Agricultural Policy Makers Research Articles

Productivity Hot Spots and Cold Spots: Setting Geographic Priorities for Achieving Food Production Targets

Rice is the most important staple food in the Philippines as it provides almost half of the calorie requirements of the population. The domestic supply of rice, however, is inadequate to meet local demand, making the Philippines one of the top five rice-importing countries in the world. To close the domestic supply-and-demand gap, agricultural planners and policymakers in the Philippines have been promoting interventions to increase farm-level productivity. In support of the government efforts to increase rice productivity, a stochastic frontier analysis combined with an optimized spatial hot spot analysis was conducted to determine the factors that may influence the increase in rice farm efficiency and also identify candidate areas for relevant geographic-specific rice production interventions. Results show that enhancing access to irrigation and farm inputs and increasing the producers' technical capacity can help address the local supply deficiency by potentially increasing yield per hectare to as high as 5.50 metric tons per hectare. The approach to potentially increase rice farm technical efficiency and productivity must consider the spatial nature of rice production as suggested by the findings from the optimized hot spot analysis. It is important that policy interventions consider areas with a high incidence of low levels of productivity and technical efficiency. These are the locations where agricultural planners and policymakers can make greater impacts on rice yields. Relevant policies and initiatives, therefore, should take into account the geographical location of farms to ensure the greatest contribution to attaining food production targets.

Development of a New Phenology Algorithm for Fine Mapping of Cropping Intensity in Complex Planting Areas Using Sentinel-2 and Google Earth Engine

Cropping intensity is a key indicator for evaluating grain production and intensive use of cropland. Timely and accurately monitoring of cropping intensity is of great significance for ensuring national food security and improving the level of national land management. In this study, we used all Sentinel-2 images on the Google Earth Engine cloud platform, and constructed an improved peak point detection method to extract the cropping intensity of a heterogeneous planting area combined with crop phenology. The crop growth cycle profiles were extracted from the multi-temporal normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface water index (LSWI) datasets. Results show that by 2020, the area of single cropping, double cropping, and triple cropping in the Henan Province are 52,236.9 km2, 74,334.1 km2, and 1927.1 km2, respectively; the corresponding producer accuracies are 86.12%, 93.72%, and 91.41%, respectively; the corresponding user accuracies are 88.99%, 92.29%, and 71.26%, respectively. The overall accuracy is 90.95%, and the Kappa coefficient is 0.81. Using the sown area in the statistical yearbook data of cities in the Henan Province to verify the extraction results of this paper, the R2 is 0.9717, and the root mean square error is 1715.9 km2. This study shows that using all the Sentinel-2 data, the phenology algorithm, and cloud computing technology has great potential in producing a high spatio-temporal resolution dataset for crop remote sensing monitoring and agricultural policymaking in complex planting areas.

Income Situation of Dairy Farms in European Union Countries: A Synthetic Approach

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the market position of Polish milk producers based on a synthetic assessment of the profitability of dairy farms compared to their business partners in the European Union in 2013–2017. Design/Methodology/Approach: Source materials used in this analysis was 2013–2017 data for the “dairy cows” type of farming, as retrieved from the FADN. A synthetic characteristic was used to carry out a summary assessment of dairy farms’ income situation; its value was determined without making a reference to an ideal solution. Findings: This study revealed the large complexity and heterogeneity of income situation of Union’s milk producers. Only some farms engaged in milk production have enough income to be able to continue or develop milk production in the coming years. At the same time, a significant part of dairy farms find themselves in a poor income situation, as confirmed by a negative production profitability ratio. These farms will face considerable development challenges in the future. It follows from this study that some of the Polish dairy farms face major restructuring and modernization challenges. Also, a part of them are likely to discontinue milk production in the future. Practical implications: Findings from this study can be used by the Union’s agricultural policymakers and by agricultural producers and their associations. The results identify the countries where dairy farms are likely to be competitive in the future and those where dairy farms face major development challenges. Originality/value: The results of this comparative analysis supplement previous research on the profitability of dairy farms. This paper proposes the use of linear ordering in assessing the profitability of dairy farms.

Examining the financial relationships between producers and commission agents in the greenhouse vegetable farming industry in Turkey

PurposeThis paper is intended to investigate the economic, organizational and social factors affecting the receipt of advance payment by greenhouse vegetable producers from commission agents operating in the wholesale market.Design/methodology/approachThe data were gathered through questionnaire forms developed for this specific purpose through face-to-face interviews with 180 producers growing greenhouse vegetables in the central district and Serik, Antalya in the Western Mediterranean Region of Turkey. A logistic regression model was employed to analyse the factors affecting the likelihood of greenhouse vegetable growers getting advance from commission agents.FindingsA good financial status of enterprises producing greenhouse vegetables and the fact that their production input needs are met by cooperatives reduce their dependence on commission agents, thereby increasing their bargaining power when selling their products. Since producers can readily meet their need for the capital required for the vegetable production process from commission agents, they do not prefer to borrow from lending institutions making agricultural loans with requirements such as collateral. The fact that greenhouse vegetable farmers receive technical and market information and advice from commission agents strengthens their relationship with them.Originality/valueIt is the first study that evaluates in detail the financial aspect of the relationships between producers and commission agents in the greenhouse vegetables wholesale market. It contributes significantly to agricultural policymakers regarding the functioning of the greenhouse vegetable market, and in particular, the regulations on agricultural loans for production processes.

Contemporary challenges and opportunities for the management of bird damage at field crop establishment

Bird damage, from sowing to crop establishment, is an important issue for farmers in many parts of the world. However, reliable and cost-effective solutions remain elusive because management tools and research on the subject are limited. The spatial variability of damage across landscapes and the adaptative behaviour of birds create further challenges. Additionally, the issue must be tackled at the landscape scale and involve a variety of stakeholders with conflicting interests and objectives. We summarize some of the challenges and opportunities identified to face these difficulties and address four major research directions for operational solutions including 1) crop damage assessment, 2) methods and tools development at the landscape scale, 3) coordination of stakeholders, and 4) pest bird ecology in agroecosystems. More fundamentally, we address the question of large-scale ecological dynamics that can explain changing damage patterns such as the recent observations of increased damage in Europe. Despite the impact to the agricultural sector, research effort to understand vertebrate pest damage is still modest. We advocate for the creation of networks to share knowledge and feedback and engages multiple stakeholders, including ecological and agricultural researchers, farmers, and policy makers.

Overinvestment in selected Central and Eastern European countries: Production and economic effects.

Farms need to invest in order to earn incomes and maintain their competitive edge. However, the scale and extent of investments must be aligned with resources of other productive inputs, primarily including land, because otherwise there is risk of overinvestment. Since 2004, Central and Eastern European countries have been provided with access to investment support programs; these are non-repayable aid funds which can potentially lead to overinvestment issues. Therefore, this paper attempts to answer the question on the scale of overinvestment in the countries covered. This is all the more important since that problem has rarely been addressed in economic and agricultural research. The study presented in this paper is unique in that the research tasks are based on unpublished Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) microdata for 5839 selected Central and Eastern European farms provided by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). Based on variables relating to the amount of productive inputs and production volumes, the authors developed their own typology of farms which includes the following categories: optimum investment levels (the growth rate of labor productivity is greater than growth in the assets-to-land ratio); relative overinvestment (while labor productivity grows, it does so at a slower rate than the assets-to-land ratio); absolute overinvestment (labor productivity declines while the assets-to-land ratio grows); underinvestment (decline in both labor productivity and the assets-to-land ratio). The authors demonstrated that members of the ‘absolute overinvestment’ group made flagrant mistakes in investment planning and implementation, whereas members of the ‘relative overinvestment’ group did record an improvement in labor productivity which ultimately can be considered a positive outcome. Underinvested farms were a very small minority in each country. In addition to filling a gap in the methodology for determining agricultural overinvestment, this paper also indicates the scale of that issue in Central and Eastern European countries. This study may be of importance both to farms (as guidelines for investment planning) and to agricultural policymakers who develop investment support programs.

An integrated approach of Ecological Footprint (EF) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in human ecology: A base for planning toward sustainability.

Environmental challenges to natural resources have been attributed to human behavior and traditional agricultural production techniques. Natural resource degradation in agriculture has always been a prime concern in agro ecological research and sustainability analysis. There are many techniques for assessing environmental performance; one of which, ecological footprint (EF), assesses human pressure on the environment and natural resources. The main purpose of this study was calculation of ecological indices including biocapacity (BC) and EF of rural areas of Fars province of Iran. The study was accomplished using survey and structured interviews consisting of three main questionnaires in two different steps. Different agricultural stakeholders, including farmers (for the first step) as well as the policymakers, extension managers and authorities (for the second step) were interviewed. Based on multi-stage stratified random sampling, 50 villages and 423 farmers were selected. Face validity and reliability of the questionnaires were assessed by a panel of specialists as well as conducting a pilot study, respectively. The paradigmatic perspectives of agricultural policy makers and managers (22 individuals) were also analyzed using another specific questionnaire by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Findings revealed that most of the studied villages faced a critical environmental condition due to the results of ecological indicator which was calculated in the study. According to the four main components of human ecology (POET model) including Population, Organization, Environment and Technology, village groups that differed in terms of sustainability level also showed significantly differences due to population, social participation, use of green technologies and attitude towards diverse environmental management paradigms. The causal model also revealed that population, green technology, social participation and attitude toward frontier economics, which were in accordance with the elements of human ecology model, were the main factors affecting the ecological index. Finally, AHP results determined the dominant economic perspectives of agricultural authorities. A paradigm shift toward the comprehensive paradigm of eco-development plus consideration of the results of the ecological indicator calculation as the base of agricultural planning at the local level were recommended.

An evaluation of permanent crops: Evidence from the “Plant the Future” project, Georgia

Abstract Promoting investments in permanent crops is often considered by the government as a powerful measure to support long-term growth in agriculture. The same attitude is prevalent among agricultural policy makers in Georgia and hence, country’s government and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia initiate and coordinate projects facilitating new investments in permanent crops. The article deals with an evaluation of an impact of “Plant the Future” project in Georgia that provides funds for the potential beneficiaries for planting permanent crops. The structure and scope of the project are discussed in the article, and the relevant data regarding the area planted, financial impact, and beneficiaries for the period from 2015 to 2019 are analysed and the impact projection is made for the period of 2020–2043. Research showed that the target indicators of the project were fully achieved. In addition, there were a high demand from farmers to participate in this project and as a result, the budget spent in 2017–2019 exceeded the planned budget. The project appears to be beneficial in terms of net present values that are positive for all discussed discount rates, meaning that the benefits of the project are greater than costs. The return on investment of the project is around 10%, which is greater than the basic discount rate (8%). Social impact also seems to be high with 1,350 beneficiaries. According to the projection, from 2015 to 2024, around 3,000 beneficiaries will benefit from this project. In the methodology, five evaluation criteria are used, namely, relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. Based on the evaluation, specific recommendations are given.

Determinants of Farmers’ Level of Interaction with Agricultural Extension Agencies in Northwest Ethiopia

This research identifies critical determinants for interactions between farmers and extension agencies. Cross-sectional farm household-level data from three hundred household heads were collected between September 2019 and March 2020 and triangulated with data from workshops with farmers and extension agents. The data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient, Kruskal–Wallis analysis of variance and the ordered probit model. Farmers’ socio-economic characteristics significantly affect their degree of interaction with extension agencies. Recognition of the determinants of the level of farmers’ interactions can inform policymakers about how to formulate and improve the effectiveness of extension programs, enhance information and knowledge dissemination and facilitate development in collaboration with local communities by focusing on a better interaction between farmers and extension agencies. The level of a farmer’s interactions is based on a systematic decision-making process. Although personal and demographic characteristics are important, farmers’ interaction levels require conducive institutional and household assets, groups/social capital and access to extension agents’ contexts. These contexts will differ by household, country and region. Therefore, extension agencies should create and design contextually appropriate strategies for substantial interactions with farmers for the dissemination of farm information. This research is original and valuable in identifying the factors associated with the level of farmers’ interactions with extension agencies in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. It also provides a new pathway for operationalizing farmer-oriented agricultural extension policies and strategies and to help agricultural policymakers formulate extension service programs.

Carrying capacity analysis of integration system by-products in Polewali Mandar District, West Sulawesi Province

The focus of farmer management, especially the field of food crops in Polewali Mandar District of West Sulawesi Province, is only on the main products of agricultural commodities. On the other hand agricultural side products that still have added value are rarely noticed. This study was conducted to assess the level of supporting corn rice straw as well as cattle waste of beef cattle in Polewali Mandar District of West Sulawesi Province. The parameters calculated are Feed Concentration Index of the Corn Rice Straw, the carrying capacity of Crude Protein, the carrying capacity of Total Digestible Nutrient and the supporting capacity of beef cattle manure. The result showed during the period 2016-2019, as many as 7 out of 16 sub-districts had a high category Feed Concentration Index, crude protein support capacity against the beef cattle population of 77.48% - 97.84%, total Digestible Nutrient support for the beef cattle population of 121.24% - 148.67%. Calculation of manure support capacity against planting corn rice crops amounted to 54,81% - 62,1%. This study presents availability of agricultural by-products that have added value for the basis of agricultural policy-making in Polewali Mandar District.

Comparative Analysis of Microwave and Electric Arc as a New Method in Weed Control

The increase in the demand for organic production and the adverse effects of chemicals used in agriculture have brought non-chemical weed control methods to the fore. Among these methods, the most studied ones are microwave and electric arc methods. It has been determined in studies that microwaves and electric current, when applied at the correct power level and for sufficient time, biologically inactivate weeds, all kinds of unwanted plants and seeds. In this study, the mortality rates caused by microwave energy and electric current (arc) methods in some plants applied under laboratory conditions were compared. Studies have shown that the effectiveness of microwave and electric arc methods depends on the selected current, voltage, power level and exposure time. It is thought that the electric arc method is easier and more economical in terms of application in the field than the microwave method. Another purpose of this study is to remind agricultural policy makers and decision makers of the importance of alternative weed control methods and to ensure that they make policies in this direction.

Comparative Analysis of Microwave and Electric Arc as a New Method in Weed Control

The increase in the demand for organic production and the adverse effects of chemicals used in agriculture have brought non-chemical weed control methods to the fore. Among these methods, the most studied ones are microwave and electric arc methods. It has been determined in studies that microwaves and electric current, when applied at the correct power level and for sufficient time, biologically inactivate weeds, all kinds of unwanted plants and seeds. In this study, the mortality rates caused by microwave energy and electric current (arc) methods in some plants applied under laboratory conditions were compared. Studies have shown that the effectiveness of microwave and electric arc methods depends on the selected current, voltage, power level and exposure time. It is thought that the electric arc method is easier and more economical in terms of application in the field than the microwave method. Another purpose of this study is to remind agricultural policy makers and decision makers of the importance of alternative weed control methods and to ensure that they make policies in this direction.

National Spatial Data Infrastructure vs Cadastre System for Economic Development: Evidence from Pakistan

The growth of Pakistan’s agriculture-based economy depends on elevating agriculture production and raising the per-capita income of rural communities. This paper evaluates the value of two simultaneous initiatives for the economic development of Pakistan, i.e., (i) reforming and modernization of the cadastre system, and (ii) the implementation of national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI). Both can provide crucial frameworks to assemble geographic information necessary for effective agriculture policies in the country. Their execution at the national level requires substantial technical, human, and finical resources. These mega initiatives may become highly challenging, due to the already shrinking economy of the country from COVID-19. The study makes use of an evaluation framework, official documents, such as project proposals, minutes of meetings, in addition to data collected through questionnaire and from ministries, such as the ministry of planning, development, and reforms (commonly known as planning commission), as well as Pakistan bureau of statistics. Our findings indicate that both the projects share some commonalities in terms of benefits, problems, and resources. However, the economic benefits of the NSDI project are high compared to the cadastre for the country, especially for effective agricultural policy-making. The results output will help practitioners from both systems to reduce the overlapping value, cost, and scope of the work involved.

Capital mobility and knowledge diffusion from China into Ghana's food production subsector: Implications for the law and politics of food sector development strategies

Chinese capital mobility and knowledge diffusion (CMKD) is visibly present in Ghana's agriculture sector. This has been crystallized in investments, trade, and inventor mobility. Situating this work within the Social Structure of Accumulation theory, I ask: How have Chinese capital mobility and knowledge diffusion influenced political interactions between state institutions and industry players in the agricultural sector? In what ways do Ghana's state institutions work to ensure she takes or refuses to take advantage of the opportunities which accompany Chinese capital mobility and knowledge diffusion? This study addressed these questions by analyzing qualitative data from 49 purposively selected end users of Chinese agricultural inputs, distributers, and co‐owners of Chinese agricultural input, experts, and policy makers in the agricultural sector. The study finds that state institutions' response to economic opportunities embedded in the Chinese capital mobility and knowledge diffusion in the sector was generally indifferent albeit some appreciable political interactions and institutional processes.

The comparison of numerous machine learning algorithms performance in classifying rice growth stages based on Sentinel-2 to enhance crop monitoring in national level

The rice monitoring based on Sentinel-2 (SC-S2) has been developed for over nine months. It has been observed as the first and only system which generate rice growth stages maps in 10 m spatial resolution using machine learning in Indonesia. However, the SC-S2 use Support Vector Machine to separate the rice growth stages, which may have poor performances. The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of other classifiers to increase the performance of SC-S2. We used survey data from the field campaign in 2018 and synchronized with Sentinel-2 bands. The model dataset was trained using 61 machine learning algorithms to create 61 rice growth stages models. The models were applied to the Sentinel-2 image of part of Indramayu area. The accuracy, computational time and visual inspection score were collected, and the final score was calculated. The results are the highest final score is Shrinkage Discriminant Analysis, with overall accuracy 88.1% (p<0.001) and the average accuracy of all classifiers is 76.2% (p<0.05). The implication of this study is to propose some changes in the classification process into the SC-S2 for increasing the overall performance, which will provide better information for agricultural policymakers.

Agricultural supply response for sunflower in South Africa (1947–2016): The partial Nerlovian framework approach

The study estimates sunflower supply response in South Africa using time series data from 1947 to 2016, modelled through the Nerlovian Partial Adjustment approach. Short- and long-run price elasticities of 0.238 and 0.313 respectively, suggest that farmers do not easily adjust acreage devoted to sunflower given price changes, indicating the influence of other non-price factors. An adjustment coefficient of 0.272 indicates that the time taken to adjust from the actual to the desired acreage level is slow, at 27% per year. The estimated elasticities provide some scope for using price and non-price incentives to influence sunflower production in the long-run. This could facilitate decision-making by sunflower producers to spearhead internal and external adjustment processes. The study contributes to a growing body of literature on agricultural supply response determinants, thus providing evidence-based macro-economic tools towards agricultural policy-making and reform process.

Farmers' Behavioral Intention to Cultivate Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Farmlands: Solutions for the Conservation of Rangelands

This paper calls attention to the factors that contribute to predicting behavioral intention to cultivate medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) in farmlands, as social-psychological and microeconomic features of the adopter and nonadopter farmers are compared. Against the previous studies that have established inductive-based hypotheses, this research, in turn, benefitted from a deductive-based approach (i.e., theory-driven) and recognized a knowledge gap of attitude-intention behavior and cost-benefit behavior in the case of the adoption of the cultivation of MAPs. Given the nature of the respective hypotheses, the study used a sample of 312 farmers, randomly clustered and selected from the rural areas of Sari and Maragheh Townships, Iran. The former is a leading site respecting the cultivation of MAPs (n1 = 89), and the latter is a less or underdeveloped region (n2 = 223). Respondents were asked to complete a self-implemented questionnaire, conceptually designed by the theory of planned behavior and rational choice theory and confirmed by Cronbach's alpha reliability method. Using the linear regression model, it was revealed that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and perceived costs are the drivers of intention. In contrast with the nonadopter farmers, adopter farmers have a more positive attitude (Hedges' g = 0.39), subjective norms (Hedges' g = 1.04), PBC (Hedges' g = 1.15), and intentions (Hedges' g = 0.93), as well as lower perceived costs (Hedges' g = 0.56). The study concluded that findings give insight to agricultural policymakers and extension agents in the field of promoting the cultivation of MAPs as a complement to conventional cropping patterns.

Confronting global warming including the issues of food production

In recent decades the main worries that the world's environment, people and economy have been impacted by climate change have been examined. As a result of increasing global food supply while dealing with limited land and water resources and developing climate-change concerns, agricultural activity will face significant difficulties in the 21st century. However, such issues offer more environmentally, economically, and socially risk-resistant options to build and sustain food and subsistence systems. In order to cope with these problems, it is definitely essential to use current multidisciplinary knowledge and different technological and institutional advances. The changing climate is confronting agriculture and agricultural policy-making. Agriculture must handle both greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and climate change adaptation. The goal of this article is to analyse some of the key findings concerning many of these issues, with an emphasis on climate change and to provide an overview of the significant difficulties faced by the world's food and agricultural environment in the 21st century and its effects. Specific issues and their impact on agriculture will be the topic of future research.

What Does Gender Yield Gap Tell Us about Smallholder Farming in Developing Countries?

This study examines the extent of the productivity gap between male and female bean producers, its discriminatory nature and implications for the policymakers in agriculture in Tanzania. Generally, women are distinctively “invisible” in agriculture, due to social norms and even from the national agricultural policy perspective. Their discrimination arises from uncounted and unaccounted for farm work, and their productivity is reduced by triple roles, limited access to education, having triple effects on access to technology, training and land rights. In research, issues of concern to them such as nutritious food crops, varietal selection on important attributes, household food security, convenient home storage and small-scale processing are widely ignored through unfavourable policy design. Given the above discriminatory issues surrounding women in agriculture, they are hypothesised to be less productive and often lag behind male counterparts in crop production. To test the above hypothesis, a three-stage stratified sampling method was used to collect cross-sectional data in 2016 across four regions of Tanzania. Then, an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method (at means) was used to apportion the sources of the difference between men and women into explained and unexplained variations. Further improvements through the newly developed Re-Centered Influence Functions (RIFs) remarkably improved outcomes as the differences were analysed through unconditional partial effects on quantiles. Using a counterfactual approach and correcting for selection bias, the model provided consistent estimates for easy comparison of the two groups. Besides this, it emerged that interventions such as providing improved bean seed varieties and training farmers on good agricultural practices reduced the gender yield gap and provided a potential avenue for addressing the discrimination observed in productivity among males and females. Controlling for selection bias also improved the model, but the real discrimination was observed at the 50th percentile, where the majority of the respondents lay within. However, if a female’s age, family size, additional years of schooling and discretion to spend income from beans were taken away, they would be worse off. Our study finds that females comprised 25 percent of the sample, had 6 percent lower productivity, provided 64.70 percent on-farm labour and had 0.32 hectares less land compared to males, ceteris paribus. Access to improved varieties contributed to a 35.4 percent improved productivity compared to growing indigenous/local varieties. The implication is that the gender yield gap can be reduced significantly if efforts are focused on preventing or correcting factors causing discrimination against women.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural exports

The COVID-19 outbreak has shocked the world's economies in the year of 2020. As this pandemic spreads around the globe, many experts feared that the global food supplies might start running short, especially if supply chains were disrupted. COVID-19 also added to the uncertainty of the business operation. Therefore, it is critical to understand how COVID-19 pandemic affected global food supply and market. In this study, we investigate the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural export companies in China using a unique firm-level survey data. We found that although on average agricultural businesses experienced declines in the exports, exports of some agricultural products especially grain and oil held strong and even increased, implying the essential demand for staple food during the pandemic. Not surprisingly, exports of medicinal herb also increased significantly during the pandemic. However, exports of goods such as edible fungus and horticultural products sharply decreased. Our results also showed that in general, impact of COVID-19 on smaller firms was more severe than that on larger firms. The results of this study can provide useful guidance and implications for agricultural businesses and policy makers on their COVID-19 mitigation efforts to navigate this global pandemic.