Chinese consumers’ preferences for food quality test/measurement indicators and cues of milk powder: A case of Zhengzhou,China

Many food regulations focus on test/measurement indicators, such as hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) and traceability, etc. Other than these indicators, the food industry uses various cues such as product origin as indicators of product quality. However, in an environment where consumers’ confidence in food safety is low due to frequent food safety scandals, little is known about the efficiency of these test/measurement indicators and cues. This paper used the primary data collected in Zhengzhou (China) to estimate consumers’ preferences for test/measurement indicators and a new cue of “own farm” for milk powder. Our results show that country of origin is the most important cue attribute, followed by price and own farm. The importance of test/measurement indicators such as organic, traceability, and HACCP certification is relatively low. Also, the individual parameter estimates show that consumers’ preferences for test/measurement indicators currently in the market are weak and fragile. Interestingly, price has an inverse-U-shaped relationship with consumer utility, implying that Chinese consumers may perceive low-price milk powder as low quality. The results of this study provide important insight for regulatory authorities and the food industry to develop more effective policies and programs to improve consumer preferences for milk powder.     

The roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in the context of population growth and land use intensification in Africa

This article reviews the past and potential future roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as responses to population growth in the process of land use intensification and livelihood transformation. The farm size distribution and the existence of an inverse relationship (IR) between farm size and land productivity in SSA and the implications of this relationship for efficiency and equity are investigated. More secure property rights and removal of restrictions on land markets have the potential to create both efficiency and equity benefits, but there are high risks of elite capture of large land areas with inefficient and inequitable outcomes. This situation is the case not only in land-abundant areas but also in urban and peri-urban areas where increasingly larger proportions of people will make their living. Increasing population pressure in densely populated rural areas contributes to more rapid rural–urban migration, and creating alternative livelihood opportunities for the migrating youth population is essential to achieving economic development with social stability.     

黑龙江省农产品分销渠道模式优化研究

黑龙江省是农业大省,加强农产品营销,完善农产品分销渠道,是提升黑龙江省农产品竞争力的重要途径。当前的黑龙江省分销渠道模式已基本形成了以农贸市场为基础、以批发市场为核心的多元化的农产品市场网络体系。现存的农产品分销渠道模式中存在着批发市场的功能不健全、渠道主体薄弱、渠道环节多等主要问题,严重影响着分销渠道的效率。应重点在农产品批发市场建设、农产品流通主体的壮大、发展农产品现代物流等方面作出相应的优化对策研究。     

关于中外产品责任法中农产品问题的思考

由于各国立法宗旨的不同以及对消费者保护的政策等具体国情的差异,各个国家对产品责任法中产品范围的规定各不相同,其中对农产品是否可以适用产品责任法分歧较大.文章在比较分析的基础上指出,根据我国的国情,应将农产品纳入产品责任法律制度,对农产品缺陷的侵权责任实行严格责任与过错责任结合的归责原则,以确保农产品生产安全.     

Agri-tainment: A New Crop for Farmers

Agricultural tourism has allowed farmers to reach new consumers, cultivate new revenue streams, educate the public regarding their work, and to preserve their way of life. Today, many farmers are going beyond the traditional hayride or pick-your-own orchards to include attractions and amusements. They have transformed the category, even prompting a new name, agri-tainment (agricultural entertainment). In the process, the family farm has become a destination itself. The rationale behind their development along with the consumer interest in experiencing such tourism venues is discussed.     

Impact of youth injuries on the uninsured farm family's economic viability

The objective of this study is to estimate the impact of youth injuries on the uninsured farm family's economic viability. Using farm prototypes, we compared farm profits with costs of farm youth injuries. We built profit models for two types of farms, dairy and soybean farms. Then we estimated the cost impact of farm youth injuries of different levels of severity on a farm family with no health insurance. A severe child injury that requires at least 10 days of hospitalisation would cost almost equal to the operating profit of the average dairy farm with no health insurance and would turn the operating profit of the average soybean farm into a severe loss of $99,499. Prevention of child agricultural injuries would significantly improve the financial situation for farm families that lack health insurance.     

反思2004年中国农产品贸易逆差

通过反思2004年以来中国农产品贸易的高额逆差，分析了形成这种逆差的原因。并提出，在新形势下，中国扩大农产品的出口方面应适应形势，加快调整。     

国际农产品贸易中技术性贸易壁垒的现状与趋势

以食品安全为核心的农产品技术法规与标准要求越来越严格,正以一种超乎关税壁垒的力量,阻挡着弱势企业进入国际市场。为此,既要知其原由,又要了解国际农产品贸易中技术壁垒产生的背景、主要表现形式、现状与发展趋势。     

Reducing nutrient loads from dairy farms: a bioeconomic model with endogenous feeding and land use

Growth trends of animal farming pose a threat to water quality around the world. To find cost‐efficient means to reduce nutrient loads from agriculture, detailed information on the abatement measures need to be incorporated in bioeconomic models. This study presents a theoretical framework that covers both animal and crop operations on farms. It describes the farmer decision making problem and incorporates nonlinear functions to capture the economic and biological aspects of the problem. The model is applied to Finnish dairy farms. The abatement cost functions are derived for nitrogen and phosphorus. Results indicate that abatement measures on fields should precede dietary changes.     

Capacity Depreciation, Implicit Rental Price, and Investment Demand for Farm Tractors in Canada

Among the different factors pertaining to the demand for durable inputs in agriculture, the way the input depreciates over time is an important issue. This study investigates four alternative capacity depreciation patterns for farm tractors. While published estimates from government agencies implicitly assume convex capacity depreciation patterns, the results of this study demonstrate that the use of agricultural engineering data which depict a concave rather than convex pattern better reflect farmers' investment decisions. An implicit rental price measure is also proposed to account for the fact that the purchase price of a durable input is not an appropriate measure of the implicit rental cost of the asset.
Parmi les facteurs déterminants de la demande pour les biens durables en agriculture, la rapidité avec laquelle I'intrant se déprécie est certainement importante lors des décisions d'investissement. La présente etude analyse quatre différents scénarios de dépréciation pour les tracteurs agricoles au Canada. Bien que les données publiées par les agences gouver-nementales supposent implicitement que les biens durables se déprécient à un taux annuel constant, les résultats de cette etude montrent que I'utilisation de données basées sur la valeur productive de I'intrant telle que calculée sur une base expkrimentale donne de meil-leurs résultats statistiques dans I'estimation de la demande pour les tracteurs agricoles. De plus, une mesure du coût implicite de I'intrant est également proposée pour tenir compte du fait que le prix d'achat n'est pas une mesure appropriée dans I'analyse de la demande pour un bien durable.