Environmental Production Factors and Efficiency of Smallholder Agricultural Households: Using Non‐parametric Conditional Frontier Methods

External environmental factors play a significant role in the agricultural production of smallholder farmers. This is especially the case in developing countries where production is less technologically intensive. These factors are mainly exogenous and affect both the farmers’ input choices and the final output levels. However, previous studies of technical efficiency of smallholder agricultural production either ignore these factors or assume separability between environmental factors and input choice, which is often not the case in developing counties. Using data on smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, we relax this separability assumption and investigate the importance of external environmental factors in farmers’ performance and efficiency variation across regions. The empirical analysis is based on a non‐parametric conditional order‐m estimation method that relaxes some of the traditional strong assumptions in efficiency modeling and, more importantly, the separability between environmental factors and the choice of physical inputs. Using data from four major agricultural regions of Ethiopia, we show the extent that environmental factors contribute to the technical efficiency and the significance of environmental factors in farmers’ performance.     

Annual and cropping season environmental production conditions effects on smallholder technical efficiency in sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia

This article investigates the impact of environmental production conditions on smallholder farmers’ technical efficiency in Ethiopia for wheat, maize, and sorghum farming. We use a household panel data set with annual and cropping season environmental production conditions to estimate the technical efficiency scores. The results show that including environmental production conditions in the stochastic frontier has a significant impact on farmers’ technical efficiency scores. Technical efficiency scores improve when environmental production conditions are incorporated in the stochastic frontier. Thus, accounting for environmental production conditions reduces the inefficiencies that otherwise may be attributed to the characteristics of smallholder farmers.     

New knowledge networks of small-scale farmers in Europe’s periphery

In this paper we assess the types of knowledge networks utilised by small-scale farmers in four case studies (located in Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom). We focus on knowledge acquired to inform three new activities being undertaken by study participants: agricultural production, subsidy access and regulatory compliance, and farm diversification (specifically agritourism). Findings demonstrate that the new knowledge networks are dominated by different forms of expertise: formal ‘agricultural advisors’ identified in the case studies primarily offer codified managerial knowledge through centralised networks, suggesting that state-funded services for small-scale farmers are largely embedded in traditional, linear models of knowledge transfer. Production and diversification knowledge is exchanged through ‘distributed’ and ‘decentralised’ networks, where a range of actors are involved across varying geographical distances. Findings highlight issues associated with the quality and independence of both ‘free’ and paid advice, as well as the importance of combining tacit and codified knowledge for credibility. In all four cases, we found that small-scale farmers utilise formal advisory services primarily for accessing subsidies (e.g. completing application forms), rather than acquiring production knowledge. The authors argue that by utilising the state funding allocated to advisory services for small-scale farmers primarily to enable these farmers to access subsidies, important opportunities for innovation by both advisors or farmers can be lost.     

Does participation in the sloping land conversion program reduce the sensitivity of Chinese farmers to climate change?

Over the last two decades, extensive literature has examined the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP), a program that was launched in late 1990s to mitigate the environmental effects of agricultural production and reduce rural poverty. However, little empirical evidence exists with regard to the impact of SLCP on rural households' sensitivity to nature-induced changes and environmental challenges. In this study, household-level data covering the period 1995–2010 from five Chinese provinces were used to examine the effect of SLCP on farmers' sensitivity to climate change. The empirical results show that participation in SLCP significantly reduced farmers' sensitivity to climate change by reducing their dependency on land and natural resources for income, and by diversifying their livelihood options. Spatially, the results reveal that the effect of SLCP on farmers' sensitivity vary across regions. Specifically, SLCP was found to have a ‘rate effect’ on farmers in the Northern regions and a ‘level effect’ on farmers in the Southern regions. Likewise, we found that the effect of SLCP differs considerably across income groups, with the effect on low- and middle-income groups being most significant. The results indicate that subsidy is the main pathway through which SLCP reduces farmers' sensitivity to climate change. In contrast, we found inclusive evidence about the indirect effect of SLCP farmers' sensitivity through the promotion of non-agricultural employment. These results carry major implications with regard to the effectiveness of ecological conservation programs and their mitigation potential through building farmers' resilience in China and ecologically fragile environments.     

Developing grain production policy in terms of multiple cropping systems in China

Multiple cropping is one of the simplest ways to increase grain production, and it has an important role in the food security of China. This paper evaluates the multiple cropping systems of China, and identifies the regional obstacles that limit the use of multiple cropping with the aim to give some implications for developing grain production policy. A time series analysis of remote sensing data coupled with an econometrics model—stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was used to derive the multiple cropping index (MCI), potential multiple cropping index (PMCI), multiple cropping efficiency (MCE), and potential increment of multiple cropping index (PIMCI) to evaluate the multiple cropping systems. Regional obstacles to the use of multiple cropping were identified by zoning socioeconomic and ecological environmental factors that impact its application. The MCE of China in 2005 was 87.5%, with a gap of 22% between the MCI and the PMCI. The Bohai Rim, the rim of Tianshan Mountain, the Sichuan Basin, and the middle reach of Yangtze River are the main regions that larger PIMCI could be anticipated. The whole country (excluding areas that lacked data) was divided into seven distinct regions in terms of the impact factors and further classified into low-efficiency high-potential regions (LHRs), high-efficiency low-potential regions (HLRs), high-efficiency medium-potential regions (HMRs), and medium-efficiency high-potential regions (MHRs) according to regional multiple cropping performance. Considering about the obstacles and benefits to each region, different strategies should be implemented to different regions for regional grain production increase. Special attention should be paid to the improvement of MCE in north and southwest China with the expectation to increase grain production of China. The results would help implement “The plan to increase grain production capacity by 50 million tons nationwide” launched by the central government of China.     

Farmers’ Income and Production Responses to Rural Taxation Reform in Three Regions in China

The relationship between agricultural taxation and production efficiency has been thoroughly explored for many countries. Recently, China has taken various measures including the rural taxation reform (RTR) to promote grain production and to increase farmer incomes. In this study, we investigate whether the Chinese policy of abolishing rural taxation has improved farm households’ incomes and affected their production decisions. Using household survey data obtained from three regions in China, we estimate the effect of the RTR on farmers’ income. Results show that the RTR has significantly improved farmers’ post‐tax net income by 9.2% in Shandong, 16.9% in Shanxi and 16.8% in Zhejiang. These increments, mostly from farm income rather than from off‐farm income, are much higher than the direct income increase from the tax savings. In addition, we examine the dynamic impact of farmers’ net income, and find that the RTR has a sustained positive income effect in Shandong and Shanxi, whereas its positive effect in Zhejiang appears temporary. We also examine farmers’ production responses to the RTR. Results show that farmers in the three regions respond in different ways: farmers in Shandong significantly increase their labour input, farmers in Zhejiang increase intermediate inputs, whereas Shanxi farmers augment their intermediate inputs and enlarge their crop acreage. It appears that the farmers’ responses to the taxation reform vary due to the agronomic and economic factors in these three regions, suggesting that diverse post‐RTR supplemental policies should be implemented in different regions.     

临时收储政策对玉米生产技术效率的影响研究

文章采用超越对数形式的随机前沿生产函数测算了19个玉米主产省(区)的玉米生产技术效率,并利用双重差分模型检验临时收储政策对玉米生产技术效率的影响。研究发现:东北三省一区的玉米生产技术效率处于较高水平;南方丘陵和西南山地地区技术效率明显低于其他主产区。政策实施效果方面,临时收储政策对玉米生产技术效率有正向影响且这种正向影响不因时间的推移而逆转。因此,尽管临时收储政策会扭曲市场并增加财政负担,但是确实给农户提供了稳定的预期从而推动了技术效率的提高,随着玉米收储制度市场化改革进一步推进,应当避免政策改革中农户预期改变导致的技术效率损失。     

Impact of farm management diversity on the environmental and economic performance of the wheat–maize cropping system in the North China Plain

To assess the attainable greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential from crop production in China's most important grain production region, the North China Plain (NCP), single farm environmental and economic performances of 65 winter wheat–summer maize (WW–SM) producing households were determined. The results revealed a huge heterogeneity among farms, with up to five times higher environmental impact of worst compared to best performing farms. Astonishingly no trade-off between productivity and sustainability could be identified in the region, with high-yield farms emitting no different amounts of GHGs per hectare compared to low-yield farms. Building on cluster analysis, with farms grouped according to their economic and environmental performance into ‘poor’, ‘fair' and ‘good’ producers, the regional GHG mitigation potential was estimated. Under the scenario assumption that all grain in the NCP is produced under ‘good’ production conditions, 21% and 7% of GHG could be mitigated in wheat and maize production, respectively. The study shows that in the NCP, exemplary for China's rapidly developing agricultural sector, the crop management skills of a substantial share of farmers could obviously not keep pace with the massive input intensification. Among others, farmer–farmer trainings are recommended to close the gap in crop production performance among producers.     

A grassland strategy for farming systems in Europe to mitigate GHG emissions—An integrated spatially differentiated modelling approach

This paper assesses the impact of an EU-wide policy to expand grassland areas and promote carbon sequestration in soils. We use the economic Common Agricultural Policy Regionalized Impact (CAPRI) model, which represents EU agriculture using 2450 mathematical programming farm-type models in combination with the biogeochemistry CENTURY model, which provides carbon sequestration rates at a high resolution level. Both models are linked at the NUTS3 level using location information from the Farm Accounting Data Network. We simulated a flexible grassland premium such that farmers voluntary and cost efficiently increase grassland area by 5%. We find that the GHG mitigation potential and the costs depend on carbon sequestration rates, land markets and induced land use changes, and regional agricultural production structures. In Europe, the calculated net effect of converting 2.9 Mha into grassland is a reduction of 4.3 Mt CO2e (equivalents). The premium amounts to an average of EUR 238/ha, with a total cost of EUR 417 million for the whole EU. The net abatement costs are based on the premium payments, and account on average EUR 97/t CO2e. However, substantial carbon sequestration (28% of total sequestration) can be achieved at a rate of EUR 50/t CO2e. Carbon sequestration would be most effective in regions of France and Italy and in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany. Larger farms and farm-types specialized in ‘cereals and protein crops’, ‘mixed field cropping’ and ‘mixed crop-livestock’ farming systems have the highest mitigation potential at relatively low costs.     

Eco‐efficiency of high‐yielding variety rice cultivation after accounting for on‐farm environmental damage as an undesirable output: an empirical analysis from Bangladesh

This study computes the eco‐efficiency of high‐yielding variety (HYV) rice production by including an on‐farm environmental damage index (OFEDI) as an undesirable output using data envelopment analysis. It then identifies its determinants by applying an interval regression procedure on a sample of 317 farmers from north‐western Bangladesh. Results reveal that the mean level of the OFEDI‐adjusted production efficiency (i.e. eco‐efficiency) is 89 per cent, whereas ignoring OFEDI adjustment (i.e. with OFEDI = 0) reduces the mean level of efficiency to 69 per cent, implying that the production of undesirable output or on‐farm environmental damage induces an efficiency loss of 20 per cent with significant differences across regions. The proportion of farmers’ income from HYV rice agriculture, land ownership, extension services and socio‐environmental living standard are the significant determinants of improving eco‐efficiency. Policy implications include investments in extension services and land reform measures to increase land ownership, which will synergistically improve eco‐efficiency of HYV rice production in Bangladesh.     

The Effects of Kenya's ‘Smarter’ Input Subsidy Programme on Smallholder Behaviour and Incomes: Do Different Quasi‐experimental Approaches Lead to the Same Conclusions?

Kenya joined the ranks of sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries implementing targeted input subsidy programmes (ISPs) for inorganic fertiliser and improved seed in 2007 with the establishment of the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Programme (NAAIAP). Although several features of NAAIAP were ‘smarter’ than other ISPs in the region, some aspects were less ‘smart’. However, the efficacy of the programme, and the relationship between its design and effectiveness, have been little studied. This article uses nationwide survey data to estimate the effects of NAAIAP participation on Kenyan smallholders’ cropping patterns, incomes, and poverty status. Unlike most previous studies of ISPs, a range of panel data‐ and propensity score‐based methods are used to estimate the effects of NAAIAP. The article then compares these estimated effects across estimators and to the effects of other ISPs in SSA, and discusses the likely links between differences in programme designs and impacts. The results are robust to the choice of estimator and suggest that, despite substantial crowding out of commercial fertiliser demand, NAAIAP had sizeable impacts on maize production and poverty severity. NAAIAP's success in targeting resource‐poor farmers and implementation through vouchers redeemable at private agro‐dealer shops likely contributed to its more favorable impacts than those of ISPs in Malawi and Zambia.     

Forecasting the Adoption of GM Oilseed Rape: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in Germany

This paper explores farmers’ willingness to adopt genetically modified (GM) oilseed rape prior to its commercial release and estimates the ‘demand’ for the new technology. The analysis is based upon choice experiments with 202 German arable farmers. A multinomial probit estimation reveals that GM attributes such as gross margin, expected liability from cross pollination, or flexibility in returning to conventional oilseed rape significantly affect the likelihood of adoption. Neighbouring farmers’ attitudes towards GM cropping and a number of farmer and farm characteristics were also found to be significant determinants of prospective adoption. Demand simulations suggest that adoption rates are very sensitive to the profit difference between GM and non‐GM rape varieties. A monopolistic seed price would substantially reduce demand for the new technology. A monopolistic seed supplier would reap between 45% and 80% of the GM rent, and the deadweight loss of the monopoly would range between 15% and 30% of that rent. The remaining rent for farmers may be too small to outweigh possible producer price discounts resulting from the costs of segregating GM and non‐GM oilseed rape along the supply chain.     

Integrated assessment of cropping patterns under different policy scenarios in Quzhou County,North China Plain

Agricultural land use is affected by government policies and leads to different consequences of regional sustainability. In this work, changes in cropping patterns including acreage, cropping locations and management-related environmental impacts were simulated under various policy scenarios for Quzhou County, China. This county is in China's major agricultural region, the North China Plain. Four dominant crop systems were categorized (winter wheat/summer maize, winter wheat/summer maize/spring maize, cotton, and vegetables) and analyzed, following two alternative policy scenarios that either prioritized government funding to subsidize crop production (“subsidy” scenario) or promoted advanced irrigation techniques (“technique” scenario). Input–output coefficients for all four crop systems were determined, mainly irrigation demand, yield, and price of produce, but other factors like a limited area of arable land and scarce regional water resources were also considered. For the simulation, a LINDO Inc. system was linked with the CLUE (Conversion of Land Use and its Effects) model. Temporal changes of crop systems were simulated with the LINDO system, whereas spatial dynamics of cropping patterns were simulated with the CLUE model, based on land suitability maps. The results show that crop patterns changed variably with time under the two scenarios, and water availability was the primary constraint on sustainability of land use. Under the subsidy scenario, winter wheat/summer maize/spring maize became dominant across the entire county, replacing other crop systems. In contrast, the vegetable system gradually occupied farmland surrounding the township under the technique scenario. The different policies produced opposite consequences for regional sustainability. Although a “subsidy” policy contributed to farmers’ income, it did not encourage water conservation for sustainable crop production, leading to land abandonment because of water shortage. In contrast, the “technique” policy partially cut direct financial benefits to farmers, but promoted water conservation and made a substantial contribution to agricultural sustainability.     

What carbon farming activities are farmers likely to adopt? A best–worst scaling survey

Transferring carbon from the atmosphere into terrestrial sinks through carbon sequestration practices (so-called ‘carbon farming’) has been proposed as an important component in Australia’s efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. We use a Best–worst scaling survey to determine which carbon sequestration practices farmers would be most and least likely to adopt, and what factors were most important in any potential adoption decision. The survey was distributed to dryland cropping and mixed crop-livestock farmers in Western Australia. Farmers ranked improved soil quality and reduced soil erosion as the most important potential co-benefits of carbon farming. Factors discouraging farmers from participating in carbon farming contracts were policy and carbon price uncertainty and the uncertain impact of carbon farming practices on productivity and profitability. Farmers had strong preferences for stubble retention and no-till cropping practices as carbon farming strategies. The practices that farmers preferred least were applying biochar and planting trees. Farm and farmer characteristics, including (lack of) awareness of carbon farming policies and opinions about climate change, influence the potential willingness to adopt different carbon farming practices. Given recent policy uncertainty and farmer preferences revealed in this study, it is important to communicate potential co-benefits (rather than opportunities to earn compensation or carbon credits) to increase farmers’ engagement in carbon sequestration activities.     

Classical Swine Fever Changes the Way Farmers Value Pigs in South Africa

Although there is growing demand for animal products in Africa, production is stagnating. Appropriate management of livestock diversity could help reinvigorate production, contribute to food security and improve farmers’ livelihoods, particularly in subsistence‐oriented systems. We assess differences in farmers’ preferences and economic values for pig traits across different production systems and across areas that have been affected and unaffected by classical swine fever (CSF). Not surprisingly, market‐oriented farmers derived higher values from the productive traits such as heavy slaughter weight and large litter size found in exotic pig genotypes. Subsistence‐oriented farmers, particularly in swine fever affected areas, placed high value on tolerance to disease. We found that CSF changed farmers’ preferences for adaptive traits, and less so for productive traits. Therefore, indigenous breeds become more valuable for subsistence farmers and crossbreeds for market‐oriented farmers if CSF is a risk. Our results can have implications for breeding and conservation strategies and for compensation strategies after culling, and will become increasingly relevant if, as predicted, heat waves and disease outbreaks become more frequent in pig production systems in South Africa with climate change.     

The Hidden Costs of Soil Mining to Agricultural Sustainability in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Machakos District,Eastern Kenya

With respect to the idea of multifunctional agriculture, one way to raise farmers' environmental stewardship is to reward environmental practices through food quality labelling schemes. The objective of our study was to identify existing relationships between the production of quality food and the production of environmental goods at farm level. In this article, we report the results of analyses conducted to examine the effects of major ‘quality’ and ‘eco-labelling’ schemes in the Midi-Pyrenees region of the south of France. Factor analysis and analysis of variance were used with a data set of 107 farms—some participating in the labelling schemes and some not participating—for which environmental scores had been assigned. The statistical analyses were complemented by a qualitative analysis based on in-depth interviews of 85 farmers and review of the labelling standard guidelines. This study shows that organic farms and farms enrolled in various quality and eco-labelling programmes in France do provide some environmental benefits. However, they do not necessarily perform better than other farms on all environmental measures.     

Soyabeans and sustainable agriculture in southern Africa

Maize is the dominant staple crop across most of southern Africa—it is so dominant in some areas that more than 80 per cent of the smallholder land area is planted with maize. Soyabean was identified as the crop with a potential to address the need for diversifying the cropping systems, which could assist in overcoming the pervading soil fertility constraints and could provide smallholder farmers with an opportunity to earn income while also addressing the nutritional security of households. An initiative was launched in the 1996/97 cropping season in Zimbabwe, to test soyabean as a potential smallholder crop. From an initial 55 farmers in the first year, soyabean production expanded rapidly to an estimated 10,000 farmers three years later. Since then, soyabean has diffused spontaneously to most smallholder farming areas in the higher rainfall zones of Zimbabwe. Thus, the initiative has assisted a large number of smallholders to grow soyabean, and exploded a long-held belief in Zimbabwe that soyabean is not a suitable crop for smallholders.     

Forecasting agricultural production using co-integration analysis

A forecasting method, easily understood and applied by administrators/policy-makers, is developed in this paper. Based on a simple, but quite realistic assumption, that production in a given region ‘pulls’ or ‘shapes’ the volume of production nationally a co-integration forecasting method is proposed in the paper. Using data from administrative regions, the empirical analysis suggests that the property of co-integration can be used to forecast agricultural production in the short-run.