effects that the Uruguay Round would otherwise have on Bangladesh may be entirely offset by the gains Bangladesh would derive from its own liberalisation.
Emerging differences in state grain trading: Australia and Canada
Authors: Carter Colin A. , Wilson William W.
Published: January 2020

The Australian Wheat Board (AWB) and Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) have attracted attention recently because they are two of the largest state trading enterprises (STEs) engaged in agricultural trade. They have traditionally been viewed as nearly sister agencies. Among major STEs in the world market, these two agencies historically had similar characteristics including: price pooling, cost pooling, export sales monopolies, monopoly powers within domestic markets, grain quality control, and government underwriting of initial producer prices and export credit. However, during the past 6 years, similarities between the AWB and CWB have begun to diverge and the importance of their differences is becoming increasingly apparent. This paper identifies major emerging differences between the AWB and CWB and explores potential explanations (hypotheses) for these dissimilarities. A major point is that reforms in institutional design and legislative changes have given rise to emerging differences in key aspects of the marketing systems and performance.
Research and extension expenditures and productivity in Japanese agriculture, 1960–1990
Authors: Kuroda Yoshimi
Published: January 2020

This paper investigates the cause for the decline in the growth of productivity in Japanese agriculture since the late 1960s. For this objective, it investigates the effects of research and extension (R&E) activities on the extent and the direction of the bias of technological change in Japanese agriculture for the period 1960–90 based on the translog cost function framework. Empirical results show that the cost‐reducing effects of R&E measured in terms of the absolute value of the cost–R&E elasticity increased slightly from 0.194 in 1960 to 0.205 in 1965 and then decreased consistently to 0.110 in 1990. This finding is broadly consistent with the finding of the decline or slowdown in agricultural productivity since the late 1960s. The bias due to R&E was found to be toward labor, intermediate inputs, and other inputs saving on the one hand, and machinery and land using on the other. Labor‐saving and machinery‐using biases are consistent with the Hicksian induced innovation hypothesis.
Estimation of farmers' risk attitude: an econometric approach
Authors: Bar‐Shira Z. , Just R.E. , Zilberman D.
Published: January 2020

An econometric procedure for estimating Arrow‐Pratt coefficients of risk aversion is derived. The model of farmers allocating land among different crops, and time between leisure and labor, allows for testing Arrow's hypotheses of decreasing absolute risk aversion and increasing relative risk aversion. The empirical results support these hypotheses.
Dynamic input demand functions and resource adjustment for US agriculture: state evidence
Authors: Warjiyo Perry , Huffman Wallace E.
Published: January 2020

The paper presents an econometric model of dynamic agricultural input demand functions that include research based technical change and autoregressive disturbances and fits the model to annual data lor a set of stale aggregates pooled over 1950‐1982. The methodological approach is one of developing a theoretical foundation for a dynamic input demand system and accepting state aggreage behavior as approximated by nonlinear adjustment costs and long‐term profit maximization. Although other studies have largely ignored autocorrelation m dynamic input demand systems, the results show shorter adjustment lags with autocorrelation than without. Dynamic input demand own‐price elasticities for the six input groups are inelastic, ami the demand functions possess significant cross‐price and research effects.
Spatial allocation and the shadow pricing of product characteristics
Authors: Chavas Jean‐Paul , Cox Thomas L. , Jesse Edward
Published: January 2020

The paper considers an industry transforming primary commodities (farm products) into processed commodities (food products). It focuses on the allocation of embedded characteristics (carbohydrate, protein, etc.) both across space and among commodities. The approach generates a spatial competitive market equilibrium of production, consumption, transformation, and trade for both primary and processed commodities, along with the spatial distribution of shadow prices for the product characteristics. The model provides a basis for analyzing the allocation and pricing of agricultural products, food products, and characteristics in spatial markets. The empirical usefulness of the model is illustrated in the context of regional resource allocation in the U.S. dairy sector.
Multiple job holdings among dairy farm families in New York and Ontario
Authors: Weersink Alfons , Nicholson Charles , Weerhewa Jeeveka
Published: January 2020

Previous empirical studies of multiple job holding have tended to focus on the characteristics of those obtaining off‐farm employment and the factors affecting the hours supplied to those obtaining off‐farm activities. None of these studies have explicitly addressed the reasons behind the decision to seek off‐farm employment. Neither have they been able to examine in‐depth the important issue of how this major component of the farm sector responds to alternative policies, since most studies have used cross‐sectional data for a given region. A comparison between countries would permit the analysis of how multiple job holding responds to differing government policies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for and factors affecting multiple job holdings of dairy farm families in neighboring regions of two counties, United States and Canada. The bordering regions of New York and Ontario have similar geographic conditions but significantly different farm support and social service policies. The results indicate the importance of farm income on why people work off the farm and provide evidence of multiple job holding as a flexible mechanism for coping with changes in the economic environment facing the household. For operators, the driving characteristics influencing off‐farm labor participation is the farm's financial position. The supply‐managed milk marketing system ensures higher and more stable returns for Ontario dairy farm labor. In contrast, it is family demographics, educational level and social support policy that appears to largely influence spousal off‐farm employment decisions. Free medical care in Ontario lowers the reservation wage for household members. The effect of these farm and social support policies on the relative returns to labor in agriculture and non‐farm employment explains the lower participation rate and hours supplied in off‐farm work by both operators, and hours supplied in off‐farm work by both operators and spouses in Ontario dairy farm household.
Impacts of price and exchange rate policies on pesticide use in the Philippines
Authors: Tjornhom Jessica D. , Norton George W. , Gapud Victor
Published: January 2020

Pesticide prices can influence producer decisions to apply pesticides as opposed to nonchemical means of pest control. Those prices are are turn influenced by price and exchange rate policies. The effective rate of protection for nine pesticides commonly applied to vegetables in the Philippines was calculated to determine whether government policies are creating incentives or disincentives to adopt more integrated pest management methods. Calculations found that direct price policies, primarily through an import tariff, tax pesticide use while an overvalued exchange rate subsidizes pesticide use. The net effect is a 6 to 8% pesticide subsidy. This subsidy results in economic surplus gains to vegetable producers and consumers when negative externalities associated with pesticide use are not accounted for. However, recent analysis of human health effects of pesticide use on rice in the Philippines demonstrates that these externalities can be substantial.
Resource degradation and adoption of land conservation technologies in the Ethiopian Highlands: A case study in Andit Tid, North Shewa
Authors: Shiferaw Bekelc , Holden Stein T.
Published: January 2020

This paper reports results from a study of resource degradation and conservation behavior of peasant households in a degraded part of the Ethiopian highlands. Peasant households' choice of conservation technologies is modeled as a two‐stage process: recognition of the erosion problem, and adoption and level of use of control practices. An ordinal logit model is used to explain parcel‐level perception of the threat of the erosion problem and the extent of use of conservation practices. Results show the importance of perception of the threat of soil erosion, household, land and farm characteristics; perception of technology‐specific attributes, and land quality differentials in shaping conservation decisions of peasants. Furthermore, where poverty is widespread and appropriate support policies are lacking, results indicate that population pressure per se is unable to encourage sustainable land use. The challenge of breaking the poverty‐environment trap and initiating sustainable intensification thus require policy incentives and technologies that confer short‐term benefits to the poor while conserving the resource base.
Policy and competitiveness of agroforestry‐based technologies for maize production in Cameroon: An application of policy analysis matrix
Authors: Adesina Akinwumi A. , Coulibaly Ousmane N.
Published: January 2020

Questions have been raised about the ecological consequences and economic sustainability of exclusive reliance on chemical fertilizers for the rapidly expanding maize production across sub‐Saharan Africa. Alternative agroforestry‐based natural resource management technologies have been developed for farmers. This paper applies the policy analysis matrix (PAM) to analyze the social profitability of agroforestry‐based technologies for maize production in the highland savanna zone of Cameroon, and the impacts of policy shifts on the financial competitiveness of maize production under these technologies. The paper shows that maize production under agroforestry‐based systems has high comparative advantage.
Agricultural productivity in developing countries
Authors: Fulginiti Lilyan E. , Perrin Richard K.
Published: January 2020

This paper examines changes in agricultural productivity in 18 developing countries over the period 1961–1985. We use a nonparametric, output‐based Malmquist index and a parametric variable coefficients Cobb‐Douglas production function to examine, whether our estimates confirm results from, other studies that have indicated declining agricultural productivity in LDCs. The results confirm previous findings, indicating that at least half of these countries have experienced productivity declines in agriculture.
Determinants of farmers' indigenous soil and water conservation investments in semi‐arid India
Authors: Pender John L. , Kerr John M.
Published: January 2020

This paper investigates the determinants of farmers' indigenous soil and water conservation investments in the semi‐arid tropics of India. A simple theoretical model is used to develop hypotheses about the determinants of investment under alternative factor market conditions, and these are tested using data on conservation investment from three villages. We find that conservation investment is significantly lower on leased land in two of the study villages and lower on plots that are subject to sales restrictions in one village, suggesting the potential for land market reforms to increase conservation investment. In one village, households with more adult males, more farm servants, and less land invest more in conservation, as predicted by Ihe model of imperfect labor markets; and households with more debt and off‐farm income invest more, consistent with the model of imperfect credit markets. Evidence that conservation investment is affected by factor market imperfections is weaker in the other villages, where investments are much larger, suggesting transaction costs as the source of the differences between villages. Other factors that have a significant effect on investment include the farmer's education and caste, characteristics of the plot (size, slope, irrigation status, and quality ranking) and the presence of existing land investments. The results suggest the importance of accounting for differences across communities and households in factor market and agroelimatic conditions in designing programs to promote investments in soil and water conservation.
Market access by smallholder farmers in Malawi: implications for technology adoption, agricultural productivity and crop income
Authors: Zeller Manfred , Diagne Aliou , Mataya Charles
Published: January 2020

In Malawi, maize is the major crop and food staple. Given limited off‐farm employment opportunities, much‐needed increases in household income for improving food security must come from gains in agricultural productivity through better technology and more profitable crops. In the past, hybrid maize and more recently, tobacco were promoted by policy for increasing smallholder income. An analysis of determinants of adoption of these two crops and related income effects is presented. Apart from factor endowment and exposure to agroecological risks, differences in the household's access to financial and commodity markets significantly influence its cropping shares and farm income.
Adoption of new tobacco varieties in Greece: Impacts of empirical findings on policy design
Authors: Dimara Efthalia , Skuras Dimitrios
Published: January 2020

Greece is a major international tobacco producer. Flue‐cured tobacco varieties constituted the major alternative crop to Greek farmers growing certain oriental tobacco varieties. Diffusion of flue‐cured tobacco was rapid due to its high yields and the depressed market for certain oriental tobacco varieties. Currently, the common organisation of the tobacco market is undergoing substantial changes, and the farmers' response will be a vital factor of success. A portfolio selection model reveals that the major factors influencing the adoption decision of tobacco growers are the size of the farm measured in annual work units, the farm's proximity to urban centres, the farm's diversification and the farmer's age. The number of contacts with institutions is, surprisingly, inversely related to adoption. Future tobacco policies impinging on factors influencing decisions to adopt new varieties or production practices may be more cost‐effective.
Price supply response of vegetable growers in the Sultanate of Oman
Authors: Omezzine Abdullah , Al‐Jabri Omar S.
Published: January 2020

Information on supply price elasticities has been acknowledged as being very important for decision makers at the macro and micro levels. This paper presents an empirical investigation of vegetable growers' responses to prices in Oman. It develops a single supply response function incorporating adaptive expectation model for prices. Results indicate that growers adjust relatively fast to changes in expected prices. However, these adjustments tire rather low for some crop in the short‐and long‐run. Growers' production decisions have also shown a significant response to prices of other products competing for farm space and other production resources. These results will support efforts aimed at market development and crop enhancement programs.
Impacts of foreign policies on the gains from research and promotion
Authors: Voon J.P. , Edwards G.W.
Published: January 2020

This paper compares llie direct and indirect effects of rest‐of‐the‐world (ROW) policy on welfare in country A: the direct effect due to the change in world price caused by (he policy in (he absence of research/promotion‐induced shifts in supply/demand, and the additional (or indirect) effect of the policy on (he welfare gain to country A from its investment in research and promotion. The results showed that the reduction in aggregate economic benefits from research/promotion due to a world price‐reducing policy in ROW could be in the range of 25‐50% of the direct reduction in social welfare due to the ROW policy. In the case of Australian beef/veal, it is possible for the welfare impact of the ROW policy via research payoff in country A to exceed the direct welfare cost.
Technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in swine production in Hawaii: a comparison of parametric and nonparametric approaches
Authors: Sharma Khem R. , Leung PingSun , Zaleski Halina M.
Published: January 2020

Technical, allocative and economic efficiency measures arc derived for a sample of swine producers in Hawaii using the parametric stochastic efficiency decomposition technique and nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA). Efficiency measures obtained from the two frontiei approaches are compared. Firm‐specific factors affecting productive efficiencies are also analyzed. Finally, swine producers, potential for reducing cost through improved efficiency is also examined. Under the specification of variable returns to scale (VRS), the mean technical, allocative and economic efficiency indices are 75.9%, 75.8% and 57.1%, respectively, for the parametric approach and 75.9%, 80.3% and 60.3% for DEA; while for the constant returns to scale (CRS) they are 74.5%, 73.9% and 54.7%, respectively, for the parametric approach and 64.3%, 71.4% and 45.7% for DEA. Thus the results from both approaches reveal considerable inefficiencies in swine production in Hawaii. The removal of potential outliers increases the technical efficiencies in the parametric approach anil allocative efficiencies in DEA, but, overall, contrary to popular belief, the results obtained from DEA are found to be more robust than those from the parametric approach. The estimated mean technical and economic efficiencies obtained from the parametric technique are higher than those from DEA for CRS models but quite similar for VRS models, while allocative efficiencies are generally higher in DEA. However, the efficiency rankings of the sample producers based on the two approaches are highly correlated, with the highest correlation being achieved for the technical efficiency rankings under CRS. Based on mean comparison and rank correlation analyses, the return to scale assumption is found to be crucial in assessing the similarities or differences in efficiency measures obtained from the two approaches. Analysis of the role of various firm‐specific factors on productive efficiency shows that farm size has strong positive effects on efficiency levels. Similarly, farms producing market hogs arc‐more efficient than those producing feeder pigs. Based on these results, by operating at the efficient frontier the sample swine producers would be able to reduce their production costs by 38‐46% depending upon the method and returns to scale considered.
Returns to investments in small ruminant research in Indonesia The Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SR‐CRSP) in West Java
Authors: Vaklivia Corinnc
Published: January 2020

Small ruminanl research carried out by the SR‐CRSP on management, nutrition and reproduction was developed and evaluated through an Outreach Pilol Program in West Java, Indonesia. On‐farm testing indicated that introduction of different management practices could increase birth rale and survivability of Javanese Thin Tail sheep. This article presents results from an assessment of research investments that measures the potential returns from this technological package, with various adoption and spillover effects, weighs the benefits against the research and training costs of the SR‐CRSP, and looks at distribution of benefits among consumers and producers of sheep in Indonesia. The rate of return in the most conservative scenario was 19%, with potential short‐run benefits exceeding the costs incurred by breeding and nutrition research, and training of 23 masters and doctoral students in 10 years. Market conditions favor producers in the distribution of benefits.
Risks and returns from soil conservation: evidence from low‐income farms in the Philippines
Authors: Shively Gerald E.
Published: January 2020

This paper examines risks and returns associated with soil conservation on hillside farms in the Philippines. Stochastic efficiency analysis is combined with a heteroskedastic regression model to assess the impacts of contour hedgerows on low‐income corn farms. Regression analysis indicates that, over time, contour hedgerows can improve yields up to 15% compared with conventional practices. The analysis also provides weak support tor a hypothesis that hedgerows are variance reducing. However, results show that the reduction in yield variability afforded by hedgerows is modest, and that yield variability may increase by as much as 5% as hedgerow intensity rises. Tests for stochastic dominance show that, compared with the conventional tillage system, hedgerows do not constitute an unambiguously dominant production strategy. Stochastic elticiency with respect to a function is used to identify a range lor the coefficient ol relative risk aversion within which hedgerows dominate conventional tillage. Results suggest this range would be rather high; hedgerows dominate the conventional cropping strategy only lor decision‐makers with relative risk aversion coefficients in the range 3‐5.5. Implications for soil conservation adoption in low‐income settings are discussed.
The influence of technology characteristics on the rate and speed of adoption
Authors: Batz F.‐J. , Peters K.J. , Janssen W.
Published: January 2020

This paper analyses the impact of technology characteristics on the rate and speed of adoption. In a case study of the Meru district in Kenya, 17 dairy technologies are analyzed with respect to the influence of relative complexity, relative risk and relative investment characteristics on adoption. Technology characteristics were measured by a scoring approach which involves assessments made by extension workers working in the study area. The study found that the past process of adoption and diffusion was significantly influenced by the characteristics mentioned above. Considering the speed to completed adoption, the influence of relative investment was smaller while relative complexity and relative risk showed significance. The strong influence of relative complexity and relative risk of the technologies on the adoption can be explained by the characteristics of farmers and the farming circumstances. Meru farmers are poorly educated and face shortage of labor making them hesitant to adopt complex technologies. Moreover, the risk of production is high leading farmers to adopt new technologies that reduce risk relative to the traditional technologies. Knowing this, planners in research and extension should advise the development of risk‐reducing technologies with a low complexity as compared to the technologies that should be replaced.