|
on Agricultural Economics |
|
Issue of 2017‒03‒05
thirty papers chosen by |
| By: | Mather, David; Zavale, Hélder; Cunguara, Benedito; Tschirley, David |
| Abstract: | Large increases in international cereal prices during the international food price crisis of 2007/08 contributed to dramatic cereal price increases in many developing countries that regularly import grains. Previous research using descriptive analysis has noted that food commodity prices in Mozambique appear to be higher on average since 2008 (Cunguara et al 2012), even though international grain prices began to fall in 2009. In this paper, we use a combination of graphical and time series econometric analysis of monthly retail market price data from Mozambique for a number of food commodities to investigate: (a) the extent to which food commodity prices have risen in Mozambique post-2008; and (b) whether increases in international cereal prices and/or changes in domestic factors appear to explain increases in domestic food commodity prices post-2008. We have four main findings from this analysis. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midamp:251854&r=agr |
| By: | Barungi, Mildred; Guloba, Madina; Adong, Annet |
| Abstract: | Uganda’s agricultural extension system has experienced several changes since colonial times. Despite wellintended interventions in extension reforms, a large number of smallholder farmers and other vulnerable groups remain unreached by the various public extension systems, and the private sector plays only a limited role. Numerous organisational performance issues and changing institutional mandates—for example, in the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS)—have hindered the effectiveness and efficiency of the public extension system. These problems include inadequate extension staff, corruption, inadequate funding from the central government, the small number of private-public partnerships, and a continued top-down linear focus on extension, as has been suggested by the new reform of the Single Spine extension service system. This paper presents a critical review of the historical and current state of agricultural extension reforms in Uganda based on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework Fiscal Year data for the agricultural sector, the 2014 ATAAS baseline survey dataset and key informant interviews in Kampala. It identifies not only opportunities and challenges but also key policy options for further refining the implementation and effective rollout of Uganda’s Single Spine extension system. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, extension reforms, Single Spine, Uganda, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcrr:253558&r=agr |
| By: | Faaiqa Hartley; Dirk van Seventer; Paul C. Samboko; Channing Arndt |
| Abstract: | It is estimated that biofuel demand in South Africa will increase to 1,550 million litres by 2025 following the introduction of mandatory blending rates in 2014. Land and water constraints, however, limit domestic supply ability. Zambia, due to abundance of land, suitable climate, supportive bioenergy incentives, and geographical proximity, has the potential to meet this increased demand. Using a dynamic recursive computable general equilibrium model, we estimate the macro- and socio-economic impacts of bioethanol production in Zambia under both commercial and smallholder farming models, including and excluding bagasse co-generation. Three feedstock crops are considered: sugarcane, cassava, and sweet sorghum |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-27&r=agr |
| By: | Trommsdorff, Maximillian |
| Abstract: | [Introduction] The way we produce food and generate energy substantially matters for major challenges of this century. Agricultural practices affect biodiversity, human health and quality of water; fossil-fuel power stations drive Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions exacerbating global warming; and efficiency of both sectors co-determines how many people do have access to food and energy supply. Seen in this light, it seems plausible that both sectors are - at least in most industrial countries - widely regulated (see e.g. Sumner, Alston, and Glauber, 2010; Pearce, 2002). Indeed, externalities, public good characteristics, spillovers, and issues of just distribution are frequently cited to justify regulations. In such an environment and given rapid changes and developments of today’s energy and food branches, it is an indispensable task of efficient governance to constantly monitor and assess technological innovations, either with respect to their eligibility to get supported or with respect to needs of restriction or prohibition. Recent examples of such a process entered the public debate under the headings of genetically modified crops, promotion of Renewable Energies (RE) or hydraulic fracturing. [...] |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cenwps:032016&r=agr |
| By: | Rama Lionel Ngenzebuke |
| Abstract: | Using the third round of the Tanzanian National Panel Survey, this study delves into the productivity returns of multifaceted female empowerment in agriculture. Unlike the classic unidimensional approach to identify gender gaps in agricultural yields, this study lays emphasis on the overlapping of manifold aspects of female empowerment in agriculture - including female plot ownership, female plot management and female control over the agricultural output - through a threefold interaction model. Next, I use Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique to understanding the mechanisms underlying significant yields gaps, as well as to assess the returns of female management and control rights to the classic yields gap against femaleowned plots. This study identifies significant yields gaps that would go unnoticed through the classic unidimensional approach. More specifically, and this is the first returns of female decision-making rights, female owners who further manage and control their owned plots are more productive than female mere owners. Next, female decision-making rights contribute at narrowing the classic yields gap against female-owned plots, mostly through the structural disadvantage - that is through lower productivity returns to factors of production - against female owners who would not manage their plot, nor control the agricultural output - the fruit of their labor. These findings are robust along several dimensions and call for a few implications with respect to collection and analysis of agricultural data, as well as to gender policies in agriculture. |
| Keywords: | female; plot ownership; plot management; output control; agricultural yields; Tanzania |
| JEL: | J16 O13 Q12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/246993&r=agr |
| By: | Jared Greenville; Kentaro Kawasaki (OECD); Raphaël Beaujeu |
| Abstract: | Global value chains (GVCs) have changed the nature of production and specialisation around the world, including in agriculture and food sectors. This study takes an in-depth look at the landscape of agro-food GVCs and explores the factors that influence GVC participation by making use of a newly developed database on trade in value added for 20 agro-food sectors derived from the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database. The study also explores the benefits of GVC participation, viewed through the lens of domestic value added creation and employment, with a focus on the policy factors that influence these benefits. The study points to considerable variation in GVC participation across agro-food sectors, driven not only by product characteristics but also by policy factors related to trade and investment, the agricultural enabling environment and policies influencing service markets. The study shows that for agro-food sectors, trade barriers act as a tax on exports, reducing the domestic value added created from participation in agro-food GVCs. |
| Keywords: | agriculture, global value chain, GTAP, multi-regional output |
| JEL: | F14 F60 Q17 |
| Date: | 2017–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:100-en&r=agr |
| By: | Mitiku, Fikadu; de Mey, Yann; Nyssen, Jan; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | Private sustainability standards are spreading rapidly in the agri-food sector and are especially important in trade with developing countries. In this paper we analyze the impact of sustainability standards in the smallholder coffee sector in Ethiopia. We look at Fairtrade, Organic and Rainforest Alliance certification in a comparative way. We use cross-sectional survey data from a sample of 427 coffee farmers in the Jimma and Kaffa zones of Ethiopia, with all sampled farmers being member of a coffee cooperative. We analyze the impact of certification to different standards on poverty, income, yield and farm-gate prices in order to unravel the channels of possible poverty-reducing effects. We use logit, tobit and OLS regression models and attempt to control for cooperative-level heterogeneity. We find that Rainforest Alliance certification improves rural income by 72% and reduces the incidence and depth of poverty by 25% and 31% respectively while Fairtrade and Organic certification have no effect. We find that the positive effect of Rainforest Alliance mainly comes from a large impact on producer prices that offsets a negative impact on yields. Also, Fairtrade certification is found to lead to higher producer prices, but to a much smaller extent than Rainforest Alliance, and the price effect does not lead to an overall effect on farmers’ income and poverty reduction. |
| Keywords: | Private standards, Sustainability standards, Global value chains, Coffee certification, Poverty Impact, Ethiopia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:253589&r=agr |
| By: | Lorenzo Casaburi; Jack Willis |
| Abstract: | The gains from insurance arise from the transfer of income across states. Yet, by requiring that the premium be paid upfront, standard insurance products also transfer income across time. We show that this intertemporal transfer can help explain low insurance demand, especially among the poor, and in a randomized control trial in Kenya we test a crop insurance product which removes it. The product is interlinked with a contract farming scheme: as with other inputs, the buyer of the crop offers the insurance and deducts the premium from farmer revenues at harvest time. The take-up rate is 72%, compared to 5% for the standard upfront contract, and take-up is highest among poorer farmers. Additional experiments and outcomes indicate that liquidity constraints, present bias, and counterparty risk are all important constraints on the demand for standard insurance. Finally, evidence from a natural experiment in the United States, exploiting a change in the timing of the premium payment for Federal Crop Insurance, shows that the transfer across time also affects insurance adoption in developed countries. |
| Keywords: | Insurance, income transfer, development economics, contract farming |
| JEL: | D81 O13 O55 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:uceswp:018&r=agr |
| By: | Mbowa, Swaibu; Mwesigye, Francis |
| Abstract: | Irish Potato is an important crop for food and income generation in Uganda. Indeed, the potato is recognized in the 2010/11- 2014/15 Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP) as a strategic commodity with the potential to make a remarkable contribution both to increasing rural incomes and livelihoods and to improving food and nutrition security. Despite its potential, intensification levels remain very low in the potato sub-sector, translating into a very low yield. Farmers increase production by expanding the land used to grow potatoes, not by intensifying their activity. This study identified challenges and investment opportunities at various points along the potato value chain in Western Uganda (where more than 80% of the country’s potatoes are produced). The study adopted a value chain/multi-stage sampling method involving farmer groups, traders, processors, agro-input dealers, and seed potato multipliers. The value chain survey covered 51 farmer groups randomly selected from the sub-counties in which the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has conducted a socio-economic survey. During the survey, 30 traders and 30 processors (identified by farmers as key potato buyers in the community) were randomly selected. To examine access to inputs, a sample of 30 agro-input dealers and 30 seed multipliers (also identified by farmers as suppliers of inputs) were randomly selected. Overall, 120 key informant interviews and 51 focus group discussions were conducted. The study thus characterizes the main players in the potato value chain in Western Uganda. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcrr:253560&r=agr |
| By: | Reardon, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Abstract. This is the first paper showing empirically the share of direct and indirect energy costs in the agrifood supply chains in Asia, or for that matter, in developing countries generally. We show a substantial share of total value chain costs come from energy costs. While the debate has focused on energy costs on the farm, we show that off-farm components of the value chain/food system have a higher share of total energy costs. The energy costs on the farm and off-farm in the food system are correlated with the degree of “transformation” of the value chain and its segments, such as capital intensification and geographic lengthening. While energy costs and food costs are generally correlated in the macro literature, the analysis here allows policymakers to unpack the black box of energy costs in the food sector and ascertain where energy vulnerability challenges are and energy economizing opportunities may best pay off for overall national food security. |
| Keywords: | supply chains, energy costs, food system transformation, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, International Development, Marketing, L1, D2, D4, O1, Q1, Q4, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:253438&r=agr |
| By: | Demeke, Leykun; Haji, Jemma |
| Abstract: | One of the welfare indicators of the household is nutritional status of its members especially the children and women. Child nutritional status affected by household and village level characteristics’, and by governments policy towards smallholder farmers. The objective of this study was to identify and evaluate if there is significant difference in preschoolers' children nutritional outcomes of smallholder farmers at differing levels of market participation. The study used the 2009 ERHS data-set and 38 preschool children who were all the surveyed children in the dataset were included in the analysis. The result showed that 42% preschool children are stunted or too short for their age, 10% wasting or too thin for height, and 36.8% underweight. Moreover, the One-way-ANOVA result showed that farm households with high degree of market participation are better-off in child nutrition outcomes than those with low degree of participation. In order for commercialization of agriculture policies to have dramatic effects on improving health and reducing malnutrition, attention must be given to health, sanitation, and environmental issues as complementary components of agriculture policies and programs. |
| Keywords: | Child nutrition, Z-score, Smallholder, market participation, and One-way ANOVA |
| JEL: | Q1 Q13 Q18 |
| Date: | 2017–01–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77025&r=agr |
| By: | Odokonyero, Tonny; Barungi, Mildred; Mbowa, Swaibu |
| Abstract: | This brief explains the challenges limiting use of improved rice seed in three Eastern Uganda major rice growing districts. Insufficient supply of improved seed is a core constraint to intensification in rice production. There are only four rice seed producers in the three study districts, which renders rice seed to be the hardest input to access by farmers compared to fertilizer, herbicides, and fungicides. Rice seed inaccessibility is further compounded by producers having contractual obligations with external seed companies. The volume of seed required by farmers exceeds the supply capabilities of the four seed producers, creating a gap in the rice seed supply chain. Furthermore, the seed producers rarely multiply the varieties grown by farmers, but rather those demanded by seed companies outside the region. The estimated seed supply gap is about 90 percent of what farmers would require. Therefore, in order to meet local farmer’s requirement for improved rice seed, at least 40 new seed production enterprises should be established and this is estimated to cost slightly over one billion Uganda shillings (US $ 300,000). |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcpb:253566&r=agr |
| By: | Mitiku, Fikadu; Nyssen, Jan; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | We analyze whether private sustainability standards can promote land-sharing between coffee cultivation and forest conservation in southwestern Ethiopia. We compare garden and forest coffee systems, including non-certified and Rainforest Alliance (RA) certified forest coffee, and evaluate yields, productivity and profits. We use original household- and plot-level survey data from 454 households and 758 coffee plots, and ordinary least squares and fixed effects regression models. We find that coffee intensification from semi-forest coffee to garden coffee does not yield any substantial economic benefits in terms of productivity or profit. We find that RA certification increases land and labor productivity and profits of semi-forest coffee production, mainly by guaranteeing farmers a better price and not by improving yields. These findings imply that in southwestern Ethiopia land-sharing between less intensive coffee production and conservation of forest tree species is a viable sustainability strategy from an economic point of view, and that coffee certification is a viable strategy to promote land-sharing and create the economic incentives for farmers to refrain from further coffee intensification. |
| Keywords: | Forest coffee, Land-sharing, Rainforest Alliance, Coffee intensification, Sustainability Standards, Ethiopia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:253567&r=agr |
| By: | Elisabeth SADOULET (University of California Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | The diffusion of a new agricultural technology requires farmers to learn about the existence and the benefits of the technology. What do they have to learn, how do they learn it, and from whom, is the subject of a large literature, both theoretical and empirical. The purpose of this brief is to review the most prominent learning models, briefly assess recent empirical results derived from these theories, and raise a few important remaining issues not explicitly addressed by the theories.We will focus on the literature that refers to learning from experience, either own or that of others, giving prominence to the network of connections that farmers have. This review is purposefully very selective, with the objective of illustrating concepts and categories of models, rather than providing a genuine literature review. Paper prepared for the Ferdi and SPIA workshop Learning for adopting: Technology adoption in developing country agriculture, held in Clermont-Ferrand (France), June 1 and 2, 2016 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fdi:wpaper:3194&r=agr |
| By: | Cornelius Hirsch (Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)); Harald Oberhofer (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business; Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)) |
| Abstract: | Agricultural support levels are at a crossroad with reduced distortions in OECD countries and increasing support for agricultural producers in emerging economies over the last decades. This paper studies the determinants of distortions in the agricultural markets by putting a specific focus on the role of trade policy. Applying various different dynamic panel data estimators and explicitly accounting for potential endogeneity of trade policy agreements, we find that an increase in the number of bilateral free trade agreements exhibits significant short- and long-run distortion reducing effects. By contrast, WTO's Uruguay Agreement on Agriculture has not been able to systematically contribute to a reduction in agriculture trade distortions. From a policy point of view our findings thus point to a lack of effectiveness of multilateral trade negotiations. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural distortions, WTO, bilateral trade agreements, panel data |
| JEL: | C23 C26 F13 F14 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp240&r=agr |
| By: | Catherine Boone |
| Abstract: | Land registration and titling in Africa has been seen as a means of legal empowerment of the poor that can protect smallholders’ and pastoralists’ rights of access to land and other land-based resources. Land registration is also on the ethnojustice agenda in parts of Africa and beyond. Yet legal empowerment via registration and titling is also advocated by those who push for the market-enhancing and aggregate growth-promoting commodification of property rights, whereby market forces will transfer land out of the hands of smallholders and into the hands of ‘those who can make most efficient or productive use of it’. This paper contrasts these different visions of legal empowerment, showing that each one, rather than offering a straight and clear path to pro-poor outcomes, entails powerful tensions and trade-offs. Registration and titling often have powerful redistributive implications. This helps to explain why debates over land law reform in general, and over registration and titling in particular, have been divisive in some African countries. The analysis highlights some of the broader political, institutional, and economic forces that shape the design and outcomes of land law reforms that may be undertaken (in part) to promote legal empowerment of the poor. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-37&r=agr |
| By: | Miller, Steven |
| Abstract: | This paper details some of the challenges that occur within and between the three tiers of the Michigan meat value chain; at the producer, processor and regulatory level and how they impact meat offerings in local food channels. Considerations for all three tiers include price points and volume, labor issues and reported inconsistencies by those that enforce regulation within the state system of regulations and federal regulations. |
| Keywords: | Local Foods, Meat Processing, Markets, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries, Q02, Q18, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:253439&r=agr |
| By: | Anna Alberini (University of Maryland) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews and discusses the existing methods for placing a value on the effects of chemicals on human health and the environment. It surveys both methods and non-market methods, discussing their advantage and limitations. For example, when valuing non-fatal illnesses, the cost-of-illness approaches captures labour income lost to illness and medical expenditures undertaken to mitigate the illness, but fails to account for the value of the disutility of the illnesses. The paper also discusses mortality risk valuation, and the widely used metric termed the Value of a Statistical Life, the difficulties associated with estimating it, and the appropriateness of any adjustments for futurity, age, and the nature of the risk itself. Finally, the paper takes up the issue whether the source of the health risks (e.g., chemicals versus other forms of pollution versus others) affects how much the public values reducing those risks. |
| Keywords: | economic valuation, monetised benefits, non-market valuation, regulation of chemicals, toxics |
| JEL: | D61 J17 K32 Q51 Q53 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2017–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaaa:116-en&r=agr |
| By: | Opeyemi, Oyetunji Joshua |
| Abstract: | Submitted to the Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Supervisor: F. Olapade-Ogunwole |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miscpa:253377&r=agr |
| By: | Jabbar, Mohammad A. |
| Abstract: | A Report prepared for FAO, Dhaka Office, Bangladesh |
| Keywords: | Food grains, rice, stocks, private, public, estimation methods, Bangladesh, data sources, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q12, Q13, Q18, |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ilrirr:251966&r=agr |
| By: | Giles Henley |
| Abstract: | Given unsuccessful experiences to date in establishing large-scale investments for biofuels in Zambia, this paper explores the social constraints that may hinder future efforts to use the same models. The author reviews the legal framework that has guided the establishment of most agricultural investments to date (including investment in biofuels), and analyses some of the issues and social repercussions associated with them, through a review of existing case studies. He also explores through light-touch analysis of available cost data the costs associated with carrying out investments in a more socially inclusive way, relying on international best practice. He suggests that, before governments and investors embark on new efforts to expand biofuel production through an approach that involves land transfers, there is a need to strengthen institutional capacity around compensation and resettlement issues in both government and customary authorities and raise investors’ awareness of the risks associated with failing to obtain community consent. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-42&r=agr |
| By: | Miriam Hortas-Rico; Miguel Gómez-Antonio |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the extent to which local land supply is the result of strategic interaction among local governments. In a setting of limited tax instruments to raise revenues and interjurisdictional competition for mobile residents, municipal authorities are provided with the economic incentives to convert land from rural to urban uses, hence promoting urban growth. Using data on Spanish municipalities from 2003 to 2011, we report evidence in support of this hypothesis. The results suggest that local incumbents do not make policy decisions in isolation: reaction functions arise because the mobile tax base reacts to the regulatory measures that modify land uses in the municipality, leading to an inneficient excess of land devoted to urban development. |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaeee:eee2017-05&r=agr |
| By: | Olila, Dennis O.; Wasonga, Vivian Oliver |
| Abstract: | Invited Paper Presented at the Fifth African Higher Education Week and Ruforum Biennial Conference, 17 – 21 October, 2016, Cape Town, South Africa. |
| Keywords: | Time series, Autoregressive modelling, rainfall, temperature, Kenya, Food Security and Poverty, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miscpa:253440&r=agr |
| By: | Shinyekwa, Isaac; Ijjo, Alex |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the determinants of price differentials across 79 districts in Uganda. It identifies the main production areas for key agricultural commodities and consumption destinations. In the framework of the law of one price, the paper examines the hypothesis that spatial price differentials are at least partly influenced by transportation and other transaction costs, infrastructural constraints, productivity and commodity output shocks and the purchasing power of households. This is done through an estimation of the determinants of price differentials of commodities across districts. The study notes the wide range of price differences across the country, which, to a large extent, can be attributed to the interaction between remoteness and physical infrastructure. The effect of per capita income on price differentials is relatively uniform across commodities. The findings point to the importance of strengthening the capacities of farmers and their productivity as a means of improving their livelihoods and fostering more efficient markets with faster supply responses to changes in prices. The findings further emphasize the significance of spatial dimensions and infrastructure conditions in Uganda, thus suggesting that infrastructural development must be a focus to reduce price differentials in the country. |
| Keywords: | Commodity price differentials, infrastructure, intra-country trade, productivity, remoteness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcrr:253556&r=agr |
| By: | Reena das Nair; Shingie Chisoro |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effect of the spread of supermarkets on the participation of suppliers in supermarket value chains in Botswana and South Africa. Using secondary data and in-depth interviews with key players in the value chain, the paper evaluates the buyer power of supermarkets evidenced in the negotiation of trading terms. It further assesses the capabilities and investments required by suppliers to access shelf space and remain competitive. Finally, the paper looks at the role of supermarkets and governments in developing local supplier capabilities and the importance of harmonizing policies across borders. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-26&r=agr |
| By: | Benjamin Tetteh Anang |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the factors influencing participation in non-farm work and the effect of participation on farmers’ productivity, using survey data from 300 smallholder farm households in northern Ghana. The study employs an endogenous switching regression model to address selection into non-farm work, and a treatment effects model to measure the effect of participation on productivity. Factors determining participation in off-farm activity include the head of household’s gender and years of formal education, the location of the farm, ownership of cattle, and the dependency ratio. Factors affecting productivity include gender, years of formal education, farm size, location of the farm, access to credit, herd ownership, and degree of specialization in rice production. Results from a treatment effects model indicate a positively significant effect of non-farm employment participation on farm productivity. Income diversification therefore remains an important livelihood strategy among smallholders, and earnings from off-farm work enable smallholders to improve their yields. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-38&r=agr |
| By: | Adam Found; Peter Tomlinson |
| Keywords: | Business Fiscal and Tax Policy |
| JEL: | H25 H71 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:251&r=agr |
| By: | Luswata, Charles, Kiiza; Mbowa, Swaibu |
| Abstract: | This paper highlights the quality concerns of inorganic fertilizers on the Ugandan market. The findings reported are based on 170 samples (in 50 kg bags and small 1-2 kg packs) of the commonly used fertilizers on the Ugandan market i.e. Urea, NPK, DAP, MOP and CAN purchased and subjected to a laboratory analysis. Procedures followed in the purchasing of fertilizer samples mimicked a farmer purchasing fertilizers randomly from any input dealer country wide. Analytical results from the fertilizer samples revealed low quality fertilizers with moisture content above acceptable limits of 0.5- 1.5 percent; and untruthfulness in both weight and nutrient content. In some instances, the nutrient content quoted on the labels did not match with the analytical content. This has serious consequences because fertilizer recommendations are based on the nutrient content. If the nutrients are not of the right quality, then the end-user (a farmer) will not attain the intended crop response to fertilizer application. The study reveals that re-packaging fertiliser into small quantities is justifiable to meet the requirements of smallholder farmers, but leads to loss of nutrients (especially nitrogen); and also aggravates the high moisture content problem. Results reveal gaps in the current regulatory system; therefore there is an urgent need for government to approve and operationalize the fertilizer policy, regulations and strategy. |
| Keywords: | Urea, NPK, DAP, MOP, CAN, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eprcrr:253561&r=agr |
| By: | Bruno Merven; Channing Arndt; Harald Winkler |
| Abstract: | This paper presents some methodological improvements made to the linked SATIM–eSAGE energy-economy-environment modelling framework for analysing energy and climate policy in South Africa. The improvements include the linking of the households and the other economic sectors of the eSAGE economy-wide model to the SATIM energy model. Two scenarios are used to illustrate the benefits of having the new links, which include an energy efficiency scenario and an ambitious climate mitigation scenario. The results show that there are significant socio-economic benefits in having a more energy-efficient economy. The work presented in the paper provides some solid foundations for further work on the energy-economy-environment policy arena for South Africa. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-40&r=agr |
| By: | Marzio Galeotti (Università degli studi di Milano, Centro Studi Luca D’Agliano, and IEFE-Bocconi); Silvia Salini (Università degli Studi di Milano); Elena Verdolini (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and CMCC) |
| Abstract: | Proponents of the green growth strategy worldwide hold that reductions of harmful greenhouse gas emissions through environmental policy can be pursued together with increased growth and can result in higher competitiveness. Solid tests of this theory are impaired by the lack of appropriate empirical proxies for the commitment to, and stringency of, environmental policy. We contribute to the literature by: (1) computing different indicators of environmental policy stringency, both previously used in the literature and novel, (2) testing to what extent they convey similar insights through a comparison exercise, and (3) showing the implications of using one or the other methodology in an empirical application testing whether countries with more stringent environmental and energy policy have indeed shown historically higher degree of energy efficiency. The application is cast in an Energy Kuznets Curve framework. The analysis quite naturally carries over to the role of, more generally, economic policy. |
| Keywords: | Energy policy, environmental policy, ranking, Energy Kuznets Curve |
| JEL: | Q58 O57 C33 |
| Date: | 2017–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:412&r=agr |