Expanding the availability of hybrid rice varieties has been regarded as the most important measure addressing food security in developing Asian countries. The success story of hybrid rice production in China motivated the Vietnamese government to import hybrid seeds in an effort to increase rice productivity. Despite increased use of hybrid rice seeds and rising input intensity, rice productivity

Given the recognised role of blanket extension advice in the low uptake of productivity-enhancing technologies among developing country farmers, personalised or site-specific extension approaches are gaining attention. Focusing on the case of the plant clinic extension model which provides personalised crop protection services to smallholder farmers, we investigate to what extent and how accurately

Buyback auctions to reduce groundwater extraction for agriculture have been used in many real world scenarios but, to date, the impact of different auction design mechanisms for this context has not been comprehensively studied. Here, three auction design issues are studied: (i) framing the overall objective as either a budget constrained auction or a water target auction; (ii) the severity of budget

Using detailed data on veterinary, ecological, sanitary, phytosanitary and mandatory certification measures, this paper studies the effect of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on firm productivity in the food-processing industry through forward and backward linkages. Using quantity and value of output at product level, we calculate and compare quantity- and revenue-based measures of total factor productivity

Using the newly developed Hamilton filter, we decompose prices of three primary energy sources (crude oil, coal and natural gas) and five significant crops (corn, palm oil, rice, soybean and wheat) to isolate their cyclical components. Then, we apply time-difference analyses to study their co-movement. Analysing 15 energy price–crop price pairs over two periods, 1990–2009 and 2010–2020, we find that

We provide new cross-country evidence on alcohol price and income elasticities based on microdata on individual behaviour. Our approach is original as previous research mainly estimates determinants of consumption with macroeconomic data. We use the latest available wave of the European Social Survey, 2014, merged with the Annual Database of National Beverage Consumption. We estimate a generalised

The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) is Ethiopia's poverty reduction strategy that forms the most important pillar of the country's agricultural transformation into a more productive and competitive sector. However, the extent to which the PSNP is linked to agriculture is unclear. This paper evaluates the impact of the PSNP on a range of agricultural outcomes. We use data from the Living Standard

Is the timing of food products going on sale, in the form of temporary price reductions, random or predictable? More specifically, are products more likely to go on sale the longer they remain non-promoted? We investigate the nature and timing of sales discounts using a large database based on weekly supermarket scanner prices covering 500 products for 137 weeks in the largest seven national retail

Adoption of new plant varieties has played a significant role in eradicating global hunger. Previous research has mainly focused on farmer adoption and impact of new crop varieties, although upstream adoption of technologies in plant breeding can generate substantial multiplier effects on downstream impacts. This study moves upstream in the innovation system to generate policy advice on adoption and

Agent-based models are important tools for simulating farmers’ behaviour in response to changing environmental, economic or institutional conditions and policies. This article introduces an agent-based modelling approach that combines behavioural factors with standard bio-economic modelling of agricultural production. More specifically, our framework integrates the cumulative prospect theory and social

We explore the relationship between precision agriculture (PA) technology adoption and technical efficiency using the 2016 USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). Efficiency gains from PA are likely cumulative, that is, the true impact of precision farming depends on the integration of complementary tools. To examine the efficiency benefits of different PA bundles, we perform a two-step

We examine whether projection bias is also present in virtual environments. Two hypotheses were tested using a between-subject experiment with three conditions: (i) experimental context (virtual vs. real); (ii) consumption periods (today vs. tomorrow); and (iii) appetite level (hungry vs. satiated). An exact replication of the virtual supermarket was performed in a real supermarket setting to test

The recent wave of foreign land acquisitions (FLA) has raised several concerns in terms of their environmental and social sustainability. An unexplored issue is whether pollution-haven mechanisms are driving the pattern of FLA. This paper investigates whether and how differences in environmental stringency between investing and target country affect the pattern of FLA. We estimate a panel gravity equation

In response to growing concerns about public health risks of antibiotic resistance from food production, a range of regulations have been implemented on agricultural antibiotic use worldwide. Although the Danish yellow card initiative, antibiotic quantitative restriction, is considered as the most sophisticated latest addition, no rigorous empirical research has been conducted yet. This article provides

Most studies that have evaluated the welfare impacts of agricultural input subsidy programmes (ISPs) in developing countries have focused on measuring their effects on various outcomes of interest such as agricultural productivity. I estimate the consumer surplus accrued by direct and indirect beneficiaries of ISPs in Malawi. Malawi's Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), introduced in 2005, is the

Under the EU Common Agriculture Policy, only 11 of 19 sugar beet producing EU Member States provide coupled direct payments for sugar beet. This paper analyses the market effects of this uneven implementation of an agricultural policy instrument along the sugar supply chain, focusing in particular on changes in sugar production in individual EU Member States. In addition to previous literature, the

This paper studies Chinese grape growers’ time discounting and its implications for the adoption of technology that can reduce the negative effects of increasing precipitation. Using primary data collected in Xinjiang Province, we undertook a contingent valuation of rain covers that protect fruit from rain and estimated a discounted utility model using these data. Using a hierarchical Bayesian approach

Increased deployment of agricultural extension agents (EAs) in rural areas is recommended to spur agricultural productivity and mitigate spatial imbalances in welfare. However, high turnover and low motivation levels of EAs in remote areas pose challenges for equitable service provision and, in some cases, exacerbate geographical welfare disparities. We assess the effectiveness of selected potential

The massive expansion of oil palm in tropical regions has substantial implications for socioeconomic development. Several studies show that smallholder farmers benefit economically from cultivating oil palm. However, most existing studies examine short-term impacts with cross-sectional data, which has two disadvantages. First, issues of endogeneity are difficult to address with cross-sectional data

Submissions to the Journal have increased again to an all‐time high of 528, and continue their strong international pattern. Our response times continue to meet or exceed our targets, with only one regrettable exception, for which our sincere apologies. The JAE’s citation impact factor reached an all time high of 2.53 in 2019, though current indications that our 2020 score may not be quite as high

China is a major importer of agricultural products and we examine retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on U.S. pork, soybeans, corn, and wheat. We use an agricultural trade model to determine the impacts on agricultural commodity markets and combine our results with an input-output model to measure economic effects in the United States. In addition, we calculate global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

The marginal effect of government payments on farm size of US corn/soy and wheat producers is currently contested. This paper uses a quantile estimator with a restricted access panel dataset. Payments are positively associated with farm size; the association is statistically significant at select percentiles of the farm size distribution, but the statistical significance is not systematically related

While the positive effect of economic integration on trade is commonly accepted, we still lack a proper understanding of the complex patterns behind this phenomenon. In particular, it is important to better understand how the structure of trade linkages evolves. To advance our knowledge about this matter, we test two specific predictions that originate from the recent literature on network effects

Variations of willingness to pay (WTP) in geographical space have been characterised by the presence of localised patches of higher and lower values. However, to date, spatial valuation studies have not explored whether the distribution of hot (cold) spots of WTP is particular to each environmental good or if it follows similar patterns to other, comparable, environmental goods. We address this question

African agricultural input subsidy programmes (ISPs) have primarily focused on conventional intensification: raising yields through increased use of inorganic fertiliser and improved seeds. Yet the yield effects from maize-focused ISPs have been smaller than anticipated, due in part to poor maize yield response to inorganic fertiliser resulting from low soil organic matter or pH. Joint use of inorganic

We analyse gender differences in the response of smallholder farmers to droughts, taking the duration and severity of the event into account. Using a novel weather shock measure that combines spatial rainfall data with detailed cropping calendars, survey data from Uganda and standard econometric techniques, we find that adverse weather events provide an opportunity for women to enter the commercial

As the consequences of climate change for agricultural production slowly unfold at the local level (sometimes with contradicting signals), farmers’ information processing and decision making become more relevant for policy analysis and modelling. The major challenge is to reveal patterns in the way farmers form expectations about future production outcomes and to encode these findings into models of

Fish is among the most important animal-sourced foods in Africa and is crucial in combatting malnutrition. Fish demand in Africa has far outpaced supply as the import share rose from 16% in 1970 to 39% by 2017. Little is known about who is consuming the imports: rural versus urban, rich versus poor. This is the first fish consumption analysis in Africa distinguishing imported and domestic fish, and

Our objective is to extend the latent class stochastic frontier (LCSFM) model to compute productivity change, using the robust transitive productivity Färe-Primont index. The application is to three types of grazing livestock farms in France over the period 2002–2016. The LCSFM identified two classes of farms, intensive farms and extensive farms. Results indicate that productivity change and its components

Due to its ability to achieve genetic engineering goals without transgene modifications, gene-editing is fast becoming a predominant genetic-engineering breeding technique and a range of food-related applications have already been developed. Yet, it remains unclear whether consumers would perceive gene-edited food products differently from so-called first-generation genetic engineering or from genetic

The paper assesses the value of USDA information in the electronic corn futures markets. While recent research has documented large price volatility spikes after USDA announcements, increased volatility does not directly translate into value. Using multiple newly developed risk-premium measures and intraday data, we extend the Carter and Galopin approach based on estimating the risk-adjusted profits

Causal estimation of the short‐term effects of tariff‐rate quotas (TRQs) on vegetable producer prices is hampered by the large variety and different growing seasons of vegetables and is therefore rarely performed. We quantify the effects of Swiss seasonal TRQs on domestic producer prices of a variety of vegetables based on a difference‐in‐differences estimation using a novel dataset of weekly producer

Government interventions in the agricultural sector have been historically justified by the existence of an income disparity between farmers and non‐farmers. However, recent studies have found that such disparity is disappearing over time, particularly in the United States. This work offers the first longitudinal systematic assessment on the average income disparity between farm and non‐farm units

Peer networks can positively affect individual careers and the scientific enterprise as a whole. People’s willingness to contribute to such networks is poorly understood. In an email experiment, we investigated how framing the future research environment affects people’s willingness to contribute to an emerging academic network. In spite of relatively large treatment effects, we do not find statistically

Accompanied by steps towards market liberalisation, dairy farmers in the European Union have been confronted with increased price risk in recent years, which might affect their innovation behaviour. We examine technological change and technical efficiency of specialised dairy farms in West Germany before and during a phase of volatile milk prices. Additionally, we compare the results with mixed dairy

The absence or presence of an alternative in a choice set may change the relative preference and predicted market share results. In this study, three groups of experiments are performed to determine if choice context influences consumer preference for orange juice from different countries of origin and using different production methods. Our results show that our participants consider that the importance

Raising agricultural productivity in developing countries is often said to reduce poverty more than comparable growth arising from other sectors. This claim has frequently been based on casual theorising, rather than empirical evidence. Productivity growth generates additional income and must benefit someone, though not necessarily the poor. It is conceivable that most, or even all of the benefits

Empirical research on preferential treatment for developing economies has generally not considered how relative preferential margins might influence market access to a given destination market. In this paper, we develop and apply two indices to measure the tariff component of bilateral and multilateral trade restrictions less developed countries face in a given export destination. These indices are

Exploiting the link between land identification and farm accountancy data, we use a uniquely detailed database to conduct a robust analysis of land fragmentation and its effect on technical inefficiency on dairy farms in Ireland. Using a stochastic production frontier model, our results show that the number of parcels, the average distance between parcels and the main farm, and the portion of land

Livestock markets and marketing are crucial components of the agricultural transformation agenda in Ethiopia. There is, however, little or no scientific evidence for the demand for livestock market facilities to guide the national effort. Using panel data, we estimate the effect of livestock market shed provision on market participation and revenue from small ruminants in Central Ethiopia. Experimental

Consumer preferences for food produced using currently prohibited production methods matter, especially in relation to potential trade deals. We conduct four discrete choice experiments examining UK consumer attitudes for food produced using several agricultural production methods currently prohibited in the UK, including chlorine washed chicken. Our results reveal negative preferences for these forms

There has been a growing emphasis in resource‐rich developing countries on promoting processed food exports as part of their export expansion and diversification strategy. A key issue for this strategy is whether global market conditions are conducive for significant trade gains. We estimate price and income elasticities of demand for processed food exports from developing countries using a new quarterly

In many countries farmers face pressure to adopt practices to promote sustainability and resilience while ensuring efficient business management to produce food and other agricultural products at reasonable cost. Given a policy context in which voluntary action is preferred over government regulation, understanding farmers’ motivation to embrace recommended practices has become a major subject for

Geographical indications (GI) certify the geographical origins of a product and delineate the specific area in which the certified product must be produced. Despite a large literature on the economics of GIs, few papers have explored the question of the optimal size of GI regions. This note presents a flexible conceptual framework to explore the economics and politics of the delimitation of a GI. The

Volatile prices and income uncertainties are major issues for farmers, leading to a demand for policies that mitigate such risks. However, the budgetary consequences of risk management schemes are uncertain due to their dependence on market prices. Using an agricultural multi‐commodity market model, we evaluate the potential budgetary consequences of introducing two specific risk management schemes

We elicit subjective probabilities of choice using a choice experiment designed to study preferences of German consumers for high quality Italian extra‐virgin olive oils. We develop an econometric framework to address the issues of resolvable and near‐epistemic uncertainty. Focussing on behaviourally meaningful quantities linked to changes in oil attributes, such as marginal probabilities and marginal

We provide the first evidence about insurance preferences among herders in pastoral regions in China. We estimate herders’ preferences for alternative insurance configurations based on a hypothetical and a consequential choice experiment, aiming to minimise hypothetical bias. Our results show that herders prefer the insurance plan in general with demand for livestock insurance increasing when insurance

Determining farmers’ real demand for crop insurance is difficult, especially in developing countries, where there is a lack of formal financial sector integration and a high reliance on informal risk mitigation options. We provide some new estimates of farmers’ willingness‐to‐pay for insurance in the context of a large‐scale subsidised programme in India. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with

Malnutrition in farm households remains a significant problem in many developing countries and is linked to a lack of diversity in diets. We explore how gender differences might affect household dietary diversity using the LSMS‐ISA Ethiopia panel dataset. Drawing on a farm household framework, nonlinear panel models are estimated allowing for unobserved heterogeneity and production endogeneity using

This article uses a theory‐based translog gravity model to investigate the heterogeneous effects of food standards on aggregate agricultural trade. We revisit the ‘standards‐as‐barriers‐to‐trade’ debate with a distinctive twist. In contrast to existing works, we show that standards reduce trade but even more so for countries that trade smaller volumes. Our identification strategy exploits the within‐country

Smallholder farmers in developing countries encounter multiple barriers in access to inputs and technology, which prevent them from reaping the benefits from market participation. Women farmers face additional constraints due to gender norms that further limit their engagement in productive activities. While collective action has been shown to improve access to markets and economic outcomes for farmers

We employ a discrete choice experiment to elicit demand and supply side preferences for insurance‐linked credit, a promising market‐based tool for managing agricultural weather risks and providing access to credit for farmers. We estimate preference heterogeneity using primary data from smallholder farmers and managers of lenders/insurers combined with household socio‐economic survey data in Kenya

Traditional benchmarking implicitly assumes that decision making units operate in isolation from their peers. For arable production systems in particular, this assumption is unlikely to hold in reality. This paper quantifies spatial spillovers on input‐specific inefficiency using data envelopment analysis and a second‐stage bootstrap truncated regression model. The bootstrap algorithm is extended to

The UK exited the EU on 31 January 2020, with a transition period agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement. During this transition period the UK and the EU will decide on their future trading relationship. No matter what form this relationship takes, there will be disturbances to agri‐food markets. This study analyses four different scenarios with increasing barriers to trade, ranging from a very

Climate induced events exacerbate food production and distribution risks, posing a threat to global food security. Though many studies focus on farmer adaptation to climate change, there are few studies of actors in the middle of agricultural value chains such as traders, logistics providers, and processors. The activities of these actors, referred to as the ‘hidden middle’, are key determinants of

We examine smallholder farmers’ willingness to pay for agricultural technology and whether information is a constraint to adoption of certified maize seed in Northern Uganda. The uptake of improved maize varieties by smallholder farmers in Uganda remains persistently low, despite the higher yield potential compared to traditional varieties. A recently growing body of literature identifies information

This research investigates the impacts of food assistance on resilience to food insecurity of the beneficiary households under the World Food Programme and Oxfam America’s project “The R4 Rural Resilience Initiative” implemented in rural and vulnerable areas of Malawi during the period 2015‐2016. The empirical analysis uses three main techniques: the Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis II methodology

Water pollution caused by aquaculture or agricultural activities negatively affects both the activity and downstream areas. A number of other upstream‐downstream problems (e.g. water use, industrial/municipal water source pollution, salinity zoning problems) are examples of similar negative externalities. Non‐point source pollution, which is either prohibitively costly or impossible to observe, is

We use time series methods to explore the relationship between prices for two different niche versions of feed corn and soybeans, and their conventional counterparts. Whereas organic versions are linearly cointegrated, and their premia are high and stable, non‐GE products – which are nonlinearly cointegrated – exhibit narrower premia that are subject to collapse. Because organics are also non‐GE, these

As a multi‐objective policy, the EU Common Agricultural Policy continues to secure significant income support for farmers as one of the nine specific objectives. We estimate the income transfer efficiency of a broad set of pivotal policy measures, focusing on the effects of farm structure on income transfer efficiency. We use dynamic modelling, based on a micro‐data panel of Italian farms for the period