U.S. sweeteners: Combating excess consumption with an excise tax?

Obesity is a public health problem in the United States that has been linked to excess sweetener consumption. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 6–9 teaspoons/capita/day, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends 200 calories/capita/day of caloric sweetener consumption. Both recommendations are well below the reported 2016 sweetener consumption levels. We quantify the input tax rates needed to reduce the current excess sweetener consumption level to the AHA and FDA recommended standards. We calculate the joint tax in the United States on two major sweeteners, sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), to be 31 and 24 cents per pound, respectively, based on the AHA standard, and 19 and 17 cents per pound, respectively, using the FDA standard. These taxes would be roughly the magnitude of the existing sugar and HFCS prices. In both cases, the tax incidence on producers is much smaller than on consumers. Our focus is very different from past studies in that it deals with the effect of taxes on inputs to meet the recommended target rather than a selective tax (sugar‐sweetened beverage tax). If a sweetener tax were implemented, U.S. sugar and HFCS producers would lose US$398–US$489 and US$683–US$844 million per year, respectively.     

Comparing the environmental impacts of pasture-based and confinement-based dairy systems in Nova Scotia (Canada) using life cycle assessment

A life cycle assessment (LCA) of dairy systems in Nova Scotia was conducted to compare environmental impacts of typical pasture and confinement operations. Data on material and energy inputs and outputs of these systems were obtained from local researchers and industry, and life cycle impacts in 11 categories were quantified. Use of concentrate feeds, N fertilizers, transport fuels and electricity were dominant contributors to environmental impacts. Somewhat surprisingly, grazing cows for five months per year (typical of pasture systems in Nova Scotia) had little effect on overall environmental impact. Scenario modelling suggests, however, that prolonged grazing is potentially beneficial. Compared with total confinement, a seven-month grazing scenario performed better in seven of the environmental impact categories evaluated with greatest potential improvements associated with acidification potential, ozone depletion potential, human toxicity and fresh water ecotoxicity. In contrast, land use was the only category in which an increased reliance on pasture is predicted to result in a marked increase in environmental impact.     

The adoption of intensive monocrop horticulture in southern Cameroon

Results from a 1997 survey of 208 households in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon indicate that African policy makers seeking to intensify agricultural production should focus attention on the horticultural sub‐sector. The survey, which gathered information on horticultural production practices, found that the average expenditure on agro‐chemical inputs by horticultural producers using monocrop production systems was 190US$/ha, which greatly exceeds the FAO reported national average expenditure of 6.50 US$/ha. A logit model of monocrop adoption indicated that the size of land holding per household had a negative effect on adoption, congruent with population‐driven technical change and that increases in unit transportation costs significantly decreased the probability of adoption. These findings suggest that policy makers should target horticultural intensification in areas of higher population density and promote investment in rural roads. The age of the household head had a significant negative and elastic effect on adoption, which in combination with an increase in the cohort of younger farmers in the rural population induced by macro‐economic events contributed to the spread of intensified horticulture. In the study area, roughly two‐thirds of rural households also produce cocoa and the quantity of cocoa produced was positively associated with adoption of intensive horticultural systems suggesting that export crop promotion indirectly facilitated diversification of agriculture. Women's participation in intensive monocrop production was limited and efforts to promote their greater involvement are recommended.     

Impact of treadle pump irrigation technology on smallholder poverty and food security in Malawi: a case study of Blantyre and Mchinji districts

The Malawi Government has intensified the use of treadle pump irrigation technology in an attempt to increase agricultural production and also to enrich the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers. As a result, the treadle pump is gaining in popularity among smallholder farmers throughout the country. This study was conducted in the districts of Blantyre in the Southern Region and Mchinji in the Central Region of Malawi. A total of 50 treadle pump and 50 non-treadle pump farmers were interviewed in each district to assess the impact of treadle pump irrigation technology with regard to food security and poverty. Gross margin analysis showed that adopters of the technology had higher net farm incomes per hectare (NFIs/ha) than non-adopters per year. In Blantyre, NFI/ha value for adopters was MK122,855 (US$1007) compared with MK15,987 (US$131) for non-adopters under irrigation conditions. Similar results were found in Mchinji with MK51,858 (US$425) and MK16,090 (US$132) for adopters and non-adopters, respectively. Likewise, under rain-fed conditions, adopters had higher NFIs/ha than non-adopters: in Blantyre, the respective NFIs were MK19,497 (US$152) and MK3344 (US$27), whereas in Mchinji the respective values were MK16,896 (US$138) and MK10,084 (US$83). Furthermore, the well-being measurements and analyses of poverty revealed a higher poverty level among non-adopters compared with adopters. The former also had a greater relative risk of falling into deeper poverty than the latter. Transition matrices depicting movement in and out of poverty showed that from 2004 to 2005, some poor adopters moved out of poverty while some non-adopters dropped from being non-poor to poor. No adopter moved from non-poor to poor. From the results, it is concluded that the Government of Malawi should be urged to increase the availability of this kind of technology to the market at a reduced cost by offering tax incentives to local manufacturers and by using an input voucher system to subsidize qualified poor smallholder farmers.     

Measuring Farm and Market Level Economic Impacts of Improved Maize Production Technologies in Ethiopia: Evidence from Panel Data

While it is often recognised that agricultural technology adoption decisions are intertwined and best characterised by multivariate models, typical approaches to examining adoption and impacts of agricultural technology have focused on single technology adoption choice and ignored interdependence among technologies. We examine farm‐ and market‐level impacts of multiple technology adoption choices using comprehensive household survey data collected in 2010/11 and 2012/13 in Ethiopia. Economic surplus analysis combined with panel data switching endogenous regression models are used to compute the supply shift parameter (K‐shift parameter), while at the same time controlling for the endogeneity inherent in agricultural technology adoption among farmers. We find that our improved technology set choices have significant impacts on farm‐level maize yield and maize production costs, where the greatest effect appears to be generated when various technologies are combined. The change in maize yield and production costs results in an average 26.4% cost reduction per kilogram of maize output (the K‐shift parameter). This increases the producer and consumer surpluses by US$ 140 and US$ 105 million per annum, respectively. These changes in economic surplus help to reduce the number of poor people by an estimated 788 thousand per year. We conclude that deliberate extension efforts and other policies that encourage integration of technologies are important for maize technologies to yield their full potential at both farm and market levels.     

Feeding management of dairy cattle affect grassland dynamics in an alpine pasture

The effect of different supplementary feeding rates for grazing cattle on high-altitude pastures dynamics was evaluated. A field experiment was carried out during three years in a subalpine pasture area of the Eastern Alps. The investigated pasture area was 40?ha, located between 1820 and 2230?m?a.s.l. Two paddocks were chosen in the experiment and two herds of 12 cattle each were kept in the two enclosures for 5 weeks. For the first herd (HS), the supplementary feeding rate was 4.8?kg?OM?head^?1 per day, while for the second herd (LS), the rate was 1.6?kg?OM?head^?1 per day. The amount of herbage consumed by each cattle was determined using the n-alkane technique. To monitor the pasture vegetation dynamics, eight metal exclusion cages were placed in each paddock to determine herbage growth, utilization rates, vegetation composition and animal grazing selectivity. Grazing behaviour of dairy cattle, in terms of herbage intake and species selection was affected by the different feeding rates. Cattle grazing Paddock HS consumed 1.9?kg?OM?day^?1 of herbage less than Paddock LS. In the LS paddock, cattle grazed higher phytomass rates. When the animals were fed by higher concentrate rates, a more selective grazing seemed to significantly increase the pasture necromass component. The lower grazing selectivity favoured the development of species as Nardus stricta and Deschampsia caespitosa, which are well known for their low palatability. Distinct vegetation dynamic patterns were observed, with a reduction of hair grass and an increase of legumes in the Paddock LS.     

Ex Ante Welfare Analysis of Technological Change: The Case of Nitrogen Efficient Maize for African Soils

This study evaluates the potential impacts of the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project in two countries of Africa: Kenya and South Africa. The IMAS varieties offer significant yield advantages for regions where low or no fertilizer is used. The analysis uses spatial production data and household data to account for the level of fertilizer use in different agroecological zones of the country as well as different types of maize producing households. Results suggest that IMAS will deliver a total of US$586 million in gross benefits with US$136 million and US$100 million of benefits to producers in Kenya and South Africa, respectively, and an additional US$112 million to consumers in Kenya and US$238 million to consumers in South Africa. These benefits could help more than 1 million people escape poverty in the two countries by 2025. Household level results suggest that small households in areas with relatively low levels of fertilizer use stand to gain significant benefits.     

Did the Commons Make Medieval and Early Modern Rural Societies More Equitable? A Survey of Evidence from across Western Europe, 1300–1800

The view of the commons as archaic, ‘backward’ and ‘irrational’ institutions for the management of resources has now been revised in favour of a more positive one, for both past and present societies. Indeed, it is clear that the commons had multifarious ecological and economic benefits for both medieval and early modern rural societies in Western Europe. That being the case, many scholars have seen the increasing expropriation of the commons in the transition to the early modern period as a sign of increasing inequality characterizing pre‐industrial Europe, and many have lamented the loss of communal grazing privileges connected to processes such as land enclosure – pushing poor peasants into the ‘abyss’ with the removal of their final form of welfare. However, in this paper it is argued that the social distribution of the benefits to the commons were rarely, if ever, entirely equitable. In fact, in many historical contexts the benefits of the commons could also be highly restricted – crystallizing and entrenching stratifications themselves, and even serving as the ‘vehicle’ of further inequality. The expropriation of the commons did not necessarily make Western European rural societies any more unequal.     

A portfolio analysis of incentive programmes for conservation,restoration and timber plantations in Southern Ecuador

This paper uses portfolio analysis to study how the Ecuadorian incentive programme for forest conservation and restoration (Socio Bosque), and an incentive programme for timber plantations, may reduce income risk and/or maximise returns for a given level of risk for farmers in the municipality of Loja. The main existing land use in the research area is milk production on pasture, with some farmers having forest land. Our results suggest that most farmers would significantly increase the area under conservation and/or restoration as part of their risk reduction strategies, compared to a decision based solely on expected returns. However, in land use allocations that maximise the return per unit of risk, a small group of milk producers without forest would continue milk production on most of their land. In addition, milk producers with forest would significantly decrease deforestation under the land use allocations made when conservation incentives are available. Against this we also identify a likely shift of milk production from existing pasture to new pasture established on deforested land, which provides evidence of a potential ‘leakage effect’. In addition, the incentive programmes would only lead to small areas of tree plantations being established. None of the land use combinations (portfolios) analysed would increase the income of all households to above the poverty line, as the monetary incentives are too low and many farms are too small. For forest holders all the land use combinations we studied would have a positive impact on income, but we observed a negative impact on household income for milk producers without forest. For producers without any forest, there seems to be a trade-off between maximising household income and risk reduction through combining incentives for restoration and tree plantations.     

Land size and productivity in the livestock sector: evidence from pastoral areas in China

This article explores the relationship between land size and productivity in the livestock sector. Household panel data from pastoral areas in northwestern China were analysed. Results suggest an inverse relationship (IR) between land size and the number of livestock per ha. IR can be largely explained by labour input intensity, which is negatively correlated with land size. We find that household’s labour demand is not separable from household’s labour supply and households’ decisions to rent land and hire labour for grazing are significantly related to the labour–land endowment ratio. These findings are consistent with the Chayanovian explanation that labour input intensity varies with farm size due to unobserved interhousehold variation in shadow wage rates. In addition, participation in the labour market does not significantly influence the IR for the employer, while the practice of land renting reduces, but does not eliminate, the IR for the lease. These findings point towards the potential for using factor markets to optimise pasture‐based livestock production scale, and the need to promote the factor market development to achieve efficiency in resource use.     

Locating the adverse effects of rangeland enclosure among herders in eastern Ethiopia

This paper examines the effects of rangeland enclosure on herders’ livelihoods and property rights. The analysis is based on the household survey and focus group discussions among pastoral and agropastoral households (from three administrative districts in eastern Ethiopia) who have practiced enclosure and who have been affected by practices of others. Such an examination helps anticipate whether enclosure practice assists in attaining income security and ensuring household welfare by supporting livestock development. Results have shown that expansion of enclosure leads to the emergence of incompatible demands (conflict of interest) over the resource and unstable property rights to the grazing commons. Though private benefits from enclosure produce an incentive for households to practice it, its expansion does not generally increase the welfare of (agro-) pastoral community in the longer-term. Hence, land use policies that favor private use of the rangeland, using land enclosure as an entry point, can potentially harm pastoral livelihoods rather than supporting sustainable pastoral development.     

Feed use intensification and technical efficiency of dairy farms in New Zealand

In recent years, the traditionally pasture‐based dairy farms in New Zealand have become more intensive by using higher proportions of supplementary feed. This trend has been attributed to a range of factors, such as productivity enhancement, overcoming pasture deficits and the improvement of body condition scores. However, there is a lack of knowledge as to how feed use intensification affects the technical efficiency of dairy farms in New Zealand. This paper addresses the research gap by estimating the impact of feed use intensification on the technical efficiency of New Zealand dairy farms, using a fixed effects stochastic production frontier model and a balanced panel of 257 farms from 2010 to 2013. The empirical results show that technical efficiency on New Zealand dairy farms is positively and significantly influenced by feed use intensification, herd size and milking frequency.     

The National Economic Benefits of Food Imports: The Case of U.S. Imports of Hass Avocados From Mexico

Imports of food products are often seen primarily as a threat to domestic producers while the broader economic impacts are ignored. Research on rapidly growing U.S. avocado imports has focused on the consequences for the U.S. avocado industry. This study conducts an economic impact analysis to measure the level and industry distribution of any benefits of U.S. imports of avocados from Mexico that may accrue to the U.S. national economy. We find that the US$1.5 billion in U.S. imports of Mexican avocados in 2015 had a positive and statistically significant effect on the U.S. economy in that year. Every dollar of avocado imports from Mexico in 2015 generated US$2.31 in U.S. output, US$1.41 in U.S. GDP, and US$0.79 in U.S. labor income. About 12.3 jobs were generated per US$1 million of imports. A separate econometric analysis corroborates the result. We conclude that imports of Mexican avocados are pro-growth for the U.S. economy.     

Modelling a mixed system of air pollution fee and tradable permits for controlling nitrogen oxide: a case study of Taiwan*

A mixed-integer non-linear programming model that minimises the total regulatory costs of controlling nitrogen oxide is used to investigate how a newly proposed permit trading scheme in Taiwan, which incorporates the features of banking and a non-one-to-one trading ratio, may affect firms’ emission reduction strategies and permit trading decisions. Compared to the previous regulation where only an air pollution fee is used, the new regulation that requires a reduction in emissions by 10 per cent from the emission level in the year 2000 for a 5 year period will increase the costs by 77 per cent, which is equivalent to US$9.87 million. The design of banking and the increasing returns to scale characteristic of pollution control among firms might lead to an uneven reduction in emissions in each year. Setting a lower reservation rate for banking would, however, help maintain a more stable environmental quality without a significant loss to the government in terms of air pollution fee revenue.     

Apparent Gains,Hidden Costs: Examining Adoption Drivers,Yield, and Profitability Outcomes of Rotavator Tillage in Wheat Systems in Nepal

The ‘high speed’ rotavator is used for shallow tillage to create a fine tilth and incorporate crop residues, often with a single tractor pass. Rotavator tillage has spread quickly in many parts of South Asia, despite short-term experimental trials suggesting deteriorating soil quality and crop yield penalties. Evidence of rotavator impacts on farmer fields across soil gradients and time is largely absent. From a farm household survey conducted among wheat farmers in Nepal, we estimate wheat yield and profitability outcomes for rotavator adopters and non-adopters using propensity score matching. We find that rotavator adoption leads to inferior outcomes, despite significant cost savings for land preparation (US$ 11–15 per hectare). With rotavator adoption, farmers lose about 284–309 kg of wheat grain and about US$ 93–101 of profits on average per hectare per season, and these penalties increase with longer-term use of the technology. Adoption of rotavator appears to be driven by the cost and time savings for land preparation. Against this backdrop, new policy and extension efforts are required that discourage rotavator use and favour more sustainable tillage technologies.     

Wage and employment effects of Malawi's fertilizer subsidy program

This article uses three waves of nationally representative household‐level panel data from Malawi to estimate how a large‐scale fertilizer subsidy program impacts the agricultural labor market, known as ganyu in that country. I find that when looking across the entire population of smallholders, receiving an additional 100 kg of subsidized fertilizer causes the average household to supply about three fewer days of ganyu. The fertilizer subsidy program also has a small positive effect on the probability that a household demands agricultural labor, with the results approaching statistical significance. In addition, a 10 kg increase in the average amount of subsidized fertilizer acquired per household in a community boosts the median agricultural wage rate by 1.4% in that community. The increase in wage rates translates to a US $1.40 per year increase in average household income in the years after Malawi's subsidy program was scaled up, and a US $1.86 per year increase in average household income for those who sold their labor before the subsidy program was scaled up. This finding suggests that households who sell their labor off farm may experience some small spillover benefit from the program in the form of higher agricultural wage rates.     

Determinants of crop-livestock integration in Brazil: Evidence from the household and regional levels

Integrated crop-livestock systems (iCL) are advocated as a promising strategy to increase agricultural production and rehabilitate degraded pastures while mitigating GHG emissions. Although iCL in Brazil has increased over the past few years, it still occupies a small share of the country’s total agricultural area. We investigate the determinants of iCL occurrence in Mato Grosso state, a globally important producer of beef cattle and grains that has experienced rapid land cover change and environmental degradation in recent decades. Our analysis encompasses two typical cases of iCL in Mato Grosso (the rotation of soy followed by pasture, and soy followed by maize and pasture) as well as biophysical, socioeconomic, and institutional factors observable at the household and/or municipality levels that may influence the wide-scale occurrence of iCL. Evidence at both scales suggests that knowledge and supply chain infrastructure play an important role in early occurrence of iCL, as they are more common in regions closer to iCL research stations and processing facilities of grains and cattle. On average iCL adopters are more educated and have better access to technical assistance and sector information than specialized farmers or ranchers. Most iCLs are concentrated near established soy areas and greater similarity exists between municipalities with iCL and soy-dominant municipalities vs. pasture-dominant municipalities. Our findings reveal the importance of specific conditions for iCL occurrence and iCL promotion in livestock-dominant regions. Incentives targeted at ranchers are crucial for the achievement of the Brazilian Government’s goal to restore degraded pastures through agricultural intensification.     

Evaluating sustainable intensification and diversification options for agriculture-based livelihoods within an aquatic biodiversity conservation context in Buxa,West Bengal,India

Potential impacts of sustainable intensification and diversification options for agriculture-based livelihoods in Buxa, West Bengal, India, were evaluated using bioeconomic modelling. The baseline scenario involved multiple cropping seasons and a combination of crops on 0.9 ha land-holdings, livestock husbandry, and exploitation of common property resources. With capital costs of Rs.128,180 (US$2293) and annual operating costs of Rs.37,290 (US$667), the net benefit generated (excluding depreciation) was Rs.70,250 (US$1257) annually. The pay-back period was 1.8 years, and the internal rate of return (IRR) was 53.7% over 10 years. Allocation of 20 days annually to fishing increased the net benefit to Rs.75,030 (US$1342) and IRR to 56.5% with minimal added costs and risks. Adopting the system of rice intensification (SRI) for paddy cultivation on 0.35?ha increased the IRR to 61.1%, while reducing agrochemical and inorganic fertilizer use. Including small-scale fish culture in a 0.1 ha pond integrated in the irrigation scheme for SRI cultivation resulted in an IRR of 77.3% and reduced the pay-back period to 1.3 years. Some risks to biodiversity are apparent with each scenario; however, with appropriate safeguards, sustainable agricultural intensification and livelihoods diversification could bolster agrobiodiversity and social-ecological resilience of highland communities, while alleviating pressure on biodiversity.     

Incentivizing sustainable rangeland practices and policies in Colombia’s Orinoco region

Livestock grazing, along with agriculture, are key drivers of deforestation and land degradation that subsequently affect ecosystem service provision in the tropics. Although environmental and agricultural policies may curtail these negative effects, information is needed on how specific programs and instruments could be used to incentivize ranchers into adopting rangeland practices to achieve land conservation. We examine what encourages livestock ranchers to adopt more sustainable rangeland practices with various technical and conservation attributes in Colombia’s Orinoco region. First, we analyze a management alternative based on an improved pasture (IP) approach traditionally used in tropical South America, and another practice that promotes silvopastoral systems (SP) that better sustain the long term provision of ecosystem services. Second, we assess the influence that technical assistance and conservation payment instruments can have on the adoption of the IP or SP programs. Using expert-based elicitation, questionnaires, choice experiments, and econometrics, we found that when either SP or IP management alternatives include a complete technical assistance program (CTAP), emphasizing forage or cattle production, the propensity to adopt the conservation focused SP alternative significantly increases. The SP alternative with CTAP for cattle production was valued by ranchers at $290 ha/year and the CTAP prioritizing forage production was valued at $233 per ha/year. Nonetheless, a basic technical assistance program for cattle production using the IP alternative was valued at $128, but when including the CTAP, the value increased to $262. Adopting conservation practices in the form of compensation payments for not grazing portions of their land in the SP was valued by ranchers at an average of $8 and $10 in the IP. Our findings show that decisions to adopt conservation oriented rangeland practices and policies are not strictly based on monetary payments for ecosystem services alone, but also on technical support.     

Investigating improved pasture productivity change on the New South Wales tablelands

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.