The political economy of agriculture for development today: the “small versus large” scale debate revisited

The role of agriculture in economic development and the development politics of promoting smallholder versus large‐scale agriculture have both been at the center of a long‐lasting and controversial debate. Using an innovative methodology which combines a value chain approach with input‐output‐analysis, the growth multipliers and productivity of both farm types in Guatemala are analyzed. Results show that smallholder agriculture has the same potential to stimulate output growth as large‐scale agriculture. Smallholder value chains include mainly informal sectors and create more jobs than commercial agriculture. Therefore, a reorientation of agricultural and land policies toward small‐scale food producers and within a comprehensive policy of integrated rural development is not only necessary in terms of social equity but also for boosting economic development.     

Economic development and the role of agricultural technology

In earlier debates on economic development, the agricultural sector's role was somewhat controversial. While dualistic models highlighted the importance of agriculture, the mainstream literature placed a greater emphasis on the creation of a modern industrial sector. Soon agriculture disappeared from the mainstream development literature to re‐emerge recently with a variety of multiple‐sector growth models emphasizing the key role of agriculture and specifically technology in agriculture. This article is an empirical cross‐country analysis of agricultural technology's role in economic development. Specifically, the hypothesis being tested is whether improvements in agricultural technology have a significant impact on long‐run economic growth. The results indicate that agricultural modernization has a positive effect on both measures of economic growth and human development.     

循环农业的由来及发展现状

人们越来越认识到循环经济在保护环境和资源,促进农业可持续发展等方面的积极作用,以可持续发展思想为理念的循环农业将是世界农业发展的道路和方向。该文就国内、国外农业的产生和发展,以及现阶段所面临的问题,系统而全面地分析、归纳了循环农业的兴起、成长、发展以及今后的发展趋势,为循环农业的发展和完善起理论支持作用。     

Explaining agricultural productivity growth: an international perspective

This article presents multi-output, multi-input total factor productivity (TFP) growth rates in agriculture for 88 countries over the 1970–2001 period, estimated with both stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and the more commonly employed data envelopment analysis (DEA). We find results with SFA to be more plausible than with DEA, and use them to analyze trends across countries and the determinants of TFP growth in developing countries. The central finding is that policy and institutional variables, including public agricultural expenditure and proagricultural price policy reforms, are significant correlates of TFP growth. The most significant geographic correlate of TFP growth is distance to the nearest OECD country.     

Transatlantic Similarities and Contrasts in Rural Development PoliciesTransatlantische Ähnlichkeiten und Gegensätze bei den Politiken zur Entwicklung des ländlichen RaumsPoints communs et divergences transatlantiques sur le développement rural

Transatlantic Similarities and Contrasts in Rural Development Policies
The United States (US) and European Union (EU) share many general policy aims for rural areas, but they differ in the ways in which they try to achieve these aims. The principal difference lies in the role envisioned by agriculture in overall rural development. EU policies treat agriculture as a provider of public goods, and many of its 'rural' programmes target agriculture. In the US, very few Federal rural development programs are focused solely on agriculture. Differences of approach may be linked to different farm distributions, population densities, historical settlement patterns, and the historical policy process per se . In particular, in the US rural development policy does not cover the environment or income support to farmers; these are addressed through other programmes. In contrast, the EU classifies its agri-environmental programmes as rural development, claiming that more environmentally-friendly farm practices bring benefits to the broader rural economy. US State and local initiatives emphasize many themes found in the EU's Pillar II programmes, such as value-added or sustainable agriculture. Overall, although there are marked differences in the ways in which policies are implemented, the coverage of these policies in the EU and US is rather similar.     

农地规模经营对地理标志农业发展的影响研究 ——基于陕西省和山东省6个县的调查

研究目的:以规模经济理论为基础,基于陕西省和山东省6个县的调查数据,实证分析农地规模经营对地理标志农业发展的影响。研究方法:问卷调查法和结构方程模型。研究结果:(1)农地规模经营意愿、农地规模经营政策对地理标志农业发展均具有显著的正向影响,农地标准化生产存在中介效应;(2)农户扩大农地经营面积意愿越强、延长农地流转期限意愿越强、低效农地转出意愿越强、劳动力转移意愿越强,越有利于地理标志农业发展;(3)政府农地政策和资金支持力度越大、农户对农地政策越了解、农业机械和技术劳动力投入力度越大、化肥和农药减量投入越有效,越有利于地理标志农业发展。研究结论:应加快新型农业经营主体发展,使其成为地理标志农业建设的核心力量,实现农地规模化和标准化的共同发展。     

河南省循环农业发展的实践模式及借鉴

发展循环农业是提高农产品竞争能力与转变农业发展方式的重要途径。文章就河南省循环农业的发展模式及情况进行分析,结果表明:目前河南省循环农业发展模式有3种,即再资源化模式、减量型模式、再使用型模式。同时,通过分析模式下的经济环境特性,探讨了河南省循环农业带来的启示,如政策支持循环农业发展、农民素质适应现代循环农业发展、规模经济有效促进循环农业发展、科技创新逐步适应循环农业的发展要求等。并提出了落实政府主导作用,加强宏观调控;加强循环农业示范点建设,发挥辐射带动作用;完善循环农业发展的帮扶政策;加强科技创新,为循环农业发展提供科学保障;努力构建循环农业发展环境与增长机制;加强舆论宣传,营造循环农业良好氛围等对策措施,以期为全国其他省份地区发展循环农业提供参考。     

Defining and delivering ‘sustainable’ agriculture in the UK after Brexit: interdisciplinary lessons from experiences of agricultural reform

Defining and achieving sustainability in the context of complex, multi-scale, and constantly changing agricultural systems is a challenge for research and policy. In UK agriculture, the European Union and its Common Agricultural Policy has been a key source of funding for and approaches to sustainability in the agriculture and rural development sectors. The decision to leave the European Union represents a significant moment in UK agriculture and rural development policy, and both an opportunity and responsibility for the UK government to set out and commit towards achieving sustainability goals for the sector. In this study, a combination of ethnographic case study research, focusing on the case of upland farmers in the Yorkshire Dales, policy analysis and national agricultural sector data is referred to in describing experiences of agricultural policy reform over recent decades. From these experiences, lessons for the design and delivery of future agriculture and rural development are drawn out. It is argued that the integrated assessment of multiple sources of knowledge can provide a means to critically reflecting on evidence about sustainability in complex systems, better understanding trade-offs, and creating a more complete and inclusive knowledge base from which to define sustainable agriculture.     

Toward a green revolution in Africa: what would it achieve,and what would it require?

The current global food crisis has reemphasized the costliness of Africa's failure to achieve food security and poverty reduction. The instrument by which other more successful developing countries achieved these outcomes was a “Green Revolution” in agriculture. While previous research has provided largely discursive appraisals of the viability of an African Green Revolution, this article adopts a more rigorous methodology to address that question. First, an economy‐wide multimarket model, augmented with existing poverty–growth elasticities, is developed to assess the likely impacts of a rapid acceleration in food production (of the kind witnessed in previous Green Revolutions) on food prices, consumption and demand, farmer revenue, and poverty. Our results suggest that a rapid growth in staple production, together with more integrated regional markets, would reduce food prices by roughly 20–40% for consumers and 10–20% for producers among the major crops. This translates into a large rise in farm revenues, annual agricultural growth rates of 6.5% or higher, broader income growth and food security, and over 70 million Africans being lifted out of poverty. The article concludes by emphasizing the kinds of fundamental policy actions and resources that would be required for achieving these outcomes.     

Agriculture for development: new paradigm and options for success

The role of agriculture as an instrument for industrialization had been rigorously conceptualized in the 1960s and 1970s under the classical paradigm of development economics. After many implementation failures under import substitution industrialization policies and protracted neglect of agriculture under the policies of the Washington Consensus that followed the debt crisis, agriculture has gradually returned in the development agenda, especially with the food crisis. We argue in this article that a new paradigm has started to emerge as to how to use agriculture for development, pursuing a broadened development agenda. We explore the specifications of this paradigm and discuss conditions for successful implementation.     

日本与欧美农业环境支持政策对中国的启示

农业政策中与环境相关的支付政策越来越多。发达国家将WTO绿箱政策、农业直接支付政策与农业环境支持政策结合起来,这样既可以从根本上解决农业生产所带来的安全问题,也可以加深消费者对相关政策的理解与支持,同时从产业链的上游解决食品安全及农业的可持续发展问题。欧盟的Greening政策和日本实施的农业直接支付政策均以农户遵守农药化肥及农业废弃物处理的相关规范为前提,通过合理使用肥料及各种防治措施从不同程度上达到农业可持续发展、农业的多功能性及降低温室气体排放的目的,并由此获取政府的支持。文章通过对发达国家,特别是与中国农业形态类似的日本农业环境政策取向的分析及与欧美相关政策比较分析,认为中国首先应该完善循环农业的相关法律法规和标准,加强对农民的培训以及明确其应遵守的基本义务,对采取环境友好型农业生产方式的农民给予支持。     

China’s Agricultural Policy Transition: Impacts of Recent Reforms and Future Scenarios

This article reviews recent developments in China’s agricultural domestic support policy, especially the transition from taxing farmers and agriculture to providing direct subsidies to grain production and purchased inputs. A model‐based quantitative analysis on the effects of these policy changes is presented. Simulation results suggest that recent policy changes have achieved the declared policy goals of increasing grain production and boosting farm income. Much of the increase in grain production and farm income can be attributed to higher per unit return to arable land, land reallocation to grain production and extra agricultural employment triggered by the policy changes. Based on the assumption that China’s public assistance to agriculture and farmers will continue and rise, two hypothetical future scenarios are simulated. Using all the support permitted under WTO de minimis limits with existing instruments, China’s policy will increase grain production, change trade patterns seemingly contrary to China’s comparative advantage, increase rural employment and significantly increase farm income (by more than 12%). If, however, decoupled instruments are applied to raise China’s agricultural domestic support to the same level, China’s agricultural production and trade will remain unchanged, rural employment remain stable, but farm income will be increased by nearly 15%.     

政府参与循环农业发展的行为与作用机理分析——基于湖北省的实证调研

该文从经济学角度对政府参与循环农业发展的作用机理进行了探讨,并结合对湖北省两个国家级和4个省级生态农业试点县(市)的实地调研,对政府参与循环农业发展的实践行为进行了分析。研究结论表明:"市场失灵"和循环农业的经济特性是政府参与循环农业的根源所在。当前中央和地方各级政府围绕循环农业的发展,分别从规划、立法和政策引导、项目推进、环境监管等方面着力推进循环农业的发展,并取得了较好的实效。与此同时,政府在循环农业发展中仍然存在一些缺陷和不足之处,如政策和法制体系仍然有待完善、公共基础设施投入不足,技术支撑体系尚未建立等。鉴于此,提出政府应进一步完善法律法规和政策体系,加强循环农业公共物品的供给、建立地方党政领导主抓循环农业发展责任制等几个方面。     

Public Policy in the 21st Century: Is Prairie Agriculture Becoming Like Any Other Industry? Does it Matter?

The question addressed in this paper is whether Prairie agriculture has become "like any other industry". The implication is that a positive response would lead to the conclusion that it should therefore be treated "like any other industry" rather than being accorded the special status that it has enjoyed for more than a century
We show that, as net farm incomes have declined over the past 35 years, Prairie farmers have responded by seeking other (non-farm) sources of income. At the time of the 1996 census, net farm income accounted for only 31 percent of farm family income (down from 75 percent in 1967). By 1999, the contribution of net farm income was even lower than in 1996
In spite of the dwindling contribution of net farm income to farm family income, average farm family income in Saskatchewan has exceeded average provincial household income for all but two years between 1971 and 1998, Under these circumstances, it is necessary to ask why it is in the public interest to subsidize an activity which, in recent good times, produced 31 percent of the income of a subset of the population whose household incomes were 10–15 percent above the provincial average
Based on income levels, it is probably no longer necessary to accord farm families special status in the public policy arena. However, other policy considerations (immobility of resources, the role of agriculture in the rural economy, environmental considerations, food safety and security, for example) remain, differentiating agriculture from other industries     

认定等级差异视角下休闲农业经营主体效率分析以南京市休闲农业经营主体为例

[目的]在政府大力推进休闲农业发展的背景下,合理测算不同认定等级休闲农业经营主体效率,分析当前认定等级对休闲农业经营主体效率的影响,对于完善现有认定体系、引导休闲农业经营主体效率提升以及促进休闲农业健康可持续发展具有重要作用和意义。[方法]基于2019年南京市72家规模以上休闲农业经营主体调查数据,文章采用数据包络分析法(DEA)方法,兼顾休闲农业经营主体经济效益和社会效益的多重发展目标,更合理、准确地对休闲农业经营主体效率进行测算,分析不同认定等级休闲农业经营主体的效率差异及其成因。[结果]随着休闲农业经营主体认定等级的提高,其综合技术效率、规模效率以及纯技术效率等指标并未同步提高;休闲农业经营主体土地与劳动力投入随着认定等级提高,存在不同程度冗余现象。[结论]建议进一步完善各级各类休闲农业经营主体认定指标体系、政策支持体系与认定类型,同时加强认定观念引导与宣传,通过加强政策引导与资源支持,推进休闲农业主体和休闲农业的健康可持续发展。     

Challenges and policy options in the global bio‐economy: introduction and overview

Agricultural economics is at the nexus of the major policy options surrounding the global bio‐economy. The outputs from agriculture have expanded beyond the traditional food, feed, and fiber to include fuel and other nonfood applications as well as environmental goods due to recent technological developments and changing consumer demands. Numerous policy questions have arisen within the bio‐economy. This article introduces and summarizes several invited panel sessions on issues of special importance in the global bio‐economy: new institutions of dealing with uncertainty and increased volatility related to climate change; structural transformations in agricultural production and food consumption and their effect on development; biofuel policies and development; and determinants of changes in consumer attitudes to new products and technologies.     

Land allocation to meet sectoral goals in Indonesia—An analysis of policy coherence

Land is a scarce resource affecting the implementation of many sectoral policies. In Indonesia, the expansion of palm oil plantations has led to non-sustainable land use practices in past years, particularly deforestation. More recently, the government has set ambitious targets for the adoption of biodiesel which will require expansion of oil palm plantations, thus putting further pressure on land. Meanwhile, the need to guarantee food supply, forest conservation and climate change mitigation also imply challenges when it comes to land allocation and use. This paper examines the role that land plays in the implementation of sectoral policies in Indonesia, exploring the availability of land to satisfy the multiple goals defined in national policies. We explore land competition resulting from allocations made in official policy documents starting with biofuel policy. The analysis of policy goals and coherence when it comes to land allocation is made in relation to agriculture, climate and forestry policies. We conclude that adjustments need to be made in the policies to avoid overlappings and misinterpretations when it comes to land allocation. The area made available for meeting each sectoral policy goal when taking into account cross sectoral interactions is: 14.2 Mha for agriculture, 43 Mha for climate mitigation measures, 9.2 Mha for forestry, and 20.9 Mha for biofuels. A more uniform land classification and development of a common reference database will increase transparency on land allocation and use, and help to monitor land use change, ultimately supporting the achievement of multiple national goals.     

Urban crops and livestock: The experiences,challenges, and opportunities of planning for urban agriculture in two Canadian provinces

While many municipalities globally are currently undertaking initiatives to support urban agriculture, policies and zoning regulations can act as barriers, with the former usually not integrated with planning. Extensive research has been conducted on urban agriculture policies in the global South, but much less is known about associated practices and policies in the global North. This is especially true for the Canadian context and therefore the present study aims at improving our overall understanding of the urban agriculture situation in two Canadian provinces. Relevant policies, such as official plans or official community plans, alternate policy documents and guidelines, zoning by-laws, and animal-related by-laws were reviewed for 10 municipalities in Ontario and in British Columbia, all varying in socio-economic and climatological characteristics. Additional key informant interviews were conducted with municipal planners, community garden coordinators, and other municipal staff familiar with urban agriculture policies from six of the selected municipalities.In line with global trends, our results suggest that urban agriculture is becoming more widespread in the two provinces. However, even though all studied municipalities consistently support urban agriculture, they vary significantly in their approach, with some municipalities focusing much more narrowly on certain types of activities than others. Overall, community advocacy and municipal council support are the most important drivers in the policy process. Key informants expressed a need to bridge existing gaps between policy adoption and implementation of tools, emphasize public education and public awareness, create inventories of land available for urban agriculture, incorporate urban agriculture in the development review process, and focus on the commercial potential of the practice. Encouragingly, despite the many challenges that need to be addressed, we found that many opportunities exist that municipalities could consider when creating improved local urban agriculture policies and tools to enhance the urban food system.     

Analyzing technology adoption using microstudies: limitations, challenges, and opportunities for improvement

Policy makers and interest groups have many questions about the use of improved technologies in developing country agriculture. These include the roles of policies, institutions, and infrastructure in the adoption of improved technologies and their impact on productivity and welfare. Most micro‐level adoption studies, however, cannot address these important policy issues. Drawing on an extensive review of the literature on the adoption of agricultural technologies, this article suggests alternative approaches for designing technology adoption studies to make them useful for policy makers. It explores the generic limitations of cross‐sectional adoption studies carried out in small numbers of communities and discusses some problems faced in conducting such studies. Recommendations include the use of sampling approaches that allow data from microstudies to be generalized to higher levels of aggregation, adherence to clearly defined terms that are standardized across studies, and careful examination of the assumptions that often underlie such studies.     

京津冀协同发展框架下的休闲农业潜力分析

[目的]以京津翼休闲农业发展情况为研究对象,对京津冀休闲农业协同发展框架下的潜力进行分析。[方法]通过对京津冀休闲农业协同发展现状的分析及层次分析法的应用,分析协同发展框架下京津冀休闲农业发展潜力。[结果]京津冀休闲农业发展已经取得一定成效,京津冀休闲农业协同开发潜力整体水平较高,但北京与天津发展潜力显著大于河北主要市区,而河北地区休闲农业本身也呈现东部地区发展潜力大、中、西部地区发展潜力小的特征,区域发展不平衡问题突出。[结论]京津冀休闲农业在协同发展框架下整体水平较高,受政府高度重视和支持,休闲农业发展政策优势显著,围绕京津冀休闲农业已经展开了多种活动和项目,但同时面临着区域不平衡问题;应积极根据政策引导基础建立京津冀休闲农业全面发展机制,延伸京津冀休闲农业品牌体系,以充分开发京津冀休闲农业发展潜力。