Challenging Small‐Scale Farming: A Non‐Parametric Analysis of the (Inverse) Relationship Between Farm Productivity and Farm Size in Burundi

We use a non‐parametric approach to investigate the (inverse) relationship between farm productivity and farm size. A kernel regression is used on data of mixed cropping systems to study the determinants of production including different factors that have been identified in literature as missing variables in the testing of the inverse relationship such as soil quality, location and household heterogeneity. Household data on farm activities and crop production were gathered from 640 households in 2007 in two Northern provinces of Burundi. Our results do not reject the findings of an inverse relationship between farm size and productivity. However, we find that size returns vary substantially with farm size, that is, between 0.2 for the smallest farms and 0.8 for the largest farms. Other factors that significantly affect production include soil quality. Finally, we find a significant positive association between food security and farm size.     

Partnerships and production: Agriculture and polygyny in Tanzanian households

Women make important contributions to household food production in sub‐Saharan Africa. Women's agricultural productivity is often reduced, however, by inefficient intrahousehold allocation of agricultural resources. Complex marital structures found in polygynous households may complicate resource allocation. Using three waves of the Tanzania Living Standards Measurement Survey–Integrated Survey on Agriculture, we measure the effect of the marital structure, wife position, and plot management on agricultural productivity and input allocations. We find evidence of cooperation within polygynous households. Plots managed by husbands and wives in polygynous households produce more valuable crops, have higher yields, and are more likely to use fertilizer than their monogamous counterparts. Within polygynous households, we observe that plots jointly managed by husbands, first wives, and second wives (together) have significantly more family labor than plots managed by husbands and first wives. This result may provide evidence of different production technologies across plot managers within the same households.     

Credit constraints and productivity in Peruvian agriculture

This article evaluates the performance of a rural credit market in Peru. We develop a model that shows that collateral requirements imposed by lenders in response to asymmetric information can lead not just to quantity rationing but also to transaction cost rationing and risk rationing. Just like quantity rationing, these two additional forms of nonprice rationing adversely affect farm resource allocation and productivity. We test the insights of the model using a panel data set from Northern Peru. We estimate the returns to productive endowments for constrained and unconstrained households using a switching regression model. We find that, consistent with the theory, productivity is independent of endowments for unconstrained households but is tightly linked to endowments for constrained households. We estimate that credit constraints lower the value of agricultural output in the study region by 26%.     

The role of health,experience, and educational attainment in agricultural production: Evidence from smallholders in Burkina Faso

We apply parametric and nonparametric methods to data from smallholders in Burkina Faso and assess the role that human capital characteristics play in the agricultural production process. Our results point to the technology‐changing nature of health, education, and experience. However, effects are rather heterogeneous. The productivity elasticity of health is much larger for households in the lowest landholding quintiles, while returns to experience are larger for households in the upper quintile. In terms of policy implications, our results suggest that productivity can be stimulated through the allocation of expenditure to social services that enhance certain types of human capital. Interventions aimed at improving the health status of households with smaller landholdings could have particularly strong welfare effects.     

Determinants of Food Industry Performance: Survey Data and Regressions for Denmark

This paper investigates empirically the determinants of firms’ performance in the agri‐food sector by using recent survey data for Denmark. Treating sales per employee as a proxy for value added, we estimate several bootstrapped regression models to draw conclusions on the marginal effects of potential performance determinants such as the form and nature of ownership, stage of the food chain and commodity sector, new product development, staff quality, firms’ competitive stance, and elements of firms’ strategy. To draw robust inferences we apply, besides the ordinary heteroscedasticity‐corrected Tobit maximum likelihood estimator, a non‐parametric least absolute deviations estimator (LAD/CLAD) based on a quantile regression procedure. The results indicate that we cannot reject the hypothesis of no influence of dominant orientation on value added. Rather, firms’ focus on human capital, stage and commodity sector better explains their value addition. We reject the hypothesis that regional networks have no influence on value added. Location in Århus, emphasis on human capital and the negative influence of outsourcing on value added all provide supporting evidence. We reject the hypothesis of no influence of foreign direct investment (FDI), and moreover propose that FDI has targeted the Danish domestic market as a source of value added.     

Custom‐hired tractor services and returns to scale in smallholder agriculture: a production function approach

Historically, agricultural transformation has often accompanied the increase in the returns to scale. Little direct evidence exists, however, on what actually causes such increase, despite the knowledge of many factors that are associated with this increase. We fill this knowledge gap by testing whether hiring in tractor services has raised returns to scale in agriculture at the household level in Nepal Terai that has undergone rapid growth in the tractor use through custom‐hiring services. Using Switching Regression and Inverse‐Probability‐Weighted Generalized Method of Moments, we address two sources of endogeneity involved with the estimation of returns to scale; (1) farmers’ self‐selection on whether to hire in tractor services and (2) use of inputs in the production function. For both Cobb‐Douglas and Translog production function specifications, we find that hiring in tractor services significantly increased the returns to scale in agricultural production by about 0.2 ～ 0.3 among farm households not owning tractors, for which suitable control groups are found. Findings are robust under various alternative specifications.     

Food versus fuel: examining tradeoffs in the allocation of biomass energy sources to domestic and productive uses in Ethiopia

Rural households in Ethiopia have limited options to meet their domestic energy needs because they lack access to modern fuels and technologies. Domestic use of certain fuel sources, such as cow dung, can hinder agricultural outcomes and productivity. This article explores the tradeoffs between domestic and productive uses of biomass energy sources in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia using a nonseparable farm household model where labor allocation to energy collection and farming are analyzed simultaneously. We estimate a system of five structural equations using three‐stage least squares and find that the use of dung as a domestic fuel source has negative implications for the value of harvested crops, while use of on‐farm fuelwood is associated with increased value of agricultural output. On‐farm production of fuelwood appears to increase the value of crop output and provide labor savings, by making fuelwood collection more convenient for households. Policy interventions to support the expansion of agroforestry and increase access to new energy‐efficient technologies are needed to ensure that agricultural productivity can be both increased and sustained.     

Moving off the farm and intensifying agricultural production in Shandong: a case study of rural labor market linkages in China

This study examines linkages between off-farm labor markets and the labor allocated by farmers to on-farm production of fruit crops. Using a stratified random sample of rural households in Shandong Province, we find that young and educated members of the labor force tend to work more frequently in the off-farm labor market, and that off-farm employment reduces the likelihood and intensity of fruit production. Fruit production is associated with lower levels of off-farm employment. Households and individuals who are less likely (or able) to find off-farm employment can benefit from shifting into fruit production. Although off-farm employment is an important avenue out of poverty, fruit production provides ways for the less educated and older households to raise their income.     

How do informal farmland rental markets affect smallholders’ well‐being? Evidence from a matched tenant–landlord survey in Malawi

We estimate the efficiency and equity returns to farmland rental markets in Malawi using a matched tenant–landlord survey of smallholder farm households in four districts. Our sample allows us to more fully observe the landlord side of the rental market, which is almost always missing in previous studies. Our results suggest that land rental markets promote efficiency by facilitating a net transfer of land to more productive farmers. We also find that land rental markets promote equity as conventionally defined in the land markets literature, that is, by transferring land from land‐rich households to land‐poor households, and from labor‐poor to labor‐rich households. However, our study identifies some important challenges for land rental markets in this context. First, we find that tenants in our sample are wealthier than their landlord counterpart on average in all dimensions other than landholding. In addition, most landlords report the motive for renting out their land as either the need for immediate cash, or the lack of labor and/or capital to cultivate the plot that was rented out. These findings align with concerns about potential “stress renting” by poor landlords and suggest the value of defining equity along a broader set of dimensions other than simply equalizing the distribution of farmland and labor.     

Access to markets,weather risk,and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia

Despite several studies showing the effect of access to markets and weather conditions on crop production, we know quite little on whether and how livestock production systems respond to variation in weather risk and access to markets. In this paper, we study whether and how livestock production responds to (access to) markets and varying weather risk. We also explore whether such responses vary across livelihood zones and livestock production systems. We study these research questions using households’ livestock production, ownership, and marketing decisions of households in Ethiopia. We find that households living close to markets are more likely to engage in market-oriented livestock production and use modern livestock inputs. We also find that households exposed to more unpredictable weather are less likely to engage in livestock production for markets, rather they are more likely to engage in livestock production for precautionary savings and insurance. Furthermore, greater rainfall uncertainty influences livestock portfolio allocation toward those which can be easily liquidated while also discouraging investment in modern livestock inputs. However, these responses and patterns vary across livelihood zones and production systems; most of these stylized responses and impacts are more pronounced and significant in the arid and semi-arid lands of Ethiopia, where livestock herding remains a dominant source of livelihood. Those households relying only on livestock production seem more sensitive and responsive to weather risk and weather shocks. The heterogeneity in responses and impacts of weather risk among farming systems and livelihoods highlights the need for more tailored livestock sector policies and interventions.     

Is off-farm income reforming the farm? Evidence from Mexico

Does access to off-farm income complement or compete with agricultural production? This article explores the effect of off-farm income on agricultural production activities, using data from the 2003 Mexico National Rural Household Survey. We first discuss the theoretical conditions under which access to off-farm income may influence production in an agricultural household model. Instrumental-variable (IV) estimation methods are then used to test whether agricultural production activities, technologies, and input use differ between households with and without access to off-farm income. We find that off-farm income has a negative effect on agricultural output and the use of family labor on the farm, but a positive impact on the demand for purchased inputs. There is also a slight efficiency gain in households with access to off-farm income. Findings offer insights into how household production evolves as rural households increasingly engage in off-farm income activities.     

农户借贷对粮食生产技术效率的影响研究——基于2012—2018年3省3 255份农户面板数据

目的 基于生产要素配置视角，研究农户借贷对粮食生产技术效率的作用路径，并进行理论分析。方法 文章利用2012—2018年中国农业科学院农业经济与发展研究所全国固定观察点的3 255份农户面板数据，首先采用随机前沿模型测算农户粮食生产技术效率；其次构建固定效应模型，实证分析农户借贷对粮食生产技术效率的影响方向及作用强度，并利用IV-2SLS方法处理农户借贷对粮食生产技术效率影响的内生性问题，并进行稳定性检验和异质性分析。结果 农户借贷对粮食生产技术效率有显著促进作用，存在借贷行为的农户粮食生产技术效率比未存在借贷行为的农户高0.017。除此之外，农户党员身份、农业技术培训、家庭非农劳动力人数以及加入合作社对粮食生产技术效率都存在明显的促进作用；而家庭劳动力人数对粮食生产技术效率有显著抑制作用。结论 农户利用借贷资金改善生产要素配置从而提高粮食生产技术效率。     

Poverty analysis using small area estimation: an application to conservation agriculture in Uganda

This article demonstrates the utility of small area estimation of poverty (SAEp) methods for researchers wishing to conduct a detailed welfare analysis as part of a larger survey of a small geographic area. This study applies SAEp methods as part of an impact assessment of a conservation agriculture production system in Eastern Uganda. Using SAEp, we estimate Foster–Greer–Thorbecke rural poverty indices, estimate the effects of per‐acre farm profit increases to poor households on the indices, and compare the findings to estimates of net returns from a field‐level evaluation of conservation agriculture for maize farmers. Results suggest that increasing the farm profits of the bottom 30% of households by $1.60 per‐acre per‐season would reduce rural poverty incidence by 1 percentage point. Available data on the net returns to conservation agriculture indicate that even these modest increases are achievable for few adopting households.     

Health and hunger: nutrient response to income depending on caloric availability in Nepal

Using data from NLSS III, we estimate nutrient‐income elasticities for macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. We further allow for differential nutrient demand response to income depending on where a household is in the caloric availability distribution. We find that some nutrients are income inelastic indicating that they are necessity goods while others are relatively income elastic. We further test and reject equivalent nutrient‐income elasticities across the caloric availability distribution. Households in the lowest calorie quintile have highly income elastic nutrient demand leaving them vulnerable to income fluctuations. Moreover, as households meet their first‐order caloric needs, they substitute away from cheap calorie‐dense staples toward more expensive nutrient‐dense foods. Finally, for most nutrients, households in the highest calorie quintile exhibit more elastic nutrient demand, similar to households in the lowest quintile. Our results suggest that policies aimed at improving income will likely also improve household nutrient availability, particularly for the most calorie poor households. They further suggest that policies aimed at protecting poor households from negative income shocks will also likely yield nutritional benefits.     

新疆兵地红枣种植户经营效率及其环境影响因素分析

新疆承载着两个不同的行政主体,体制机制差异使种植户面临的生产环境相异。基于红枣主产区206个兵团和110个地方种植户数据,运用三阶段DEA模型分析的结果表明:兵团种植户经营效率高于地方,地方"低投入-低产出"生产方式的纯技术效率高于兵团"高投入-高产出"生产方式,兵团规模效率高于地方;红枣生产缺乏科学创新技术为依托,兵团和地方表现出不同形式的资源配置问题。因此,应注重兵团和地方新技术推广和技术培训,加强兵团和地方农业信息技术交流,搭建市场公共服务平台。     

Heterogeneity of commercialization gains in the rural economy

Farmers in low‐income rural economies often fail to switch to cash crops from staple production despite the positive income effects of commercialization expected by policy makers. The literature suggests that market failures prevent households from cash crop adoption but remains inconclusive regarding farmers' motives and the effects of commercialization. This article contributes to the debate by offering an original approach to the analysis of commercialization outcomes and farmers' decisions. It consists of applying a model with essential heterogeneity and a semiparametric estimation technique to analyzing harvest value returns to cash cropping. Using Malawian data, we show considerable heterogeneity in harvest value returns to cash cropping both within and between groups of farmers choosing different crop portfolios. Importantly, the results imply rational choices based on comparative advantage considerations of farming households: farmers self‐select into the activity where they expect higher gains and adopt cash crops when facing weaker market barriers.     

The impact of the 2005–2010 rice price increase on consumption in rural Bangladesh

This article studies the impact of the rice price increase between 2005 and 2010 on consumption in rural Bangladesh. Using the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data, we compare net rice buyers and sellers to self‐sufficient households. To identify the effect of rice price changes on household consumption of rice, nonrice food and nonfood items, we employ a difference‐in‐differences (DiD) technique. Our findings indicate that the surge in domestic rice prices between 2005 and 2010 reduced the nonrice food consumption of net rice buyer households by 7%, compared to the households who are self‐sufficient in rice production. However, it did neither affect their rice nor their nonfood consumption. In contrast, while we find no significant effect of rice price increases on the rice consumption of net rice sellers, we observe a 9% increase in their nonrice food consumption. In such situation, a subsidy on low‐quality rice may be effective in fulfilling the nutritional requirement of low‐income households.     

Local versus Global Separability in Agricultural Household Models: The Factor Price Equalization Effect of Land Transfer Rights

Commonly employed global tests for separability between production and consumption decisions are theoretically inappropriate when the market failures creating non–separabilities differentially constrain some, but not all households. Simulated maximum likelihood estimates using Chinese panel data reject the restrictions implied by a global separability test in favor of regime–specific or local separability tests. The estimates also show that a global approach to separability obscures the significant effect that less–encumbered land transfer rights would have on shadow factor price equalization across households and allocative efficiency. The findings on transfer rights suggest a resolution to the debate in China on further property rights reform.     

Urbanization and poverty reduction: the role of rural diversification and secondary towns1

A rather unique panel tracking more than 3,300 individuals from households in rural Kagera, Tanzania, during 1991/1994–2010 shows that about one out of two individuals/households who exited poverty did so by transitioning out of agriculture into the rural nonfarm economy or secondary towns. Only one out of seven exited poverty by migrating to the big cities, even though those moving to the city experienced on average faster consumption growth. Further analysis of a much larger cross‐country panel of 51 developing countries cannot reject that rural diversification and secondary town development lead to more inclusive growth patterns than metropolitization. Indications are that this follows because more of the poor find their way to the rural nonfarm economy and secondary towns, than to distant cities. The development discourse would benefit from shifting beyond the rural–urban dichotomy and focusing more instead on how best to urbanize and develop its rural nonfarm economy and secondary towns.     

Financial drivers of land use decisions: The case of smallholder woodlots in Amhara,Ethiopia

A household survey on the financial drivers of woodlot production was conducted in the Lake Tana watershed of Amhara State, Ethiopia. Analysis of smallholder Eucalyptus globulus Labill. production reveals that converting uneroded over eroded croplands leads to significantly higher financial returns. Returns were also significantly higher for rotation intervals closer to the optimal economic rotation and for higher planting densities. Most woodlots had positive financial returns. The presence of negative financial returns for some households demonstrates that positive ecological externalities, a lack of economies of scale and/or myopic behavior are potentially important factors in land use decision-making. Wood utilization decisions were shown to impact the potential financial returns of households. Smallholders’ activities demonstrate that eucalyptus is an imperfect substitute for agricultural production on surplus cropland. A third of respondents indicated they had intentionally chosen to convert uneroded croplands to achieve higher returns. Smallholders faced constraints in bargaining over price and access to markets. Future land use policies should address marketing constraints and unsustainable land use activities. Harvesting soil from natural forests and the conversion of productive surplus cropland to woodlot production both present long-term sustainability challenges. This study demonstrates the importance of considering economic and social incentives when creating land use policies for smallholder's woodlot production.