Farm productivity in Rwanda: effects of farm size,erosion, and soil conservation investments

This paper examines the effects of farm size, soil erosion, and soil conservation investments on land and labor productivity and allocative efficiency in Rwanda. There were several key results. First, there is a strong inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity, and the opposite for labor productivity. For smaller farms, there is evidence of allocative inefficiency in use of land and labor, probably due to factor market access constraints. Second, farms with greater investment in soil conservation have much better land productivity than average. Those with very eroded soils do much worse than average. Smaller farms are not more eroded than larger farms, but have twice the soil conservation investments. Third, land productivity benefits substantially from perennial cash crops, and the gains to shifting to cash crops are highest for those with low erosion and high use of fertilizer and organic matter. Program and policy effort to encourage and enable farmers to make soil conservation investments, to use fertilizer and organic matter, and to participate in cash cropping of perennials will have big payoffs in productivity. Land markets that allow smaller farmers to buy land could also increase aggregate productivity.     

Predicting Consumers' Acceptability of Pesticide-Free Fresh Produce in Canada's Maritime Provinces

ABSTRACT

This study examines consumers' willingness to purchase pesticide-free fresh produce (PFFP) in Canada's Maritime Provinces. Households' decisions in purchasing organic foods are reflected in their willingness-to-pay (WTP) a premium for obtaining these types of products. WTP was modeled as a function of a series of explanatory variables including sociodemographic, socioeconomic, media, and public awareness about the impact of pesticide use on health and environment. Results suggest that Maritimes' consumers tend to pay the premium because they believe that the use of pesticide in conventional farming is life threatening. In addition, males and individuals with bachelor degrees are more willing to pay the premium, but those who visit farmers' markets on a regular basis are less likely to pay a premium for pesticide-free fresh fruit and vegetables. Finally, results show that media have no impact on consumers' decisions to purchase pesticide-free fresh produce.     

COVID-19 and the Canadian cattle/beef sector: Some preliminary analysis

Canada's cattle/beef sector has already weathered a shock after a 2003 case of BSE resulted in closed borders and industry restructuring. Now, the sector has to adjust to similar shocks due to COVID-19. This paper examines the supply chain from the consumer up to the cow–calf producer by considering consumer reactions, labor market constraints, and supply response. A quarterly market model of North American cattle and beef markets is used to examine price and revenue impacts associated with the market disruptions. Depending on the scenario, there is considerable price and revenue suppression at all levels of the market.     

Forecasting Market Share for Non-Traditional Agricultural Exports

Economic and financial feasibility of projects that are being presented for potential funding by financial agencies depend, among others, on the soundness of assumptions made about the niche in the market which the contemplated enterprises are to fill. This type of market share forecasting is particularly hazardous for entrepreneurs in less developed countries (LDCs), who aim at penetrating export markets for non-traditional agricultural commodities. In this article the author: (a) reviews the methodology used by an Uruguayan enterprise, which decided to export summer citrus to markets in the Northern Hemisphere; (b) shows how these procedures for market share forecasting could be readily adapted to preparation of feasibility studies for enterprises aimed at penetrating export markets for other non-traditional products; and (c) explores the macro-marketing implications of the case study for off-season export of fresh produce from the Southern Hemisphere to consumer centers in North America, Western Europe and Japan.     

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.     

Determinants of Income Growth in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Labor Markets

This article analyzes determinants of growth across labor markets in the United States, using a production function approach based on four inputs: labor, manufacturing investment, human capital investment, and public capital investment. We find little role for public capital investment in growth, but that manufacturing investment spurred growth in nonmetropolitan areas, in contrast to metropolitan areas. We also find that human capital investment mattered more for metropolitan areas than for nonmetropolitan areas. Further, the presence of more colleges and universities, more household amenities, and lower tax rates are all found to have encouraged human capital accumulation in U.S. labor markets.     

Migration to the United States and Mexican rural development: a case study

An analysis of the impact of migration to the United States on the sending community and on the labor market in the receiving country is presented based on a case study of Las Animas, Mexico. "As the community becomes increasingly involved in migration, tendencies can be identified regarding changing migration patterns, class differentiation among villagers, impact of migration on village economy, and the changing role of Mexican workers in California labor markets. Results indicate the importance of social networks in determining the outcome of migration; while migration is individually rational, it is a factor of stagnation for village economy, and it helps reproduce segmented California labor markets."     

Econometric Examination of U.S. Potato-Related Market Relationships

Abstract

Modeling results, from a U.S. International Trade Commission investigation, that illuminate potato-related competitive conditions, particularly U.S. market impacts of potato imports, are presented. Estimation and simulation results of a monthJy vector autoregression model of the U.S. fresh and frozen trench fry markets suggest that the own-price elasticity of fresh table potato demand is more moderately elastic than previously thought; that U.S. fresh potato and trench fry markets only modestly interact, because the fresh table market residually and infrequently supplies raw product to processors; and that increased U.S. imports of fresh Canadian potatoes are likely a regional problem in Northeast U.S. markets, and do not appreciably influence potato-related prices or quantities nationally. Given the scarce potato-related literature, the model's estimated market parameters arc of interest.     

THE ECONOMICS OF MOVING COVENT GARDEN MARKET*

The decision to move Covent Garden wholesale fruit and vegetable market is evaluated. Trends in the consumption and distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables are assessed and it is argued that the volume of the produce handled by wholesale produce markets is likely to continue to decline. The nature of the costs and benefits of the move are identifed and quantified and their distribution between diferent interest groups discussed. While certain deficiencies in cost benefit techniques are to be borne in mind the conclusion is reached that the net present value of the benefits of the move shows a negative return on investment of 30 per cent or more and therefore the investment in the new market is not justified. It is also argued that in the absence of an adequate compensation mechanism the economic welfare criteria for the move are not satisfied.     

鲜活水产品流通模式演进机理研究

经历几十年的经济改革和发展,我国鲜活水产品流通演化出一系列不同的模式,每一类型的流通模式又表现为几种不同的具体实现形式。本文运用分工理论和顾客价值理论对水产品流通模式的演进过程和发展障碍进行分析,结果表明,鲜活产品流通模式是分工市场化和分工内卷化此消彼长相互作用的结果,并且符合消费者价值的流通模式才能成为今后水产品流通的主流模式。应通过改善分工条件和零售终端的经营环境来促进鲜活水产品流通模式的发展。     

劳动力城乡统筹的政治经济学分析

从政治经济学的角度看，劳动力价值是由其成本决定的，并受市场供求关系的影响。研究发现，与农村劳动力再生产成本相比，农村劳动力价格过低。原因在于：一是劳动力市场总量供过于求；二是劳动力市场在结构上处于一种分割状态，从属劳动力市场大量低素质劳动力的存在导致了这部分市场供给严重过剩，劳动力价格难以提升。要打破市场分割，必须加大对农村人力资本的投入，提高劳动者价值。     

Fertilizer Use, Risk, and Off-Farm Labor Markets in the Semi-Arid Tropics of India

A two-period model is developed in which a risk-averse farmer uses off-farm labor to smooth consumption, leading to greater use of fertilizer. Fertilizer demand is shown to increase with the depth of the off-farm labor market. Controlling for exogenous weather risk, farmers use more fertilizer the lower the unemployment rate and the higher the share of nonagricultural work in total off-farm labor. The results suggest that off-farm labor markets and own-farm production may be complementary in risky production environments, so that policies which promote the depth of the off-farm labor market in low-income areas may also bolster farm productivity.     

Does nonagricultural labor relax farmers’ credit constraints? Evidence from longitudinal data for Vietnam

We examine the relationship between participation in nonagricultural labor activities and farming production decisions, focusing on the use of inputs. Using longitudinal data for Vietnam from 1993 to 1998, we find that households engaged in nonagricultural labor spend significantly more on seeds, services, hired labor, and livestock inputs. This is consistent with the hypothesis that nonagricultural labor income relaxes credit constraints to farming.     

Agronomic considerations for urban agriculture in southern cities

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UA) provide a significant contribution to the total food requirements of cities, especially in southern cities of the developing world. Increasing food production in UA is therefore a necessity for increasing the food security of the urban poor. Urban environments are inherently different from rural environments and these differences in environmental conditions are expected to impact differently on crop growth. This review describes agronomic issues that are unique to UA and identifies possible interventions to address them. The constraints that can significantly differ include temperature, air quality, solar radiation and climate. The growth-limiting and growth-reducing factors that affect actual production in UA include water availability, nutrient supply, soil degradation, pests and soil pollution. The interventions addressing these constraints require action at both field level, and municipal or regional levels. The food security of the urban poor will therefore require coordinated efforts and cooperation between the farmers who produce food and the planners and policy makers who manage the supporting systems such as markets, inputs and land registration.     

The increasing importance of nonfarm income and the changing use of labor and capital in rice farming: the case of Central Luzon, 1979–2003

There have been sharp increases in nonfarm income among farm households in Central Luzon for the last few decades. This study attempts to identify the effects of the increasing nonfarm income on the use of tractors and threshers and on the employment of hired labor as a substitute for family labor. We found that while the increased nonfarm income positively affects the ownership of tractors, it has no significant impact on the use of agricultural machines due presumably to the development of efficient machine rental markets. We also found that the increased nonfarm income leads to the increased use of hired labor, thereby releasing family labor to nonfarm jobs.     

Estimating labor supply of farm households under nonseparability: empirical evidence from Nepal

This paper examines the labor supply of farm households in Nepal using a recently developed methodology that accounts for the simultaneity between production and consumption decisions of the households. Estimates of marginal products of male and female labor or shadow wages are obtained from an agricultural production function. An instrumental variable approach is then used to recover the household's structural labor supply from variations in the shadow wages and income, as well as other household characteristics. The findings reveal that both male and female total labor supply are sensitive to changes in shadow wages and income. Human capital embodied in education is found to exert a significant positive effect on output, but has no statistically significant impact on total labor supply of individuals. The results also rejects the existence of efficient labor markets in rural Nepal.     

Examining the relationship between farm size and productive efficiency: a Bayesian directional distance function approach

Achieving sustainable food security and increased farm income will depend on how efficient production systems are in converting available inputs to produce outputs. Using data from Malawi, we estimate a Bayesian directional technology distance function to examine the relationship between farm size and technical efficiency. Our results support the existence of an inverse relationship between farm size and productive efficiency, where small farms are more efficient than large farms. On average, farms exhibit inefficiency levels of 60%, suggesting that productivity could be improved substantially. Improving productive efficiency and food security will require farms to operate in ways where the size of cultivated area is matched by nonland production inputs such as labor, fertilizer, and improved seeds. The results highlight the need for policies that could incentivize farmers to adopt productivity‐enhancing technologies and, where possible, to allocate excess land to lease markets.     

How does land fragmentation affect off‐farm labor supply: panel data evidence from China

This article provides a deeper theoretical understanding of the linkages between land fragmentation and off‐farm labor supply in China, and investigates this relationship empirically in a more direct way than does the existing literature. Drawing upon a rural household panel data set collected in Zhejiang, Hubei, and Yunnan Provinces from 1995 to 2002, we estimate the effects in two steps. First, we estimate the effect of land fragmentation on labor productivity. Second, we estimate the effect of land fragmentation on off‐farm labor supply. The production function results show that land fragmentation indeed leads to lower agricultural labor productivity, implying that land consolidation will make on‐farm work more attractive and thus decrease off‐farm labor supply. However, the effect of land consolidation on off‐farm labor supply is not significant. One likely explanation for this result may be the potentially imperfect labor markets.     

Seasonal labor constraints and intra-household dynamics in the female fields of southern Cameroon

African agricultural production is modeled as a sequential decision process, with men's labor first allotted to clearing, then women's labor allotted to harvesting. A switching regression is then used to measure the constraints due to clearing labor capacity and harvesting labor capacity. The import of men's clearing labor depends on the valuation of shadow wages. Output appears to be more frequently constrained by husband's clearing labor, and in this situation male labor appears under‐utilized. However, output is also significantly constrained by female harvest labor, although the findings imply that female labor is over‐utilized at this stage.     

Efficiency Wages, Deferred Payments, and Direct Incentives in Agriculture

Empirical evidence from agricultural labor markets is consistent with efficiency–wage theory and inconsistent with several alternative explanations. According to this theory, the higher wage or deferred payment (benefits) that direct–hire growers pay relative to that of farm labor contractors is an efficiency wage. Growers use this extra compensation to lower their monitoring expenses and reduce shirking by workers.