THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CROSS-COMPLIANCE ON ARABLE FARMING

It is argued that the ongoing CAP/GATT reforms provide a basis for the introduction of environmental cross-compliance (ECC). ECC enables policymakers to restrict output-related direct support payments to those farmers who comply with specified environmental guidelines aimed at reducing the external damage effects of agricultural production. This paper is an exploratory investigation of ECC and presents the results of a farm-level linear programming analysis of 15 North-West England arable farms. The environmental guidelines, which relate to permanent as opposed to rotational set-aside and to levels of fertiliser use, are widely applicable to the extent that ECC can be implemented as a voluntary policy system. They are clearly effective in achieving policy goals since all but one of the farmers investigated would comply with the full range of restrictions considered. Within this range, gross margins are reduced by up to 10 per cent while area and output of seed crops are reduced by around 22 per cent and 12 per cent respectively. Row crops area and output are more robust, each falling by just under 4 per cent.     

环艾比湖农场生态环境建设研究

艾比湖区生态环境极其脆弱,尤其建国以后的大规模开垦,减少了入湖水量,导致湖面萎缩,风沙危害严重,对沿岸团场的生产和生活产生了较大的影响,针对近年来日益严重的生态环境问题,对艾比湖流域自然资源的合理开发和利用,生态环境的防治与保护提出了相应的措施,搞好生态环境建设,对保证该区绿洲农业的可持续发展具有重要意义。     

THE IMPACT OF INPUT PRICE INFLATION ON THE UNITED STATES FARMING INDUSTRY*

The impact of national inflation on net income of American farmers is expressed as the elasticity E of net income with respect to input prices. E is derived mathematically from a series of equations expressing productivity, revenue, costs, and elasticities of supply and demand. Empirical estimates of E are calculated for large input categories as well as for all purchased inputs for both the short and long run using estimates of the required parameters. Price inflation for cash operating inputs with an elastic demand such as fertilizer tends not to disadvantage farmers. But total use of inputs such as real estate, labor, and, durable inventories are relatively unresponsive to higher taxes, wages and interest rales, and thus farmers are seriously disadvantaged by inflation of these “prices.” In general, farmers benefit from input price increases if the price elasticity of demand for the input exceeds that of farm output. For all purchased inputs, this study reveals a small impact on net farm income from a once-for-all input price increment of one percent. ?effet de ?inflation nationale sur le revenu net des fermiers amériains s'exprime par la flexibilité E du revenu net par rapport au prix de revient. E est dérivé par calcul mathémalique d.une série ?équations qui expriment la productivité, le rapport, les frais et la flexibilité de ?offre el de la demande. On estime empiriquement la valeur de E pour des catégories ?investissement importantes de même que pour loutes les matières premières achelées, à tongue et à courte échéance, en se servant ?estimes des paramètres nécessaires. La hausse des prix des investissements achetés cast et dont le besoin est variable, tels que les engrais, tend a ne pas occasioner de perte pour le fermier. Mais ?emploi total ?investissements tels que biens immeubles, main ?oeuvre et invenlaires à longue durée sont relativemenl peu sensibles à?augmentation du laux des impôts, des salaires, el ?intérêt. de sorte que les fermiers sont sérieusement handicapes par la hausse de ces “prix”. En général, les fermiers bénéficient de ?augmentation des prix de revient si la flexibilityé de prix des ressources excede celle de la production fermiere. Pour toutes les ressources achetées, cette étude révèle qu'une augmentation de un pour-cent dans les prix des investissements definitifsproduit un effet minime sur le revenufermier net.     

浅议地勘单位转制中的资本投入机制

地勘单位实行属地化管理并逐步实行企业化经营,由事业单位逐步转制为企业,需要注入一定的资本金给予扶持。这种扶持性新增资本的投入,应当按照符合市场经济规律要求、符合建立现代企业制度要求的原则建立新的投入机制,不能再把宝贵的新增资本投入到旧的体制和机制中去。     

ROLES OF WOMEN ON FARMS: A PILOT STUDY

Official statistics do not reveal the nature of the contribution which farmers' wives make to the farm labour force. On the basis of a pilot study, three roles for women on farms were identified. Main distinguishing features were division of labour between husband and wife, frequency of manual work, responsibility for farm enterprises, participation in formal organisations and approach to housework. Home-centred farm housewives only work on the farm occasionally, working farmwives assist their husbands regularly while women farmers threaten male status by doing “man's” work. Reasons for women playing one role rather than another are discussed. Trends in agriculture suggest that the farmer's wife's contribution to the farm business will become still more significant in future. “The concept of ‘the farmer and his wife’ so often used by agricultural economics is far from having universal validity” (Ashby, 1953: 97).     

MEASURING FARM EFFICIENCY OVER TIME ON PHILIPPINE RICE FARMS

This paper measures farm-specific technical efficiencies of rice farms in Central Luzon, the Philippines, at discrete points in time. Stochastic frontier production functions are estimated from the International Rice Research Institute's Loop Survey for the years 1970, 1974, 1979 and 1982. From the results, a measure of relative technical efficiency is calculated for each farm for each year. The four distributions of technical efficiencies are examined. Results show that technical inefficiency is the major reason for deviation from the frontier production function. All four samples show a large range of inefficiency but in general efficiency has improved, particularly between 1979 and 1982.     

试论合理降低基础施工现场成本的环节和途径

本文论述了基础施工现场成本管理的四个环节;指出了提高人的素质、推广运用科学技术、提高劳动生产率、管好施工材料和物资、严格控制工程质量、确保安全生产等八条降低成本的有效途径     

THE EFFECT OF PRICE REDUCTION AND DIRECT INCOME SUPPORT POLICIES ON AGRICULTURAL INPUT MARKETS IN AUSTRIA

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the effects of a shift from price support to direct income policy on agricultural factor markets and aggregate output. By utilising an econometric model for the Austrian agricultural sector, it is argued that the main purpose of this policy change, which is to move producers away from making production decisions in response to income support policies and to facilitate their response to market signals (‘decoupling’), is only partially realised. Switching from price to direct income support would result in little reduction in output, but some positive secondary effects can be observed. Ecological goals could be realised by lessening the degree of industrialisation due to lowering the capital-labour and intermediate input-labour ratios.     

THE COMBINATION OF AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AND INPUT PRICE INDICES

Measures of agricultural incomes, and of the industry's productivity, are often derived by combining measures of the aggregate values and volumes of the industry's outputs and inputs. Combinations of price indices are less common but some have been published by Eurostat and are described in this paper. They are of two basic forms, one indicating the net effect of changes in output prices and input prices on the industry's value added and the other indicating changes in the industry's terms of trade. The paper examines the role, construction and interpretation of these measures and offers some cautions about their interpretation in the context of CAP reform.     

THE ECONOMIC STUDY OF AFRICAN SMALL FARMS; SOME KENYA EXPERIENCES

As a basis for both planning and evaluation, improved statistical information is required on the peasant section of developing economies. Developments made in Kenya since 1960 are discussed, covering the trial of various methodological approaches to the economic study of small farms, and the evolution of satisfactory procedures which can be applied in a large government research organisation in which technical accuracy and efficiency must be combined with administrative simplicity and the quick production at reasonable cost of specific information that is required for economic planning. Consideration is given to full farm business studies, enterprise studies and the collection of agricultural statistics in conditions where the complexities of mixed farming systems create unusual problems.     

COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCY OF RICE FARMS IN CENTRAL LUZON,THE PHILIPPINES

The purpose of this paper is to estimate a bias-free agricultural production function with a view to examining efficiency differences among small rice farmers. Simultaneous equation bias is avoided if we assume that farmers maximise expected profits; specification bias, which commonly occurs when a management input is omitted from such functions, is circumvented by introducing farm-specific dummy variables into a combined cross-sectional and time-series data set. Applying this model to data for 32 Philippine rice farms between 1970 and 1979, rather small production-elasticities are obtained for the conventional inputs and an efficiency ranking of the farms is presented. Second stage analysis shows that differences in soil type, land tenure, education and access to credit are important factors explaining these efficiency differences.     

减少冶勘行业应收帐款之我见

应收帐款是企业因销售商品、产品、提供劳务等,应向购货单位或接受劳务单位收取的款项.在市场经济条件下利用自身的商业信用,施舍劳务是不可避免的商业行为,通过先施舍劳务可使企业更多地承揽业务、扩大市场份额,是企业提高市场占有率的必要手段.但是近年来由于市场经济体制及工程管理和工程施工过程中的种种原因,结果造成应收帐款迅速膨胀,逐年增加,致使企业资金周转困难,甚至连工资都难以正常发放.本文分析了应收帐款形成的原因及利弊,提出了如何减少应收帐款的途径.     

基于GIS的黄土高原丘陵沟壑区的耕地地力评价研究——以天水市麦积区耕地地力评价为例

应用GIS技术,结合层次分析法和模糊数学综合评价方法等现代统计分析技术,在耕地地力调查的基础上,从土壤立地条件、土壤理化性状、剖面构型、气候、土壤管理等5个方面选取14项指标,对麦积区耕地地力进行综合评价,研究其影响该区耕地地力的主要指标.结果表明,麦积区耕地地力等级可分为5等,1～5等地,分别占总耕地面积的2.74%、9.18%、56.84%、30.45%、1.40%,其分别对应国家6～10等地;通过层次分析组合权重分析,灌溉能力、年降水量、有效磷、坡向、有机质为影响该区耕地地力最重要的指标.     

ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OVER TIME OF WEST JAVANESE RICE FARMS

The high costs and effectiveness of Indonesia's current mix of policies aimed at maintaining rice self-sufficiency, for example fertiliser and other subsidies, has been questioned. Consequently, attention has turned to developing policies to increase farmers yields through efficiencies, for example as a result of better extension. The main issue investigated in this article is whether existing yields can be significantly improved through increasing the efficiency of individual farmers. Production frontiers are estimated and technical efficiencies/inefficiencies predicted from panel data and for one year at a time. Different results are explained in relation to a number of aspects, especially the rate of adoption of new technologies, and policy actions are recommended. The robustness of the analysis is examined as conclusions obtained from past analyses have often been inconsistent.     

CHANGES IN CEREAL PRODUCTION AND YIELD VARIABILITY ON FARMS IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Data from 16 wheat growers and 18 barley growers in South East England were investigated for changes in variability of production and yield between the periods 1964-74 and 1975-84. Sixteen per cent of the increase in variability of wheat production was due to changes in yield variances and covariances. The increase in variability of barley production was not statistically significant. Variability of yield increased for both wheat and barley. Wheat yields became more positively correlated between farms, but barley yields did not. The results for wheat were consistent with the hypothesis of an increase in the number of controlled factors in the production process. Particularly important was thought to be the use of fungicides in the control of many cereal diseases. Increased heterogeneity of the barley crop may have contributed to the decline in the number of between-farm correlations for that crop.     

影响我国耕地有效保护的诸因素及对策探讨

我国的耕地资源面临着严峻形势,对耕地施行切实有效的保护显得十分重要和迫切;针对我国耕地保护的现状和问题,从多种角度分析了影响我国耕地有效保护的相关因素,并从宣传教育、政策法规、经济机制、产权制度、土地市场、资金投入、科技工作和用地布局等方面提出了相应的对策措施。