Browsing by Tema "Agricultural economics"

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A comparative analysis of milk sectors - Nairobi, Kathmandu, Santa Cruz: Opportunities for pro-poor policies
(Cambridge University Press, 2004) Simon Anderson; Jonathan Rushton; P. M. Tulachan; Steven J. Staal; Mario Herrero
The paper presents the main findings of a set of comparative milk sector surveys carried out in Kathmandu (Nepal), Nairobi (Kenya) and Santa Cruz (Bolivia). The surveys assessed changes in demand, supply and marketing of milk and milk products over a ten to fifteen year period to 2001. The paper considers demand for milk and milk products, changes in milk supply and trading pathways, the policy frameworks, changes in demand and market share, and growth in the sector and poverty reduction. The policy implications for propoor development of the milk sector are discussed.
Access and use of agricultural market information by smallholder farmers: Measuring informational capabilities
(Wiley, 2020) Mawazo Mwita Magesa; Michael Kisangiri; Jesuk Ko
Abstract While farmers sell their crops, middlemen provide a linkage between them, markets and buyers. Middlemen have good knowledge of working conditions of markets and have access to agricultural market information. Due to poor access to markets and agricultural market information by smallholders, there is a feeling that middlemen benefit more while farmers sell their crops. Good access to markets and market information may help farmers bypass middlemen while selling crops and thus benefit more. Thus, it is best to improve the informational capabilities (ICs) of farmers in agricultural marketing. Thus, this research measured ICs of farmers accessing market information, through a program NINAYO, while selling their crops. The research utilized the informational, psychological, social, and economic dimensions of the empowerment framework in identifying capability indicators to formulate survey questions. Data were collected from smallholders in six regions in Tanzania. The analysis utilized measures of life satisfaction and results showed that about half of the variation in the dependent variable, satisfaction with capabilities, was explained by the model. Backward elimination analysis confirmed that life satisfaction is multidimensional. Robustness test confirmed a positive relationship between satisfaction and capabilities. Overall, results confirmed ICs are multidimensions, their improvement empowers farmers in agricultural marketing.
Advances in the Registration of Farmers’ Varieties: Four Cases from the Global South
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021) Bram De Jonge; Isabel López Noriega; Gloria Otieno; X. Cadima; F. Terrazas; Siviengkhek Hpommalath; Frederik van Oudenhoven; Santosh Shrestha; Niranjan Pudasaini; Deepa Singh
Over the last few decades, there has been a growing appreciation of crop varieties developed by local farmers, commonly referred to as farmers’ varieties. These varieties often have attractive characteristics for both producers and consumers, such as adaptability to harsh environmental conditions and high nutritional values. Yet they are usually not sold in formal markets, and tend to be limited to farmers’ seed systems. This is partially due to national seed laws that, in an effort to guarantee good quality seed of uniform and stable varieties, create obstacles for farmers’ varieties to reach the market. This article describes the experiences of four countries—Bolivia, Laos, Nepal and Zimbabwe—that are developing alternative variety registration systems for farmers’ varieties. Most of these cases have never been documented before. The cases present the main drivers behind and approaches to the registration of farmers’ varieties in different legal contexts and at different stages of development. We conclude that farmers’ variety registration systems can generate benefits including faster and cheaper variety releases, improved farmer incomes, and a larger diversity of well-adapted varieties in the market—but some important issues are still to be resolved.
Agricultural production amidst conflict : the effects of shocks, uncertainty and governance of non-state armed actors
(2012) Maria A. Arias; Ana María Ibáñez
This paper examines the effect of conflict on agricultural production of\nsmall-farmers. We use a unique household survey applied to 4.800\nhouseholds in four micro-regions of Colombia. The survey collects\ndetailed information on households’ economic conditions, incidence of\nviolent shocks, and presence of non-state armed actors. We separate the\neffects of conflict on direct impacts, measured through conflict-induced\nshocks, and indirect impacts, measured through years of presence of nonstate\narmed actors. The results show the association between lower\nagricultural production and conflict transmits through different channels.\nIn regions with an intense conflict, yearly agricultural revenues per\nhectare and investments are lower, and households concentrate production\non seasonal crops and pasture. Presence of non-state armed actors is\nassociated with an immediate increase in production costs, lower access\nto formal financial institutions, and lower investments. The results\nsuggest that households are affected by indirect and direct impacts that\nmay induce sub-optimal agricultural decisions. Although traditional\nreconstruction efforts are crucial, post-conflict policies should also aim to\nreduce uncertainty and improve the rule of law to foster increases in\nproduction.
Agricultural Productivity in the WANA Region
(Routledge, 2011) Roberto Tellería; Aden Aw‐Hassan
The interest of governments, international organizations, NGOs and the general public has recently been aroused by studies considering the use of existing agricultural technology, the use of innovations in such technology and the production of agricultural goods. The attention received by such studies has grown as a result of an unprecedented wave of trade liberalization in the world (involving bilateral, regional and multilateral trade-integration processes), coupled with concerns over food security, high rates of population growth and the use of limited and frequently degraded natural resources. In this context, the Malmquist Index, used to measure agricultural productivity, is a powerful tool, providing insights into whether or not a country is approaching what may be termed “best practice” by using and disseminating existing technology (efficiency change), and/or by innovating technology (technical change). Using the Malmquist Index on a sample of 12 countries within West Asia and North Africa (WANA) indicated that, between 1961 and 1997, Turkey, Tunisia, Syria and Algeria (in that order) were the “most productive” countries. Following them, in terms of agricultural productivity, were Iran, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, while Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen and Ethiopia were the “least productive” countries of the 12 considered. Recurring negative results, with respect to both technical change and efficiency change, in Ethiopia, Sudan, Pakistan and Yemen, suggest that governments and national and international organizations and research institutions should make greater efforts to strengthen agricultural research and extension services if food security and competitiveness are to be improved.
An analysis of land conversion from sustainable forestry to pasture: a case study in the Bolivian Lowlands
(Elsevier BV, 2002) Frank Merry; Peter E. Hildebrand; Preston S. Pattie; D.R Carter
ARROZ BLANQUITA: CONSTRUYENDO COMUNIDAD, OPORTUNIDADES Y CRECIMIENTO PARA LOS PEQUEÑOS AGRICULTORES
(Universidad de Los Andes, 2018) Johana Husserl; José Manuel Suso
Arroz Blanquita has developed a business model that brings technological and economical support to small farmers, whereby the company commits to buying their entire harvest, providing financial stability to these farmers, who would, under other circumstances, face difficulties selling their product. It is a win-win: better quality rice that can be sold at higher price; less use of ago-chemicals, seeds, and water. These approaches are possible due to the availability of new technologies; today, crop and water management, harvesting, and grain processing are based on scientific knowledge, automation, and mechanics. This business model presents interesting opportunities for employment and wealth creation in communities affected by the conflict.
Assessing the Benefits of Andean Crop Diversity on Farmers' Livelihood: Insights from a Development Programme in Bolivia and Peru
(Wiley, 2017) Elisabetta Gotor; Alejandro M. Bellon; Vivian Polar; Francesco Caracciolo
Abstract This paper analyses the impact of a development programme designed at promoting the sustainable use of Andean Grain diversity. Results demonstrate that knowledge‐sharing on agronomic practices, on benefits derived from consumption, and improving Andean Grain quality had a positive impact on income generation and farmer livelihoods. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of programmes aimed at improving rural livelihoods through greater knowledge transfer and use of local agrobiodiversity, wherein private benefits may incentivise the public benefits of agrobiodiversity use and conservation. Findings warrant the need to further monitor and evaluate the potential of agrobiodiversity to improve the well‐being of rural communities. © 2017 The Authors Journal of International Development Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
BANANA CULTURES: AGRICULTURE, CONSUMPTION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN HONDURAS AND THE UNITED STATES
(2009) Santiago Muñoz Arbeláez
Benefits for winegrowers of diversified farming in the high valleys of southern Bolivia
(Taylor & Francis, 2025) Pablo Rodrigo Oliva Oller; Martín Notaro; Erick D. Langer; Christian Gary
In southern Bolivia, smallholder farms maintain a highly specific traditional agroforestry viticulture. In these farming systems, the various cropping and livestock activities and their interactions with viticulture were identified, the benefits of their diversity to the farm households were assessed, and the most profitable forms of diversity were identified. Surveys and participatory workshops were organized to draw up a typology of farms and evaluate their main potential and limitations. Production of grapes, vegetables, fruits and fodder, animal husbandry, and processing of wine and brandy (singani) coexisted in varying proportions. Two types of farms generated the highest gross income. Type Div (Diversified) exhibited balanced cropping and livestock activities and strong interactions among them, with the highest proportion of fertilizers provided by manure, and animal feed provided by fodder crops and crop residues. Type Proc (Processing) was the most involved in the production of wine and singani, including grapes purchased from other producers. In contrast, type HortiViti (Horticulture and Viticulture) invested more in horticulture and suffered from poor market conditions. Farmers saw the traditional character and diversity of their farming systems as an opportunity, but suffered from competition with high-input farming systems and lack of technical support.
Bolivia's Net Zero path: Investment needs, challenges, and opportunities
(Frontiers Media, 2022) Lykke E. Andersen; Luis E. Gonzales; Alfonso Malky
Due to high levels of deforestation, Bolivia's per capita CO 2 emissions are currently among the highest in the world. Indeed, at more than 25 tCO 2 eq/person/year, they far exceed the per capita emissions of the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Achieving Net Zero would require a complete change of the current resource-intensive development model and would especially have to adjust the incentives that are promoting the rapid expansion of soybean farming and cattle ranching in the Bolivian Amazon and Chiquitano forests. This paper identifies the main sources of emissions in Bolivia and the most cost-effective measures to reduce them, under the condition that the selected measures do not decrease average incomes nor increase poverty compared to the Business-as-Usual scenario. The paper estimates the magnitude of the investment needed to reduce net emissions to zero by 2050 at about $150 billion or 7.8% of Bolivia's GDP between 2022 and 2050. To make sure that poor people are not hurt by the Net Zero strategy, most of the funds should be used to promote alternative and more sustainable economic opportunities for Bolivians, including resilient and diverse agro-forestry activities, zero-deforestation beef production, nature-based tourism, high value-added wood products, scientific research, etc. These alternative opportunities should include women as much as possible, so as to provide more gender equal opportunities than the traditional activities at the agricultural frontier. The paper reviews different financing options and proposes a simple, easily verifiable, performance-based mechanism, that shares the costs and benefits of reduced deforestation fairly. Finally, the paper discusses the main social, economic, and political challenges to achieving these goals.
Bolivia, 1900–39: Mining, Railways and Education
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2000) Manuel E. Contreras
During the first 40 years of this century, the Bolivian economy was a classic example of rapid export-led growth, based on tin exports. This new export expansion consolidated Bolivia’s entrance into the international market in the last third of the nineteenth century with the export of silver. However, Bolivia’s export base at the onset of the twentieth century was more diversified than it was to be by the end of the 1930s. In 1900, silver represented 36 per cent of Bolivia’s total exports, rubber represented 26 per cent, while the tin industry was responsible for the remaining 24 per cent. The relative importance of tin surpassed the importance of silver and rubber by 1903. Silver exports decreased significantly from 1905 onwards. Rubber exports remained stable until 1910, when they accounted for 37 per cent of total exports, but thereafter decreased, reaching 5 per cent in 1920.1
Brief Communication: Does Integration to the Market Threaten Agricultural Diversity? Panel and Cross-Sectional Data From a Horticultural-Foraging Society in the Bolivian Amazon
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2004) Vincent Vadez; Victoria Reyes-Garc�a; Ricardo Godoy; V. Lilian Apaza; Elizabeth Byron; Tomás Huanca; William R. Leonard; Eddy P�rez; David Wilkie
Cacao agroforestry systems have higher return on labor compared to full-sun monocultures
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2016) Laura Armengot; Pietro Barbieri; Christian Andrès; Joachim Milz; Monika Schneider
Characterization of Soils in Coffee Productive Areas in the Provinces of Cocle and Veraguas-Republic of Panama
(Sciencedomain International, 2024) J.E. Nunez; Iván A. Ramos; M. R. Jaen
The objective of the work was to characterize the properties of the soils of coffee-producing farms in the provinces of Cocle and Veraguas that allow the preparation of regionalized fertilization cards according to the edaphoclimatic characteristics of each area. Planting robusta coffee is gaining greater interest among Panamanian farmers as an alternative for soil conservation. On 16 farms in the province of Coclé and 18 in Veraguas, samples were taken (0-20 cm) to understand their properties and initiate a sustainable fertilization program that contributes to improving productivity. Digital maps were created using the Q-Gis v.3.32.1 program and regionalized fertilization cards for each zone. The soils of the province of Coclé presented a high percentage of aluminum saturation, 88% with low porosity problems, average pH of 4.9, low levels of organic matter and phosphorus (100%), and 75% low in potassium. 56% low in calcium. Imbalances were found in the Ca/Mg and Ca + Mg/K ratios, which causes nutritional problems. In Veraguas soils, 22% presented a high percentage of aluminum saturation, 67% average acid pH, 94% low organic matter and phosphorus content, 89% low in potassium, medium and high levels of magnesium and calcium. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between % clay, organic matter, pH, and calcium. It is expected that this soil characterization and regionalized fertilization cards will contribute to improving soil properties and achieving sustainable production. Fertilization recommendation cards have been prepared for these two provinces and they take into account this entire situation and physical problems found in the soils. Much emphasis is also placed on organic fertilization of plantations as a complement to traditional fertilization, seeking more balanced nutrition.
China should focus beyond access to toilets to tap into the full potential of its Rural Toilet Revolution
(Elsevier BV, 2021) Xiaoqin Zhou; Prithvi Simha; Luis Fernando Perez-Mercado; Melissa A. Barton; Yaping Lyu; Shaoming Guo; Xiaoqin Nie; Fangni Wu; Zifu Li
Climate risk and food availability in Guatemala
(Cambridge University Press, 2018) Renato Vargas; Maynor Cabrera; Martín Cicowiez; Pamela Escobar; Violeta Carrasco Hernández; Javier Cabrera; Vivian Guzmán
Abstract In this paper, we use a computable general equilibrium model to simulate the effects of drought and a decrease in agricultural productivity caused by climate change in Guatemala. A reduction in agricultural productivity would mean a considerable drop in crop and livestock production, and the resulting higher prices and lower household income would mean a significant reduction in the consumption of agricultural goods and food. The most negative effects of a drought would be concentrated in agriculture, given its intensive use of water. Because agricultural production is essential to ensuring food availability, these results suggest that Guatemala needs a proper water-distribution regulatory framework.
Condiciones de mercado para la demanda nacional del Sacha Inchi en Ecuador
(2021) Joffre Danny Preciado-Ramírez; Evelyn Eugenia Alcívar Soria; Alberto Efraín Prado Chinga; Kleber Santos Guerra Herrera
One of the problems that the Latin American market faces is the scarcity of resources. The present research aims to analyze the conditions presented by the market for vegetable oil from oleaginous seeds, such as Sacha Inchi, as an alternative product to African palm oil. The methodology used is based on a quantitative approach with descriptive scopes, using a matrix of calculation of the dynamics of opening, closing and survival of companies, to verify which of the variables such as: Turbulence, gross entry, gross exit and net entry, incur as market conditions for the national demand for Sacha Inchi. The analysis of the sectoral dynamics makes it possible to measure levels of incursion of new companies into the seed agricultural sector, motivating microentrepreneurs to adhere to sacha inchi to their production. It is concluded that in the canton La Concordia 62.46% of companies enter the sector during the last 10 years with an average life of 8 years, being an attractive sector to introduce the seed of sacha inchi for the production of vegetable oil. Which would represent an alternative resource for the canton's main activity, such as the production and sowing of African palm.
Contribution of Rare Earth Elements Is Key to the Economy of the Future
(2024) Juan-Ramón Cuadros-Muñoz; Juan Antonio Jimber del Río; Rafael Sorhegui-Ortega; Michelle Zea-De la Torre; Arnaldo Vergara-Romero
An econometric model was developed to analyze the contribution of various factors to the gross value added to the agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors in the United States. The study found that variables such as rare earth element mining, the employment it generates, the domestic consumption, imports, and prices of certain elements significantly impact economic sectors. The models showed a good fit and met the necessary statistical assumptions. Rare earth elements are essential for a wide range of technological products, with China being the leading producer and consumer. This has raised concerns about the dependence on other countries. These elements significantly impact the economy’s primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors used in agriculture, manufacturing, and services. Rare earth elements’ mining and processing are complex and expensive processes, and demand is expected to continue to increase in the future.
Crop Insurance, Disaster Payments, and Land Use Change: The Effect of Sodsaver on Incentives for Grassland Conversion
(Cambridge University Press, 2011) Roger Claassen; Joseph Cooper; Fernando Carriazo
Subsidized crop insurance may encourage conversion of native grassland to cropland. The Sodsaver provision of the 2008 farm bill could deny crop insurance on converted land in the Prairie Pothole states for 5 years. Supplemental Revenue Assistance payments, which are linked to crop insurance purchases, could also be withheld. Using representative farms, we estimate that Sodsaver would reduce expected crop revenue by up to 8% and expected net return by up to 20%, while increasing the standard deviation of revenue by as much as 6% of market revenue. Analysis based on elasticities from the literature suggests that Sodsaver would reduce grassland conversion by 9% or less.