Pesticide productivity,host-plant resistance and productivity in China

Pesticides are used as the primary method of pest controf in Asian rice production. Conditions in China have led to demand for high and increasing rice yields, resulting in intensive cultivation and adoption of fertilizer responsive varieties. The consequence has been widespread pest infestations. Many studies have estimated pesticide productivity, but few have estimated the productivity of alternative methods ot pest control, namely host-plant resistance. None have estimated the substitutability between these methods of pest-control. The productivity of pesticides and host-plant resistance, and the substitutability between them is measured using two-stage Cobb-Douglas and translog production functions. Under intensive rice production systems in eastern China, pesticide productivity is low compared to the productivity of host-plant resistance. In fact, returns to pesticide use are negative at the margin. Host-plant resistance is an effective substitute for pesticides and substantial reductions in pesticide use could be achieved, with no loss in rice production, through improvements in host-plant resistance. These results suggest that pesticides are being overused in eastern China and host-plant resistance is being underutilized. Government policies to promote increased pesticides in rice might be ill advised given the low productivity and negative returns, particularly in light of well known negative externalities associated with pesticide use.     

Market access,organic farming and productivity: the effects of Fair Trade affiliation on Thai farmer producer groups*

The study analyses the impact of Fair Trade (FT) and organic farming on a sample of FT rice producers in Thailand. It finds that per capita income from agriculture is positively and significantly affected by years of organic certification and FT affiliation. The estimated FT and organic certification contributions to producers’ economic well‐being are higher when account is taken of the relatively higher proportion of self‐consumption among affiliated farmers. But the per capita income effect does not translate into higher productivity owing to a concurrent increase in hours worked.     

Improving the speed of adoption of agricultural technologies and farm performance through farmer groups: evidence from the Great Lakes region of Africa

The article examines the effect of membership in farmer groups (MFG) on adoption lag of agricultural technologies and farm performance in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. We use duration and stochastic production frontier models on farm household data. We find that the longer the duration of MFG, the shorter the adoption lag and much more so if combined with extension service delivery. Farmer groups function as an important mechanism for improving farm productivity through reduced technical inefficiency in input use. We discuss policy implications under which farmer groups are a useful channel to reduce adoption lag, and the means through which improved farm performance can be achieved.     

Efficiency and technical progress in traditional and modern agriculture: evidence from rice production in China

Productive efficiency for Chinese hybrid and conventional rice production is estimated using a dual stochastic frontier efficiency decomposition model. Results reveal significant differences in technical and allocative efficiency between conventional and hybrid rice production, and indicate significant regional efficiency differences in hybrid rice production, but not in conventional rice production.     

Economic impacts of integrated pest management (IPM) farmer field schools (FFS): evidence from onion farmers in the Philippines

This article comprehensively examines the impact of integrated pest management‐farmer field school (IPM‐FFS) on yield, insecticide expenditures, labor expenditures, herbicide expenditures, fertilizer expenditures, and profit, based on data from onion producers in the Philippines. Propensity score matching (PSM) and regression‐based approaches that account for potential bias due to selection problems from observable variables are used to achieve the objective of the study. Sensitivity of our IPM‐FFS impact results to potential bias due to “selection on unobservables” was also assessed. We find that farmers who participate in the IPM‐FFS training program have statistically lower insecticide expenditures than the non‐IPM‐FFS farmers. But we do not find any evidence that the IPM‐FFS training program significantly affects yield and the other inputs. There is some evidence indicating that IPM‐FFS farmers may have statistically higher profit levels than non‐IPM‐FFS producers, but these results are sensitive to and may still be invalidated by bias due to unobservable variables. Since IPM‐FFS seem to only significantly reduce insecticide use, policymakers and extension educators may need to adjust the IPM‐FFS curriculum to further emphasize (or include) other agronomic practices that also optimize the use of other inputs like labor, fertilizer, and herbicides. The more efficient use of all inputs would likely reduce total expenditures and eventually translate to higher incomes.     

Crop genetic diversity, farm productivity and the management of environmental risk in rainfed agriculture

This paper presents an assessment of the linkages between cropgenetic diversity, farm productivity and risk management. Aflexible moment-based approach is used to analyse the impactof crop genetic diversity on the mean, variance and skewnessof yield. Using farm-level data from Sicily (Italy), econometricevidence shows how crop genetic diversity can increase farmproductivity and reduce risk exposure. The empirical resultsindicate that crop genetic diversity can reduce variance, butonly if pesticide use is low. Furthermore, high diversity levelscan reduce downside risk exposure (e.g. the risk of crop failure).This provides useful insights on the linkages between resilienceand crop genetic diversity.     

Understanding the influence of farmer motivations on changes to soil erosion risk on sites of former serious erosion in the South Downs National Park,UK

Serious soil erosion occurred in the South Downs National Park, southern England in the years 1982–2006 and details of around 400 sites are contained in a database. In 2010 we revisited 85 of the most serious sites where erosion of >10 m³ ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ had been recorded in order to assess land use change and any conservation measures undertaken. At 79% of the sites land use change had resulted in a reduction in the risk of erosion, most notably at 28 sites with a shift to permanent grass from winter cereals. At only 21% of sites was the risk of erosion unchanged. Twenty two farmers responsible for 66 of the sites were interviewed. Land management practices had changed on all of the fields of interest to this study since the time of the serious erosion events, to those which have the potential to lower soil erosion risk. Sixteen interviewees claimed that erosion was a motivating reason for changing their practices, due to either experiencing on or on- and off-farm impacts firsthand (12), having knowledge or suspicion of serious erosion having occurred on their land prior to their management (three), or having no knowledge of any serious erosion on their land but just wanting to reduce overall erosion risk (one). Amongst the main changes reported are changes of land use from winter cereals to grass or to overwinter stubble which have undoubtedly reduced the risk of erosion. However, some changed practices claimed by farmers, such as along-the-contour-working, earlier sowing and the use of rollers may be of little value. Furthermore, deeper analysis of farmers’ motivations regarding changes in land management practices suggests a complex picture in which a range of socio-economic influences come into play over time including financial incentives offered by agri-environmental schemes which were found to be an important driver of change. Future changes in farming economics may therefore undermine the reduction in erosion risk in the longer term.     

Geography of plant breeding systems,agroclimatic similarity,and agricultural productivity: evidence from Nigeria

Agroclimatic conditions and agricultural research and development (R&D) including plant breeding activities by the public sector are some of the most significant exogenous factors in the agricultural sector. However, the effects of the interactions between these two sets of factors on agricultural productivity have not been studied widely in developing countries, despite potentially important implications on their plant breeding strategies. Using three‐wave panel data of agricultural households in Nigeria and spatial data on various agroclimatic parameters, we show that agricultural productivity and technical efficiency at the agricultural household level is significantly positively affected by the similarity of agroclimatic conditions between locations where agricultural households are located, and locations where major plant breeding institutes are located. These results hold after controlling for various socioeconomic characteristics of these households, including their physical distances to the breeding institutes. Findings are robust across parametric and nonparametric specifications such as Data Envelopment Method, and after addressing potential endogeneity of agroclimatic similarity and agricultural inputs variables in the production function. Productivity effects due to the locations of plant breeding institutes and resulting agroclimatic similarity can be potentially sizable given Nigeria's past productivity growth speed.     

The effects of agricultural policy on supply and productivity: Evidence from differential changes in distortions

Incentives in agriculture are highly distorted. It has long been argued that these distortions were a key explanation for differences in supply and productivity across countries, but the empirical evidence is limited. We revisit this issue using data on policy distortions across 63 countries for the period 1961–2011. We estimate the effects of differential changes in agricultural distortions across countries on supply and productivity. We highlight concerns in our analysis and previous work about endogeneity that biases the estimated effect downward—countries that lose comparative advantage are likely to increase support for agriculture. We address these concerns by including country and region-time fixed effects, along with a rich set of controls. Overall, we find evidence that enhanced incentives through policy changes can increase the rate of production growth, with about half of the increase due to productivity increases. This result is strongest in Sub-Saharan Africa where anti-agricultural policies on exports were reduced and in Europe where pro-agricultural policies on imports were reduced, driven largely by external pressure. Endogeneity appears to be strongest in Asia where countries have followed the typical pattern of raising support for agriculture during industrialization due to a rising farm-urban income gap.     

Matching new entrants and retiring farmers through farm joint ventures: Insights from the Fresh Start Initiative in Cornwall,UK

Concerns about the sustainability of an ageing farming population have brought interest in so called entry-exit issues in policy circles. Policy interventions to date have offered limited scope in stimulating farm transfer in UK, however, the increase in unconventional tenures which include partnerships, share farming and contract farming (collectively called joint ventures) would appear to offer new opportunities for those wishing to enter or leave farming. In recognition of this the Fresh Start initiative in Cornwall set up a matchmaking element with the aim of identifying and facilitating potential joint ventures agreements between new entrants and older farmers. The emphasis was on setting up long-term arrangements that would enable the new entrant to ‘buy into’ an existing farm business, gradually taking over managerial control. This paper examines the processes of matching partners for the possible formation of farm joint ventures, using qualitative data derived from interviews with the participants, deliverers and stakeholders involved in the matchmaking element of this initiative. The results reveal that there is a deep rooted reluctance amongst participants in the initiative to enter formal long term joint ventures due to differing motivations, expectations, and concerns about their respective responsibilities in the working relationship and about the validity of the legal framework. Only where a relationship had already been informally established was there a commitment to formalise a joint venture agreement. Future emphasis in policy should therefore be on helping to facilitate and formalise existing partnerships, rather than trying to artificially orchestrate matches where the parties do not know each other.     

Consumer preferences for organic production methods and origin promotions on ornamental plants: evidence from eye‐tracking experiments

The strategic value of organic production and origin promotions may vary based on product end‐use. Conjoint analysis and eye‐tracking technology were used to investigate consumers’ purchase likelihood (PL) and visual search behavior for esthetic and food‐producing ornamental plants. Organic production methods, in‐state, and domestic origins positively impacted participants’ PL. Respondents’ visual attention to the organic production attribute had a strong positive effect on PL for food‐producing plants as did sociodemographic variables. Findings imply that producers and retailers could successfully implement signage emphasizing organic production methods and origin designations to generate consumer interest.     

Land size and productivity in the livestock sector: evidence from pastoral areas in China

This article explores the relationship between land size and productivity in the livestock sector. Household panel data from pastoral areas in northwestern China were analysed. Results suggest an inverse relationship (IR) between land size and the number of livestock per ha. IR can be largely explained by labour input intensity, which is negatively correlated with land size. We find that household’s labour demand is not separable from household’s labour supply and households’ decisions to rent land and hire labour for grazing are significantly related to the labour–land endowment ratio. These findings are consistent with the Chayanovian explanation that labour input intensity varies with farm size due to unobserved interhousehold variation in shadow wage rates. In addition, participation in the labour market does not significantly influence the IR for the employer, while the practice of land renting reduces, but does not eliminate, the IR for the lease. These findings point towards the potential for using factor markets to optimise pasture‐based livestock production scale, and the need to promote the factor market development to achieve efficiency in resource use.     

Convergence and divergence in regional agricultural productivity growth: evidence from Italian regions, 1951–2002

This article analyzes long‐term agricultural Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth at regional level by testing its time‐series properties and identifying factors associated with divergence as opposed to convergence. The empirical application concerns Italian regions over the 1951–2002 time period. TFP growth decomposition ultimately attributes the observed productivity growth performance to these contrasting (convergence vs. divergence) forces. We find that technological spillovers are the key convergence force regardless of how the spillover effects are computed. At the same time, forces favoring convergence are almost offset by divergence forces (mainly scale or learning effects). This decomposition may explain the persistence of TFP growth rate differences in Italian agriculture, and could be applicable elsewhere.     

Agribusiness,Peasant Agriculture and Labour Markets: Ecuador in Comparative Perspective

The consolidation of capitalist agriculture in countries such as Ecuador has led to a recent revaluation of territories (central highlands) where cheap labour has facilitated agribusiness development linked to the world market. This process generates growth in the numbers of rural wage workers and the creation of a labour market that, in relation to others in several Latin American countries, has certain particularities: permanent jobs, gender balance, an absence of intermediaries and low levels of precariousness. Small‐scale peasant producers are marginalized in this context and play functional roles within the current dynamics of agribusiness firms. The organizational weakness of rural wage earners and the pursuit of clientelist relationships by firms do not allow rural workers and local communities to devise economic and social strategies that might improve their position in this ‘field of forces’ in the territory.     

Agricultural extension,trust, and learning: results from economic experiments in Ecuador

Using an artefactual economic experiment and a randomized training intervention in Ecuador we test if trust conditions a farmer’s decision to learn during an agricultural training. We present a simple model of farmer behavior during the agricultural training in order to link play in the laboratory to behavior in the field. We find evidence that farmers who trust agricultural technicians relatively more than community farmers in the trust game learn more during training. The results provide insight into the design of agricultural extension services in Ecuador.     

Primary and secondary pest management in agriculture: balancing pesticides and natural enemies in potato production

Natural enemies (NEs) provide an important ecosystem service by preying on variety of pests in agricultural crop production systems. Current management practices of both primary and secondary pests in agricultural production principally rely on the use of pesticides with associated negative social and environmental consequences/externalities. Excessive use of pesticides against primary pets can remove NEs from the agro‐ecosystem and amplify susceptibility of the system to outbreaks of secondary pests. The combined effect of NEs on primary and secondary pests has received limited attention. This study uses an intraseasonal bioeconomic model to explicitly take into account biological interactions among primary pests, secondary pests, and NEs assuming decision makers’ profit maximizing behavior. The model explicitly captures the opportunity cost of injury to NE in terms of both primary and secondary pest suppression by NE. The results show that in the context of the green peach aphid (primary pest) and two‐spotted spider mite (secondary pest) in potato production, inclusion of NE into pest mitigation strategy can increase returns by 2%.     

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.     

Impact of land fragmentation and resource ownership on productivity and efficiency: The case of rice producers in Bangladesh

The paper analyzes the impact of land fragmentation and ownership of resources on productivity and technical efficiency in rice production in Bangladesh using farm level survey data. Results reveal that land fragmentation has a significant detrimental effect on productivity and efficiency as expected. The elasticity estimates of land fragmentation reveal that a 1% increase in land fragmentation reduces rice output by 0.05% and efficiency by 0.03%. On the other hand, ownership of key resources (land, family labour, and draft animals) significantly increases efficiency. The mean elasticity estimates reveal that a 1% increase in family labour and owned draft animal improve technical efficiency by 0.04% and 0.03%, respectively. Also, a 1% increase in the adoption of modern technology improves efficiency by 0.04%. The mean technical efficiency in rice production is estimated at 0.91 indicating little scope to improve rice production per se using existing varieties. Policy implications include addressing structural causes of land fragmentation (e.g., law of inheritance and political economy of agrarian structure), building of physical capital (e.g., land and livestock resources), improvements in extension services and adoption of modern rice technology.     

The behavioural economics of health protection: an empirical evidence of moral hazard in U.S. hog farms

Healthy workers are productive. When firms could not pay according to worker's health preventative effort levels due to asymmetric information, they provide an incentive contract to cope with the moral hazard problem. We test the existence of ex ante moral hazard in the U.S. hog farms. Using a national employee survey data in 1995 and in 2000, we find that even though employers provide protective devices to reduce the negative effects of poor environmental conditions on employees’ respiratory health, many employees do not wear the devices, which is consistent with the moral hazard behaviours. The probability of using a protective device is 10 per cent lower in the farms with an agency problem than in family farms without an agency problem, even after we control for medical insurance provision types. Reducing pollutants, providing protective devices and instilling the importance of using masks help to alleviate moral hazard incidences.