Measurement errors in agricultural data and their implications on marginal returns to modern agricultural inputs

The low uptake of modern agricultural technologies in sub-Saharan African countries has encouraged researchers to revisit the returns to (or profitability of) these agricultural inputs. A related strand of literature is exploring the allocative efficiency of these factors of production in African agriculture. However, all these studies rely on self-reported agricultural data, which are prone to nonclassical measurement errors, the errors in these data are correlated with the true values of variables of interest. In this article we investigate the implication of measurement errors in self-reported agricultural input and production data on marginal returns to these modern agricultural inputs. We consider a generic two-sided measurement error problem where both production and inputs can be measured with error, and these errors can be correlated. We employ both self-reported and objective measures of production and plot size to compute output elasticities under these alternative measurement scenarios. We find that using self-reported production and plot size overestimates output elasticities and hence marginal returns to modern agricultural inputs (including chemical fertilizer and improved seed). These results are noteworthy in terms of informing conventional technology diffusion strategies as well as in view of revisiting existing presumptions about the profitability of modern agricultural inputs.     

The transformation of the Indian agricultural input industry: has it increased agricultural R&D?

Indian agricultural input industries have gone through a major transformation in the last 40 years. State owned firms grew during the Green Revolution and then stagnated or declined. Indian corporations that were protected from foreign competition are now exporters of agricultural tractors and pesticides. Foreign multinational corporations are rapidly increasing their role in the seed, pesticide, and tractor industries. Entry by large Indian firms and multinationals has increased competition in the input industries. Private agribusiness R&D in India grew from $23 million in 1985 to $250 million in 2009 in 2005 US dollars. This is the same time period as a transformation in the agricultural input industry, rapid growth in demand for agricultural inputs, breakthroughs in information technology and biotechnology, and changes in intellectual property rights. An econometric model was used to test whether the transformation of agricultural input industry was a major factor in the growth of R&D expenditure or not. This article analyzes a unique, firm level sales and R&D data set from the seed, pesticide, tractor, and fertilizer industries in 2000–2009. The estimated model indicates that agribusiness firms' R&D expenditures from 2000 to 2009 were positively related to variables associated with industry transformation such as firm size, ownership by multinationals, and declining industry concentration. The model also indicates that strengthening patent policy as well as growth in the size of research‐intensive industries like the seed industry contributed to the growth of agribusiness R&D in India.     

Agricultural Technology and Farm–Nonfarm Growth Linkages

Agricultural growth stimulates rural nonfarm activity by boosting demand for production inputs and consumer goods. But different kinds of agricultural technology promote different patterns of nonfarm linkages. To explore how key features of agricultural technology affect growth in the rural nonfarm economy, this paper reviews an array of cross-section and time-series evidence bearing on the dynamics of the rural nonfarm economy. Then, using consumption and production parameters associated with different agricultural technologies, it introduces a simple model which isolates the effects of different technologies on nonfarm growth linkages.     

When knowledgeable neighbors also share seedlings: diffusion of banana cultivation in Tanzania

Networks have been found to increase adoption of technology by providing information about the new technology (e.g., Conley and Udry, 2010). However, little is known about provision of necessary inputs for adoption through networks. Using data from an intervention in Tanzania, I discuss how a farmer's network can also affect the adoption of improved banana cultivation by providing seedlings. A solidarity chain principle obliged project farmers to pass on improved seedlings to other farmers free of charge. I provide a theoretical framework to guide intuition for the empirical results and suggest an empirical distinction between information and input provision through networks. Empirically, I find support for network effects through provision of both information and inputs, jointly boosting the network effect on adoption: a farmer is 39 percentage points more likely to adopt banana cultivation if there is at least one banana grower in the farmer's network compared to none. In this setting, it is not possible to fully disentangle the input and information channel. While the findings suggest that a solidarity chain principle could be an interesting avenue to boost local diffusion of new technologies, more research is needed to unpack the causal impact and the interplay with existing input markets.     

牢牢抓住建设智慧农业的时代主题

目的 当前，以信息技术和生物技术为特征的新一轮农业科技革命正在孕育大的突破，信息化进入到大数据发展的新阶段，并与农业农村现代化形成了历史性交汇。通过界定智慧农业及相关重要概念，探索大数据、物联网、人工智能等现代信息技术在农业生产各环节、各领域的创新应用。方法 文章对建设智慧农业的技术演进、现实需求、发展趋势进行研究，将文献、统计数据、调研案例分析结果相结合，提出智慧农业建设和数字乡村发展路径。结果 建设智慧农业是技术进步的必然产物，是乡村振兴的应势而为，数字技术正在破解“谁来种地、怎么种地”的问题，改变“面朝黄土背朝天”的劳作方式，让“知天而作”的智慧农业逐步变为现实。结论 要着力建设数据资源体系，以企业为主体、多方协同开展科技攻关，探索应用场景，加强数字技术在农业农村各行业各领域的集成应用，聚焦重点品种、重点地区、重点领域和重点方向抓好试点示范，支撑中国走出一条不同于欧美发达国家大规模大机械的农业现代化道路。     

Adoption and impacts of sustainable intensification practices in Ghana

Sustainable agricultural intensification requires the use of multiple agricultural technologies in an integrated manner to enhance productivity while conserving the natural resource base. This study analyses the adoption and impacts of sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) using a dataset from Ghana. A multivariate probit (MVP) model was estimated to assess the adoption of multiple SIPs. Moreover, we used a multivalued semi-parametric treatment effect (MVTE) model to estimate the effects of adopting multiple SIPs on maize productivity. The MVP model results show, among others, that access to market, capital, and information/knowledge would enhance the adoption of SIPs. The MVTE model results show that a higher number of SIPs is associated with higher productivity which is more visible when commercial inputs are used in combination with cultural practices. These results have the following policy implications. First, they imply that good rural infrastructure and agricultural services such as rural road network, village-level input delivery system, input credit, and multiple information/knowledge sharing approach (instead of the conventional singular formal information/knowledge sharing approach) can enhance adoption. Second, the results suggest that promoting an integrated use of technologies, instead of a single technology, would have a positive impact on farm productivity and farm household income.     

Farming systems and Conservation Agriculture: Technology,structures and agency in Malawi

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is advocated as an agricultural innovation that will improve smallholder famer resilience to future climate change. Under the conditions presented by the El Niño event of 2015/16, the implementation of CA was examined in southern Malawi at household, district and national institutional levels. Agricultural system constraints experienced by farming households are identified, and in response the technologies, structures and agency associated with CA are evaluated. The most significant constraints were linked to household health, with associated labour and monetary impacts, in addition to the availability of external inputs of fertiliser and improved seed varieties. Our findings show that such constraints are not adequately addressed through current agricultural system support structures, with the institutions surrounding CA (in both Government extension services and NGO agricultural projects) focusing attention predominantly at field level practice, rather than on broader system constraints such as education and health support systems. Limited capacity within local institutions undermines long term efforts to implement new technologies such as CA. It is vitally important that the flexibility of farmers to adapt new technologies in a locally-appropriate manner is not closed down through national and institutional aims to build consensus around narrow technical definitions of a climate-smart technology such as CA. To enable farmers to fully utilise CA programmes, interventions must take a more holistic, cross-sectoral approach, understanding and adapting to address locally experienced constraints. Building capacity within households to adopt new agricultural practices is critical, and integrating healthcare support into agricultural policy is a vital step towards increasing smallholder resilience to future climate change.     

Tracing the Effects of Agricultural Commodity Prices and Food Costs

We estimate a system of product and input-demand equations for food-processing industries to trace the links among farm commodity prices, food-processing costs, and food prices. Disembodied technical change, which likely reflects increasing consumer demand for convenience and product variety, has sharply reduced agricultural materials demand relative to most other food-processing inputs. This implies weakening impacts of farm price shocks on food prices. But improving quality and falling relative prices for agricultural inputs, in combination with increasing factor substitution, has counteracted these forces to encourage greater usage of agricultural inputs in food processing, and limit these trends.     

物联网技术惠及现代农业发展探析

随着我国科学技术的不断进步,物联网技术在各领域的发展应用日趋成熟,已成为迅速崛起的战略性新兴产业与全新经济增长极,势必带动我国信息技术产业的第三次发展浪潮,如何将物联网技术更契合的应用于现代农业生产中是当前农业发展研究的重要课题。文章通过解析物联网技术的原理,分析了物联网技术在农业发展中的应用基础与发展趋势,明确提出当前我国农业物联网发展亟须攻克的关键性问题,并结合物联网技术提出相应发展策略。该文通过资料收集、理论分析、数据收集与整理等相关方法对物联网技术影响下的现代农业发展现状及未来方向做出了大胆的预测,研究发现:物联网技术在现代农业发展中的运用能够传递更多实时有效的信息,能够有效结合农业市场发展规律以调整发展政策与发展方向,促进我国农业实现可持续发展。     

Tradeoffs and complementarities in the adoption of improved seeds,fertilizer, and natural resource management technologies in Kenya

There is widespread consensus that agricultural technology has an important role to play for poverty reduction and sustainable development. There is no consensus, however, about the types of technologies that are best suited for smallholder farmers in Africa. While some consider natural resource management (NRM) technologies as most appropriate, others propagate input intensification with a stronger role of the private sector. In the public debate, these two strategies are often perceived as incompatible. Environmental non‐governmental organizations in particular consider low‐external input strategies as the only sustainable form of agriculture, a view that has considerable influence on policymakers and the international donor community. Most existing research studies on smallholder innovation focus on the adoption of individual technologies, so that comparisons between different types of technologies in the same context are not easily possible. We use representative data from maize‐producing households in Kenya and a multivariate probit model to analyze the adoption of different types of technologies simultaneously. Results indicate that NRM technologies and strategies that build on external inputs are not incompatible. Interesting complementarities exist, which are not yet sufficiently exploited because many organizations promote either one type of technology or the other, but rarely a combination of both.     

State‐contingent analysis of farmers’ response to weather variability: irrigated dairy farming in the Murray Valley,Australia

The agricultural sector is commonly regarded as one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Current understanding of the impact of climate change on this sector relies on the underlying assumptions about farmers’ possible responses to weather variability, including changes in crop choice, input combinations and land management practices. Many previous analyses rely on the implicit (and restrictive) assumption that farmers operate under a fixed technology set across different states of nature. This assumption, represented through stochastic production or profit functions, is commonly made but seldom tested and may understate farmers’ responses to climate change if state‐contingent production technologies are, in reality, more flexible. The potential for farmers to adapt production technologies in response to unforeseen events is at the core of the state‐contingent approach. Advanced in Chambers and Quiggin (2000), the theory contends that producers can manage uncertainty through the allocation of productive inputs to different states of nature. In this article, we test the assumption that farmers’ observed behaviour is consistent with the state‐contingent production theory using farm‐level data from Australia. More precisely, we estimate the milk production technology for a sample of irrigated dairy farms from the southern Murray–Darling Basin over the period from 2006–2007 to 2009–2010.     

吉林地区果蔬产品物流配送中存在的问题及对策

吉林省是我国东北部地区重要的农业大省,水果与蔬菜等农产品的产量相当可观。由于吉林地区的地理位置偏北、春冬季气候偏冷,当前吉林省果蔬产品的物流配送还主要以自然配送与常温配送为主。而果蔬产品的物流配送是当前生鲜农产品产销过程中的重要一环,随着人们日常消费对果蔬量的高增长与质的高要求,使得吉林省地区传统落后的果蔬物流配送模式亟需改革与创新。文章阐述了当前吉林省果蔬类产品物流配送中存在的问题,即冷链物流使用率低、配送过程管理混乱、物流成本高、配套技术与设施建设落后、物流信息化程度低等。从政府、企业、社会等角度针对性地提出冷链物流基础设施建设、创新配送模式,健全"生产者—配送者—消费者"冷链物流配送体系、创新物流冷链输运技术、创建现代农产品(包含果蔬类产品)物流的信息体系、建设果蔬类物流行业标准等对策。     

农业科技园区规划关键技术方法与实证经验

［目的］农业科技园区建设符合乡村振兴战略的发展需求。农业科技园区规划采用的关键技术方法是否规范化对新时期园区规划的前瞻性和科学性具有重要作用。从城乡规划学、地理信息科学、农业科技、环境科学、大数据等多学科交叉角度围绕农业科技园区的规划流程、编制内容、技术方法等过程开展关键技术与方法优化研究，为新时期农业科技园区规划提供新思路和标准范式。［方法］基于农业科技园区相关国家政策和学术文献的梳理和研究，结合农业科技园区规划实践经验，集成应用城乡规划、农业大数据分析、可视化等技术，优化园区规划方法。［结果］将规划编制分为前期准备阶段、规划编制阶段、规划评估阶段，从规划过程、规划编制内容体系、技术方法等多维度提出了农业科技园区规划编制方法，建立了农业科技园区规划编制技术方法体系。［结论］提升了规划编制的科学性和可操作性，阐明了规划编制技术方法体系的实证经验，强化了规划科学基础并提升了规划技术水平。     

Research and Development Towards Sustainable Agriculture by Resource-Poor Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Some Strategic and Organisational Considerations in Linking Farmer Practical Needs with Policies and Scientific Theories

Sustainable agricultural development is presented as a diverse and dynamic process through which it copes with agro-ecological and socio-economic diversity at field level and with ever-changing needs and opportunities of (smallholder) farmers. In support, agricultural research—aimed at locally appropriate and environmentally friendly technologies—should contribute to bridging the currently increasing gaps between scientific theories and government agricultural policies as opposed to the practical field realities that farmers are facing.

These gaps are best illustrated by—what in the West is often presumed to be—a stagnant African agricultural (in reality it is not!) in spite of many ambitious policies and projects by national governments and international donors for several decades. Disappointing adoption rates by resource-poor smallholders of the proposed ‘modern’ agricultural technologies have often been blamed. However, the actual local systems are primarily based on ‘ecological’ and ‘organic’ concepts. Localised intensification through recycling of organic by-products is an integral part of such systems. Consequently, these systems are uniquely adapted to the diverse framer needs resulting from widespread variations in soil, climate and socio-economic conditions. By contrast most international R&D support for the African agricultural sector is aimed implicitly at creating a modern conventional system of farming based on external inputs and along a Western industrial model.

To cope with diverse and complex, location specific problems inherent in development, sustainability and poverty alleviation, requires strong national research and development (R&D) institutions that adopt comprehensive, people-centred approaches as opposed to the technocratic nature of most formal international development assistance. The development debate therefore should be turned around. The ‘existing’ smallholder farming systems and their needs should be a point of departure, while the various development initiatives and policies should be handled by including the related institutional aspects.     

异质性农技培训主体对农户绿色农业技术采纳行为的影响研究

[目的]推广绿色农业技术是缓解生态环境恶化、保障农业高质量发展的重要途径。[方法]文章利用河北省436户设施蔬菜种植户的调研数据,选择5项绿色农业技术（抗病虫抗逆性强的新品种、生物防治、生物菌肥、生物农药和水肥一体化技术）,基于培训主体异质性视角,运用有序Probit模型实证分析公益性和市场性两种不同性质农技培训主体对农户绿色农业技术采纳强度的影响。进一步,基于技术异质性视角,运用二元Probit模型分析两种不同性质主体对农户不同类型绿色农业技术采纳的影响。[结果]（1）农技培训能够显著促进绿色农业技术采纳,其中公益性主体开展的技术培训对农户绿色技术采纳的促进效果更加显著。（2）针对不同绿色农业技术,不同性质主体开展的培训对技术采纳的促进效果存在差异,对商业化程度较高、有用性、易用性、适用性较高的技术（生物防治、生物菌肥和生物农药）,市场性主体的培训对技术采纳的促进作用更强。（3）对于有用性、易用性和适用性不高的技术（抗病虫抗逆性强的新品种和水肥一体化）,公益性主体的培训对技术采纳的促进作用更强。[结论]应加大农业绿色技术培训的普及力度,构建以公益性农技推广机构为主导,其他市场主体为补...     

中国南方水稻干旱的解决途径探讨——对政府部门、科研

概述中国南方水稻种植面临的干旱问题，报告对有关政府部门、科研机构和农户调查的简况、政府部门和科研机构以及农户采取的抗旱措施，同时比较了各有关方面对干旱解决途径的看法，为解决中国南方水稻干旱问题，提出建议：加强中国南方水利设施的修建和管理、关注耐旱水稻品种的培育、加快农技推广体系的改革和建立完善的农技推广体系。     

PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN AGRICULTURE (REVISITED): A MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK AND SOME EMPIRICAL RESULTS

This paper explores the methodology of sectoral productivity growth measurement within the framework of input-output analysis. A method which ensures that sectoral productivity growth rates are consistent with productivity growth rates for the economy as a whole (as well as allowing for external trade) is suggested. New estimates are presented on total factor productivity in UK agriculture using a Tornqvist index procedure. In addition, new estimates of agricultural labour productivity growth are presented, taking account not only of labour employed in agriculture but also of labour employed in ancillary industries on the supply side. The empirical results confirm that part of the labour previously employed on farms has shifted “upstream” to industries providing agriculture with fertilises, machinery and other inputs.     

Adding value to spatially managed inputs by understanding site-specific yield response

Many mechanized crop producers and agribusinesses are fascinated with precision agriculture technology, but adoption has lagged behind the expectations. Among the reasons for slow adoption of precision agriculture technology is that initial users focused excessively on in‐field benefits from variable‐rate fertilizer application using regional average fertilizer recommendations. This article illustrates how greater use of site‐specific crop response information can improve variable rate input application recommendations. Precision agriculture is spatial information technology applied to agriculture. The technologies include global position systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), yield monitoring sensors, and computer controlled within‐field variable rate application (VRA) equipment. Experimentation with these technologies is occurring everywhere there is large scale mechanized agriculture. Commercial use has been greatest in the US, where 43% of farm retailers offered VRA services in 2001. Except for certain high‐value crops like sugar beet, farmer adoption of VRA has been modest. The farm level profitability of VRA continues to be questionable for bulk commodity crops. The theoretical model and illustration presented here suggest that VRA fertilization has not yet reached its profitability potential. Most VKA field trials to date have relied upon existing state‐wide or regional input rate recommendations. Unobserved soil characteristics can potentially interact with an input to make its effect on yield vary site‐specifically within fields. Failure to use site‐specific response functions for VRA applications may lead to a misallocation of inputs just as great as that which results from using uniform applications instead of VRA. Agricultural economists have a long history of estimating output response to input applications. Several have started to develop tools to estimate site‐specific responses from yield monitor and other precision agriculture data. Likewise, agricultural economists have developed an important body of research results on information value based on managing variability—typically in temporal settings. With these tools, a major potential exists to develop further benefits from precision agriculture technologies that permit truly spatially tailored input applications.     

广东省农产品绿色物流系统构建及其运作模式研究

目前,农产品物流产业已经成为加快新农村建设与促进农村经济发展的新增长点。同时,随着人们消费理念的转变,对农产品的配送要求逐步转变为健康环保、安全快捷的物流模式,因此既要注意农产品的绿色生产过程,更要重视农产品物流系统的构建及其运作模式的确立。广东省对农产品的需求量相对来说比较大,对农产品绿色物流配送要求较高,鉴于此,文章以广东省为例,首先对广东省农产品绿色物流存在问题进行分析,发现存在绿色物流的观念落后、农产品运输的绿色化程度低、绿色物流技术落后等问题,拟从物流中心结点、区域规划、物流通道等方面构建农产品绿色物流系统,并将广东省农产品绿色物流运作模式划分为批发市场主导模式、行业协会主导模式及第三方物流企业主导模式。同时,为了确保绿色物流能够正常运转,有必要落实政策、人才、技术以及资金等保障机制,旨在有效降低农产品物流成本,提升农村经济效益的同时,推动农民工资性收入的显著增加。