Impact of research investment on Cassava production technologies in India*

The present study was an ex‐post assessment done to validate past funding on cassava research, based on economic surplus approach. Though cassava was introduced as a food crop in Kerala, India from Brazil, it has changed its status to commercial crop at present in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states. This was made possible due to intensive research and development efforts of different R&D organizations. Cassava technologies developed enabled in sustaining the crop in the country with the world’s highest productivity. All the cassava production technologies considered in the study resulted in an economic surplus of Rs.3585.87 million in the target domain covering Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Consumers and producers benefited to the tune of Rs.2090.64 million and Rs.1495.23 million respectively. Net present value of economic gains was estimated to be Rs.3548.76 million. Present value of research investment on cassava production technologies was Rs.37.11 million resulting in benefit cost ratio of 96.63:1 with a high internal rate of return of 104 per cent. Thus the study indicated that the research investments incurred on cassava production technologies development was highly economical and provided evidence to the policy makers that supporting the research investment on underground, under exploited tropical root crops like cassava is an economically viable proposition.     

A study of economic efficiency of Iranian farmers in Ramjerd district: an application of stochastic programming

An extension of utility-efficient programming to the non-linear discrete stochastic programming method was developed and used in the analysis of the economic efficiency of a sample of farmers in Iran. The results indicate that it would be feasible to increase substantially farmers' total net revenue by increasing their economic efficiency in terms of technical and allocative efficiencies. The study further suggested that risk aversion plays an important role in farmers' behaviour. The sample farmers are risk averse and hence are likely to trade higher expected profits for lower risk. Understanding this characteristic is important for interventions intended to raise farm productivity and efficiency.     

非粮化对粮食绿色全要素生产率的门槛效应研究

目的 非粮化关乎国家粮食安全，研究非粮化对粮食绿色全要素生产率的门槛效应，有利于正确认识非粮化，也为制定差异化农业绿色发展政策提供理论依据。方法 文章以2008—2018年我国26个省（市、自治区）为样本，在运用SBM-GML模型测算粮食绿色全要素生产率的基础上，结合面板门槛模型和耦合协调度模型，探究了非粮化与粮食绿色全要素生产率之间存在的非线性关系。结果 （1）样本期内所考察地区的粮食绿色全要素生产率均实现破“1”增长，且相较于粮食主产区、产销平衡区以及全国平均值而言，粮食主销区的粮食绿色全要素生产率增长更为显著。（2）非粮化对粮食绿色全要素生产率的影响，确存在以种粮利润为门槛变量的单一门槛效应，其门槛值为7.638，且两者之间的负向关系在跨过门槛值之后将显著大幅提升。（3）分区域来看，各区域非粮化与种粮利润之间耦合协调度的变动趋势，与其粮食绿色全要素生产率的变动趋势基本一致。结论 采取差异化的非粮化控制措施，可以最大程度上提升粮食绿色全要素生产率。低门槛地区可建立非粮化预警机制，而高门槛地区则应采取严格控制措施，但都须将种粮利润协同保护作为重要工具手段。     

Bt Cotton,Pesticide Use and Environmental Efficiency in Pakistan

There is a broad literature on the impact of Bt cotton adoption in different countries, but few studies have explicitly looked at environmental and health effects from an economic perspective. We analyse the impact of Bt cotton on environmental efficiency in Pakistan, using farm survey data and a doubly heteroskedastic stochastic production function framework. Negative environmental and health effects of chemical pesticide use are quantified with the environmental impact quotient. Bt‐adopting farms have higher cotton yields, while using lower pesticide quantities and causing less environmental damage. Bt farms are both technically and environmentally more efficient than non‐Bt farms. Bt adoption increases environmental efficiency by 37%. Achieving the same reduction in negative environmental and health impact without Bt would cost conventional cotton farmers US$ 54 per acre in terms of foregone yields and revenues (7% of total revenues). Extrapolating this shadow price of the technology's health and environmental benefits to the total Bt cotton area in Pakistan results in an aggregate value of US$ 370 million. These benefits are in addition to the profit gains for Bt‐adopting farmers. Our results suggest that Bt technology can contribute to sustainable agricultural development.     

THE COST OF DIFFERENTIAL GENDER ROLES IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE: A CASE STUDY OF SMALLHOLDER BANANA-COFFEE FARMS IN THE KAGERA REGION,TANZANIA

In 1982/83, due to either economic pressure or profit motivation, 30 per cent of the men in a random sample of 200 smallholder banana-coffee farms in the Kagera region of Tanzania had adopted a more liberalised division of labour, and engaged in operations and horticultural farm enterprises that traditionally are the responsibility of women. A linear programming model is used to estimate the impact of gender roles on farm incomes and resource productivity among the sample. The results suggest that by liberalising sex roles, cash incomes could increase by up to 10 per cent while the productivity of labour and capital would improve by 15 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. In view of the economic benefits to be reaped, it is recommended that, within the framework of economic adjustment, African governments should launch campaigns to enhance this process because gender roles impair efficiency.     

Environmental efficiency and the impact of regulation in dryland organic vine production

Organic agriculture figures prominently in the policies adopted by the EU to improve the environmental impact of agriculture. It may also potentially provide other benefits such as high-quality, health-enhancing food products and advancements in rural development. Recent years have brought new research to assess the environmental and economic implications of organic conversion. Economic efficiency comparisons between organic and conventional farms have been extended to include environmental performance. The inclusion of this variable in efficiency analysis may be useful when assessing the potential impact of suggestions to improve environmental regulations and policies. This paper applies the environmental efficiency model to the analysis of different technologies and calculates productivity and efficiency with and without environmental impacts. In the empirical part of the paper Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and bootstrap techniques are applied to detect and measure differences between organic and conventional agriculture aggregate efficiency and productivity in a sample of vineyard farms operating in semiarid, non-irrigated conditions in Navarre (Spain), taking farms’ nitrogen surplus and pesticide toxicity indicators to consideration. The results for these particular agronomic conditions suggest that organic agriculture is more environmentally efficient than conventional agriculture in dryland farming, in that it achieves a more favorable production to environmental impact ratio. Nevertheless, conversion to organic production methods for extensive vine cultivation under arid conditions does not guarantee substantial environmental gains, since the organic farms in our sample do not display inferior levels of pollution emissions per unit input as extensive conventional production. The overall environmental efficiency of organic farming is largely attributable to the fact that organic farms come closer to the frontier of their own technology. We find no significant technological differences in environmental productivity, however. In terms of policy implications, these findings suggest that the tightening of specific environmental restrictions in organic standards should involve consideration of technological differences in environmental productivity between organic and other alternative technologies. If organic technology is less productive, more restrictive regulation could undermine the economic viability of farms, and thus undermine the other benefits of organic farming. The results also indicate that, at the local level, it could be convenient to address part of organic subsidies to further improvements in the control of pollution from fertilizers and pesticides.     

Productivity growth and convergence in crop, ruminant, and nonruminant production: measurement and forecasts

Projections of future productivity growth rates in agriculture are an essential input for a great variety of tasks, ranging from development of an outlook for global commodity markets to the analysis of interactions between land use, deforestation, and ecological diversity. Yet solid projections for these variables have proven elusive—particularly on a global basis. This is due, in no small part, to the difficulty of measuring historical total factor productivity growth. Consequently, most productivity projections are based on partial factor productivity measures that can be quite misleading. The purpose of this work is to provide worldwide forecasts of agricultural productivity growth till the year 2040 based on the latest time series evidence on total factor productivity growth for crops, ruminants, and nonruminant livestock. The results suggest that most regions in the sample are likely to experience larger productivity gains in livestock than in crops. Within livestock, the nonruminant sector is expected to continue to be more dynamic than the ruminant sector. Given the rapid rates of productivity growth observed recently, nonruminant and crop productivity in developing countries may be converging to the productivity levels of developed countries. For ruminants, the results show that productivity levels in developing countries are likely to be diverging from those in developed countries.     

Gender and agricultural productivity: implications of the Farm Input Subsidy Program in Malawi

Alleviating gender differences in agricultural productivity is vital for poverty reduction. While numerous studies suggest that gender differences in agricultural productivity are a result of female farmers having limited access to resources, few studies investigate the role of agricultural interventions in alleviating the constraints to input use and subsequently the gender gap in productivity. This study investigates whether there are gendered gains in agricultural productivity from participating in an input subsidy program and if these gains help reduce the gender gap. Using nationally representative data that is disaggregated at the plot level, this study analyzes the large‐scale voucher‐based Farm Input Subsidy Program in Malawi. Focusing on the total value of output per hectare, relationships are identified using weighted estimators, where the weights are constructed from propensity scores, and spatial fixed effects, to address the unobservable factors that may confound the relationship between program participation and productivity. The findings suggest that participation in the program improves agricultural productivity for both male and female farmers but it does not provide disproportionate help to female famers to overcome gender disparities in agricultural productivity. This suggests that female farmers face additional constraints to productivity apart from nonlabor input use.     

The Role of Innovation in Farm Economic Sustainability: Generalised Propensity Score Evidence from Irish Dairy Farms

We assess the impact of innovation on Irish dairy farm economic sustainability by focusing on profitability, productivity of land and market orientation. A generalised propensity score method is applied to a representative sample of 342 Irish dairy farms. Our empirical findings reveal that innovation increases economic sustainability, but not in a linear way. More specifically, economic gains depend on the level of innovation. Small efforts to increase innovation can lead to economic gains of over €200 per hectare. The results also reveal that innovative farmers can achieve higher economic gains by further innovation. Overall, our findings support the current focus of the Irish extension system on fostering the uptake of innovative technologies and practices in order to achieve an economically sustainable expansion of the dairy sector.     

PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AND THE UK FOOD SYSTEM 1954-84

This paper uses input-output data bases to derive estimates of industry productivity growth rates in the UK for three discrete sub-periods. The results are then used to derive estimates of the within-industry productivity growth contributions to the changing efficiency over time of the economic system in meeting consumers' food requirements. The resultant estimates indicate the value of extending studies of agricultural productivity growth to encompass efficiency gains in industries that are upstream and downstream of the agricultural industry.     

Technology adoption under seed access constraints and the economic impacts of improved pigeonpea varieties in Tanzania

Dry‐land legumes, well adapted to drought‐prone areas, have largely been neglected in the past despite the good opportunities they offer for income growth and food (and nutritional) security for the poor. This study evaluated the adoption and impact of two farmer and market‐preferred and disease‐resistant pigeonpea varieties that were developed and promoted in semi‐arid Tanzania. The new varieties were resistant to fusarium wilt, a fungal disease devastating the crop. However, farmers wanting to adopt new varieties did not adopt due to seed access constraints and under‐developed seed delivery systems. Adoption of new varieties is therefore analyzed using an augmented double hurdle model that allows estimating variety adoption conditional on seed access thresholds accounting for the additional information on sample separation. The study identifies the crucial role of seed access (local supply), extension, education, participatory decision making, capital, and household assets in determining adoption. The social economic benefits of the technology and policies for improved seed access were further analyzed using the extended economic surplus method (DREAM model). Even under restrictive assumptions, overall discounted benefits were found to be quite attractive, indicating the need for additional efforts to scale‐up the success story. Analysis of changes in research benefits from relaxing the seed access constraint showed that net gains would increase by up to 30% if farmer access to improved seeds can be assured. Smallholder farmers are the major beneficiaries along with consumers and rural net‐buyers who gain from productivity‐induced lower market prices.     

Broadacre farm productivity and profitability in south‐western Australia

This paper examines broadacre farm performance in south‐western Australia. This region has experienced pronounced climate variability and volatile commodity prices since the late 1990s. Relationships between productivity and profitability are explored using panel data from 47 farms in the study region. The data are analysed using nonparametric methods. By applying the Fare‐Primont index method, components of farm productivity and profitability are measured over the period 1998–2008. Growth in productivity is found to be the main contributor of profitability. Gains in efficiency and technical change are identified as jointly and similarly important in their contribution to total factor productivity for the farm sample in the region from 1998 to 2008. However, across environments, efficiency gains play an increasingly important role in influencing productivity as growing season rainfall increases. We conclude that R,D&E that delivers further improvement in technical efficiency and technical change is needed to support the profitability of farms across the study region.     

Tenure Security and Farm Efficiency Analysis Correcting for Biases from Observed and Unobserved Variables: Evidence from Benin

We analyse the impact of land tenure security on the technical efficiency of a sample of smallholder farmers in Benin, based on an output‐oriented stochastic distance function. We use propensity score matching to correct for selection bias from observed variables. The Greene ( 2010 ) sample selection model is used to correct for selection bias due to unobserved variables. We estimate meta‐frontiers to analyse agricultural productivity and efficiency differences between landowners and non‐owners. Our results show that non‐owners have consistently higher levels of technical efficiency and productivity.     

CAUSALITY BETWEEN PRODUCTIVITY AND EXPORTS IN AGRICULTURE: EVIDENCE FROM ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA

This paper examines the causal relationship between agricultural productivity and exports for selected Asian and Latin American countries. Alternative views about the causal relationship between these variables of economic interest exist. Economic theory provides no firm basis to judge whether productivity causes exports or exports cause productivity (export-led growth). Since this issue is empirical, econometric tests are utilised to investigate the nature of this causality. Test results are mixed although the export-led growth hypothesis is validated in a few cases.     

Estimating the supply response of cotton and cereal crops in smallholder production systems: recent evidence from Mali

Cotton is one of the most important crops in West Africa and is a major catalyst of economic development in rural areas, but the sector has suffered from a decline in the world cotton price after 1999. This article exploits an unusual data set following 82 farmers over 14 years, from 1994 through 2007, to estimate a Nerlovian supply response model for cotton, maize, sorghum, and millet in long-term rotation. The resulting system of equations is estimated with two-stage least squares (2SLS), showing that this sample of Malian cotton producers have responded to prices in a relatively inelastic manner, with supply elasticities only about one-half of those estimated for producers in developed countries. Policy reforms could help producers respond more easily to prices changes, as well as to raise average productivity levels.     

Gains and structural effects of exploiting scale-economies in Norwegian dairy production

In this paper, we present calculations of the economic gains in terms of reduced costs by exploiting scale‐economies in dairy production in Norway, and the effect this would have had on the number of farms. We also explore whether or not optimal scale and unexploited scale‐economies change over time due to scale‐augmenting technical change. The analysis is based on homothetic cost functions estimated by means of data for individual dairy farms for the period 1972–1996. For 1972, we find that, by full exploitation of scale‐economies, the costs could have been reduced by almost 40%, while the number of farms would have been reduced by more than 85%. The number of small farms has been substantially reduced in the period considered. This fact, combined with small scale‐augmenting technical change, implies that the gains and structural effects of exploiting scale‐economies have decreased over time. In 1996, costs could have been reduced by close to 30% by full exploitation of scale‐economies, while the number of farms would have been reduced by slightly more than 70%. Thus, both gains and structural effects are substantially less than in 1972. Nevertheless, the calculated gains for 1996 make almost 5 billion NOK. This corresponds almost exactly to the total public support to the dairy farms in 1996. The unexploited scale‐economies are largely due to the agricultural policy. Thus, a substantial share of the same can be considered as part of the‘price’ the Norwegian society has to pay for this policy. In addition, there are likely to be large hidden costs of this policy due in particular to the quota system and other direct production regulations. They imply that technical innovations and other efficiency‐improving investments requiring increased production to be profitable are not carried out. This is the more likely explanation for the extremely poor efficiency development in Norwegian dairy production in the period studied.     

Hired labor use decisions in cassava-producing households of sub-Saharan Africa

Sub‐Saharan Africa is the only developing region of the world where agricultural output has been trailing population growth for most of the last three decades. Farming systems in the region are inherently risky because they are fundamentally dependent on the vagaries of weather. In addition, it is a region of crises; poverty, civil strife, and HIV/AIDS. Attention must therefore be focused on improving the production of crops that could thrive under these circumstances. Because of its tolerance of extreme drought and low input use conditions, cassava is perhaps the best candidate in this regard. And cassava is a basic food staple and a major source of farm income for the people of the region. The use of hired labor is important for its production growth because cassava root yield responds positively to the application of hired labor. This article, based on farm‐level information collected from six major cassava‐producing countries of Africa, within the framework of the Collaborative Study of Cassava in Africa, identifies strategic variables affecting the hired labor use decisions of producing households. The characteristics of the household head (age and number of years of formal education), the size of the household farm, good market access, and population pressure are found to motivate households to apply hired labor in cassava production. These observations underscore the need for investing in people—education—and in infrastructure—market access—as possible tools for improving food production in the region. The positive effect of farm size also suggests that some kind of land reform, which would put more farmland at the disposal of farm households, could be favorable to improving cassava production.     

农地规模化对农业科研生产率效应的影响研究

文章以农地流转为研究视角,基于中国1988~2012年31个省域面板数据,综合运用固定效应模型与动态门限回归模型,检验农业科技投入对农业生产效率的驱动作用。固定效应模型的分析结果表明,科技投入对农业生产效率提升的效果,受到农地规模的制约;随后的动态面板门限模型显示,以户均农地规模表示的农地流转值存在两个显著的门限。当户均农地规模低于第一个门限值时,科技投入对农业生产效率的影响微弱。随着农地流转的推进,科技促农的效果逐步增强。但当农地面积跨越第二个门限,科技促农系数又降低。因此,在中国农业科技投入有限的常态约束下,应以农地流转政策为契机,协调好农地流转与科技投入的关系而非一味加大科技投入,优化农业科研的区域空间布局,增强科技对中国农业的驱动作用。同时也应采取措施避免农地流转过快带来的负面效应。