THE ESTIMATION OF OFF-FARM LABOUR SUPPLY FUNCTIONS IN SASKATCHEWAN

In this paper, a farm-household utility maximising model which incorporates the time of both the farm operator and his wife is developed. The model is then used to estimate the off-farm labour supply of the operator and his wife, and develop policy recommendations concerning further increases in off-farm labour participation by farmers and their wives. A Heckman procedure is employed to test for sample selectivity bias. The results suggest that the supply of off-farm labour is inelastic for men but quite responsive to the estimated shadow wage for women.     

PARTICIPATION OF FARM OWNERS IN FARM AND OFF-FARM WORK INCLUDING THE OPTION OF FULL-TIME OFF-FARM WORK

The option of working full-time off the farm is generally neglected in farmers' time allocation studies. In this paper, a generalised multinomial logit model, in which the choices are working only on the farm, allocating the time between farm and off-farm work, or working only off-farm, is estimated using Israeli data. The results show that the explanatory variables have significantly different effects on utility for off-farm workers who also work on the farm versus those who do not. There seem to be incentives to work full time rather than part time off the farm. These conclusions cannot be reached if farm owners who do not work on the farm are excluded from the estimation. The conclusions imply that policy intended to encourage pluriactivity could instead result in increased specialisation in full-time farm work or full-time off-farm work if it does not target the right incentives.     

粮食供给侧:“按量补贴”与“按质补贴”

[目的]2017年中央一号文件强调,在推进农业供给侧改革中,农业由满足量的需求,向更加注重满足质的需求转变。那么,粮食供给如何实现这一转变,从强调粮食产量向注重粮食质量、兼顾粮食产量的方向转变?尽管粮食质量的衡量是一个多维度的复杂问题,但是质量终归会反映成价格。[方法]通过粮食供给需求的均衡分析,建构了粮食补偿数理模型,研究了按面积补偿向按量补偿、按量补偿向按质补偿转变的条件。[结果]在粮食供给侧改革中,在耕地面积等条件不变的条件下,要实现这一转变,就需要突出规模效应,通过规模化生产补贴和品牌化发展策略实现。在此理论分析基础上,通过美国、中国、日本、俄罗斯、印度的粮食生产的相关性分析,进一步佐证了上述观点。[结论]结合实践经验,提出以规模化生产补贴、区域品牌或农户品牌来实现粮食质量的提升。     

LABOUR ON THE FAMILY FARM: A THEORY AND SOME POLICY IMPLICATIONS

This paper seeks to examine the labour-input decisions on family farms at a theoretical level and to demonstrate some policy implications of this theory. Where the family has the opportunity to work on the land, utility maximisation, rather than profit maximisation, would seem to be a more appropriate criterion for decision-making. Accordingly, the decision-making process is analysed under this alternative assumption. We then consider some of the policy implications of this model. In particular, we consider the effects of policies on the labour-inputs since the optimal allocation of labour is at the heart of most agricultural policies.     

THE DISINCENTIVE EFFECT OF FOOD-FOR-WORK ON LABOUR SUPPLY AND AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION AND DIVERSIFICATION IN ETHIOPIA

Food-for-work (FFW) as a form of food aid has been criticised for its many disincentive effects. This paper investigates alleged disincentive effects of food-for-work (FFW) on labour supply and agricultural intensification and diversification in one district of Ethiopia, using a ranking exercise and a small survey of farmer opinion. Despite the popularity of FFW as a source of income, careful project design meant that disincentives were largely avoided. In particular, the take-up of FFW was restricted, by a combination of self-targeting and community based administrative rationing; and agricultural intensification and diversification were encouraged directly through extension programmes.     

CEREAL SUPPLY POLICY INSTRUMENTS: AN ATTITUDINAL SURVEY AMONG FARMERS IN ENGLAND

Against a background of steadily mounting cereal surpluses in the European Community and a recognition that the cereals sector is a major contributor to the Community's budgetary problems, a survey was carried out of English farmers' attitudes and preferences concerning a range of alternative cereal supply policy instruments. Personal interviews were held with 102 farmers in two contrasting agricultural districts — one an intensive cereal-growing district in eastern England, the other an area of mixed livestock and arable farming in western England. Amongst cereal producers in both areas a quota was the preferred policy instrument; in the east because of the security it offered, but in the west because it was perceived to be the least damaging instrument for the industry as a whole. A price reduction was the preferred option of small livestock farmers in the western area. None of the other instruments — co-responsibility levy, set-aside, nitrogen use restrictions — received much support. Farmers were particularly negative about schemes involving the withdrawal of land from agricultural use.     

做好粮食调控 保证市场供应——聂振邦考察锦绣大地玉泉路粮油批发市场纪实

2006年12月15日下午,京城冬日的阳光格外灿烂,照得大地暖洋洋的,驱走了人们心中的一丝寒意。位于京西的北京市最大的粮油批发市场锦绣大地玉泉路批发市场一如往日的繁忙,卸货、装货、验货、谈价……人们忙得不亦乐乎。此时,这里又迎来了一位特殊的客人——国家粮食局党组书记、     

技术匹配、吸收能力与茶农对机械化技术的采用

[目的]伴随劳动力缺乏和用工成本的不断提高,机械化技术正快速进入中国的茶产业,为探寻茶产业生产机械化水平提高原因和机制,以及为茶农机械化技术采用行为的研究提供新的视角,以更好推动机械化技术应用到生产实践中。[方法]结合茶农技术选择的特征和影响因素,基于技术接受模型,构建了含有技术匹配、吸收能力两个外部变量的茶农对机械化技术采纳行为的模型。[结果]通过对1 246名茶农的实证研究表明,吸收能力与感知有用性、感知易用性、使用意向正相关,感知易用性与感知有用性、使用意向均正相关,感知有用性与使用意向正相关。技术匹配并不直接影响感知易用性,但是通过影响有用性正向影响使用意向,也直接影响使用意向。[结论]茶农对机械化技术的采用决策不仅受到自身对技术匹配的认知影响,而且受到吸收能力的影响,并且吸收能力的影响在决定技术采用时扮演着更为重要的角色。     

THE IMPACT OF INFLATION ON PRICES RECEIVED AND PAID BY GREEK FARMERS

This paper investigates empirically the impact of inflation on the terms of trade, prices received and paid, for Greek farmers in the period 1967–87. According to conventional theory, inflation can have a non-neutral effect if it is unanticipated and if prices received and paid by farmers exhibit different degrees of flexibility. However, in the case where prices are administered, inflation neutrality depends on government's policy objectives and ability to adjust prices of inputs and outputs to the rate of inflation. The empirical investigation undertaken in this study shows that pricing policies implemented by the Greek government have resulted in neutralising the impact of inflation on the terms of trade for Greek farmers. Furthermore, the observed significant variability of the terms of trade can be attributed solely to real demand and supply factors.     

ESTIMATION OF ASSYMETRIC LONGRUN SUPPLY FUNCTIONS: THE CASE OF COFFEE

Far a number of years it has been recognized that there are problems involved in estimating supply functions for commodities whose production employs long-lived inputs. These problems embrace all agricultural production, since equipment durable assets are used in the production of all farm commodities. Nevertheless, and recognition of these problems is perhaps most important for tree based commodities.
This paper demonstrates a method for incorporating decisions about adding or removing durable capital, and applies the technique to the analysis of Brazilian coffee production. The model suggested has wide application to tree fruit production as well, and with modifications to supply analysis for many other commodities.
WE ANALYSE DE LA PRODUCTION DU CAFE - L'on constate, depuis longtemps, qu'ü est très difficile de calculer avec assez de précision les appro visionnements requis dans les secteurs de production qui exigent des investissements à long terme dans des biens mobiliers et immobiliers et de l'outillage. Cela est particulièrement vrai en agriculture où l'outillage qui doit servir longtemps absorbe d'importantes sommes d'argent. Le problème envisagé ici est celui des denrées provenant d'arbres et d'arbustes.
Nous proposons une méthode de calcul des sommes qu'il faut investir dans l'équipement durable et, à titre d'exemple, nous appliquons cette méthode à la production du café brézilien. A partir de la, l'on peut comprendre que ce mode de calcul peut être utilise dans un grand nombre d'exploitations d'arbre fruitiers et même d'autres denrées.     

THE ANALYSIS OF MEMORY BIAS IN AGRICULTURAL LABOUR DATA COLLECTION: A CASE STUDY OF SMALL FARMERS IN NIGERIA

An analysis is undertaken of daily labour data collected once-per-week for a sample of 129 farm households in Benue State, Nigeria during 1979/80. The purpose of the analysis is to test for the presence of memory bias in these data for which the recall period is up to seven days. The analysis indicates significant between-day differences in hours of agricultural work. This is partly due to the low work input for Sunday but it is also noted that the mean number of hours of agricultural work reported for the day prior to data collection is significantly lower than the means for days further removed from the time of data collection. This finding is taken to be confirmation that a significant level of memory bias exists in the labour data and it is estimated that reported hours of agricultural labour may overstate actual hours of such work by almost 38 per cent.     

社会网络和同伴效应视角下农户农业绿色技术采用研究综述

[目的]农业绿色技术的推广和应用有助于促进农业集约经营、实现农业生态良性循环、推动农业由“量”到“质”转变。文章旨在对社会网络、同伴效应与农户技术采用之间关系进行系统阐述与分析,发现现有研究不足,提出进一步研究方向。[方法]采用文献研究法和总结归纳法,以社会网络、同伴效应与农户技术采用之间关系研究的主要内容为主线,从农业技术采用、社会网络与农户技术采用、个体行为与同伴效应识别、同伴效应形成机制四个方面对现有研究进行梳理、概括和评价。[结果]目前政府和学界对农户绿色技术采用行为展开了大量研究,但大多强调农户自身特征或决策对绿色技术采用行为的影响,在很大程度上忽略了社会网络,以及同伴效应对农户绿色技术采用所起的作用。[结论]未来应深化社会网络、同伴效应对农户技术采用的影响机制的定量及动态研究;应进一步探索社会网络和同伴效应的“中国特色”;应丰富和改进研究方法和实验技术。     

SUPPLY-MAXIMISING AND VARIATION-MINIMISING REPLACEMENT CYCLES OF PERENNIAL CROPS AND SIMILAR ASSETS: THEORY ILLUSTRATED BY COCONUT CULTIVATION

The paper argues that maximum sustainable yields rather than net present values often need to be considered for policy and identifies the length of the replacement cycle required for maximum sustainable yield or supply in multi-point or interval output time-phased production conditions, such as apply to perennial crops and to similar productive processes. It enables point-input point-output models which have been well explored (for instance, for forestry) to be treated as special cases. A virtue of the analysis is its use of a simple technical relationship to determine the replacement rate of a perennial crop to maximise sustainable yield. The analysis is illustrated by an empirical example drawn for the cultivation of the Sri Lankan ‘tall’ variety of coconut.     

基于计划行为理论的粮农质量安全行为实施意愿及其影响因素分析

粮农作为粮食供应链的源头,其质量安全行为直接决定了粮食的质量安全情况。文章基于山东省17地市627户粮农的问卷调查数据,首先运用Logit模型分析了影响粮农质量安全行为实施意愿的影响因素,再通过ISM模型进一步分析了各影响因素之间的逻辑关系和层次结构。分析表明:粮农的文化程度、家庭年收入、种植规模、专业化程度、行为态度、优良品种选用认知、农药化肥安全使用认知、病虫害生物防治认知、产地检验9个因素对其质量安全行为的实施意愿有显著影响。其中,行为态度、家庭年收入、产地检验是表层直接因素,优良品种选用认知、农药化肥安全使用认知、病虫害生物防治认知是中层间接因素,文化程度、种植规模、专业化程度是深层根源因素。因此,加快培育新型粮农、提高农民收入、适当扩大生产规模、加大宣传力度、加强产地检验是优化粮农质量安全行为的有效途径。     

农业科技园区推动新农村建设的理论与趋势

文章应用区域发展、农业经济等相关理论,分析了农业科技园区与社会主义新农村建设的关系。回顾了我国农业科技园区对社会主义新农村建设的主要贡献和我国农业科技园区发展演变趋势,提出了农业科技园区进一步发展的对策。     

FARM MANAGEMENT ADVISORY WORK: THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

This paper examines the role of the farm management adviser viz-à-viz the agricultural industry at large and considers the challenge to the ‘whole farm’ approach arising from the increasing demand for highly specialised technical information and advice.