Damage Abatement Research Articles

Can crop insurance help optimize farmers’ decisions on pesticides use? Evidence from family farms in East China

Pesticides are important agricultural inputs, which can effectively reduce crop growth risk, but irrational use of pesticides also brings major challenges to the green development of agriculture. This paper constructs a theoretical framework of the effect of crop insurance on pesticides usage. Then using family farm survey data in East China, we measure the marginal value cost ratio (MVCR) of pesticides use through the improved damage abatement production function (DAPF), and empirically analyze the impact of crop insurance on MVCR of pesticides use by employing the endogenous treatment effect model (ETEM). The results show that 42.6% of family farms in the sample area purchased crop insurance, and almost all family farms overused pesticides, but the degree was relatively lower among the family farms with crop insurance. Crop insurance has a significantly positive effect on the MVCR of pesticides use, which indicates that it can optimize farmers’ pesticides use behavior. This conclusion is also confirmed by several robustness checks. Thus, the promotion of agricultural insurance can play the role of promoting the green development of agriculture to a certain extent.

A watershed-scale multi-approach assessment of design flood discharge estimates used in hydrologic risk analyses for forest road stream crossings and culverts

Flood peak magnitudes and frequency estimates are key components of any effective nationwide flood risk management and flood damage abatement program. In this study, we evaluated normalized peak design discharges (Qp) for 1,387 hydrologic unit code 16 to 20 (HUC16-20) watersheds in the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF), New Hampshire and in five Experimental Forest (EF) regions across the United States managed by USDA Forest Service (USDA-FS). Nonstationary regional frequency analysis (RFA) and single site frequency analysis (FA) with long-term high-resolution observed streamflow data along with the deterministic Rational Method (RM) and semi-empirical United States Geological Survey regional regression equation (USGS-RRE) were used. Additionally, a hydrologic vulnerability assessment was performed for 194 road culverts as a result of extreme precipitation-induced flooding on gauged and ungauged watersheds in the Hubbard Brook EF (HBR) within the WMNF. The RM outperformed the USGS-RRE in predicting Qp in the gauged and ungauged HUC16-20 watersheds of WMNF and in three other small, high-relief forest headwater watersheds—Coweeta Hydrologic Lab EF’s watershed-14, and watershed-27 in North Carolina and HJ Andrews EF’s watershed 8 in Oregon. However, the USGS-RRE performed better for larger watersheds, such as the Fraser EF’s St. Louis watershed in Colorado and the Santee EF’s watershed 80 in South Carolina. About 31 %, 26 %, and 56 % of the culverts at the HBR site could not accommodate the 100-yr Qp estimated by RFA, RM and USGS-RRE, respectively. Based on the chosen RIs and techniques, it is determined that except for one culvert with diameter = 0.91 m (36 in.), none of the culverts with diameter of 0.75 m (30 in.) or larger are hydrologically vulnerable. Our results suggest that the observation based RFA works best where multiple gauges are available to extrapolate information for ungauged watersheds, otherwise, RM is best-suited for smaller headwater watersheds and USGS-RRE for larger watersheds. Results from the hydrologic vulnerability analysis revealed that replacing undersized culverts with new culverts of diameter ≥ 0.75-m will improve flood resiliency, provided that the structure is geomorphologically safe (with minimal effects of debris flow, erosion, and sedimentation) and allows for both bank-full discharge and necessary fish passage within that design limit. This study has implications in managing road culverts and crossings at Forest Service and other forested lands for their resiliency to extreme precipitation and flooding hazards induced by climate change.

The Economic Value of Antimicrobial Use in Livestock Production.

(1) Introduction: Antimicrobial agents have played an important role in improving the productivity of worldwide livestock production by reducing the impact of livestock diseases. However, a major drawback of antimicrobial use is the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in food-producing animals. To reduce the use of antimicrobials, it is important to know the economic value of the use of antimicrobials and factors that determine that economic value. (2) Results: A theoretical framework was developed to assess the economic value of antimicrobial use. Three situations were distinguished: firstly, a baseline model for a farm with a conventional production system; secondly, an extension of the baseline model that includes the impact of production system improvements; and thirdly, an extension of the baseline model that includes the impacts of risk and risk attitude. This framework shows that the economic value of antimicrobial use is negatively affected by the price of productive inputs and damage-abatement inputs, and positively affected by the output price, the input-output combination, the damage abatement effect, risk aversion and variance in profit. (3) Conclusions: The theoretical framework presented in this study shows that there are several factors that (can) affect the economic value of antimicrobial use. The knowledge about the effect of these factors can be utilized to affect the economic value of antimicrobials and, consequently, affect antimicrobial use.

Measuring pesticide overuse and its determinants: Evidence from Vietnamese rice and fruit farms

AbstractPesticides have long been important for the development of agricultural production. However, improper use of pesticides may result in inefficiency with respect to farm profitability, in addition to external effects of pesticide use on environmental and human health. This paper employs a production function that explicitly accounts for the role of damage abatement inputs (i.e. pesticides) in the production process, to examine the optimal use of pesticides. It then investigates determinants of pesticide overuse versus underuse and the intensity of overuse. The empirical application uses data on Vietnamese rice and fruit farms drawn from the 2016 Vietnamese Household Living Standards Survey. Results show about 95% of farmers overused pesticides for both rice and fruit farming systems. The Mekong Delta, also known as the ‘Rice Bowl’ of Vietnam, has higher levels of overuse on rice farms than two other regions. Overuse intensity is lower for female and poorer rice farmers while intensity is higher for those with more income and more family members. For fruit farms, younger farmers or those with more family members were more likely to overuse versus underuse pesticides.

Spatial Spillovers on Input‐specific Inefficiency of Dutch Arable Farms

AbstractTraditional 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 allow for the estimation of the parameter of the spatial weight matrix, which captures the proximity between producers. The empirical application concerns Dutch arable farms for which latitudes and longitudes are available. The average inefficiency across years was 3.87% for productive inputs and 2.98% for damage abatement inputs under variable returns to scale. For productive inputs technical inefficiency, statistically significant spillover effects from neighbours’ age and their degree of specialisation depended on the type of the spatial weight matrix used (inverse distance or k‐nearest neighbours). Statistically significant spillover effects of subsidy payments were adverse while statistically significant spillover effects from insurance payments were beneficial. For damage abatement inputs technical inefficiency, statistically significant adverse effects were found for neighbours’ age and subsidy payments and beneficial effects from neighbours’ insurance payments and their degree of specialisation.

How much is too much? Quantifying pesticide overuse in vegetable production in Southeast Asia

This paper quantifies the extent of pesticide overuse in vegetable production systems in Southeast Asia. Pesticide overuse was defined as levels of use in excess of an economic (profit-maximizing) optimum. A production function with an exponential damage abatement term was estimated. Data come from a representative sample of 1000 farmers producing leaf mustard and yard-long bean in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The results show that 100% of the sampled farmers in Vietnam, 73% in Cambodia and 59% in Laos overused pesticides. Pesticide expenditure in excess of the economic optimum was 96% for Vietnam, 92% for Cambodia, and 42% for Laos. Pesticide overuse was positively associated with men in charge of pest management decisions, farmers seeking advice from pesticide sellers and a strong belief that pesticides are effective. It was negatively associated with the use of non-chemical methods of pest control. These results imply that farmers in Southeast Asia are spraying excessively and inefficiently and could increase their profits by applying fewer pesticides.

Production Risk, Farmer Welfare, and Bt Corn in the Philippines

We determine the production risk effects and welfare implications of single-trait Bt corn adoption in the Philippines. We use a stochastic production function estimation approach that allows for examining the skewness effects of Bt within a damage abatement specification. Our results indicate that Bt corn has a statistically significant yield increasing, risk-increasing (i.e., variance-increasing) and downside risk-reducing (i.e., skewness-increasing) effects. Based on risk premium, certainty equivalent, and loss probability welfare measures, Bt corn farmers in the Philippines are better-off (in absolute terms) relative to non-Bt farmers given Bt corn's dominant yield increasing effect and downside risk-reducing effect.

Causes and Consequences of Increasing Herbicide Use in Mali

This paper examines the origins and impact of rapid recent growth of herbicide use in Mali. Primary data come from interviews with herbicide importers and distributors and from a 2014/2015 survey of farm households in Mali’s Sudanian Savanna zone. Results suggest that a series of major supply-side changes are driving growth in Mali’s herbicide markets, most conspicuously a proliferation in the number of sellers and herbicide brands marketed, a shift to low-cost suppliers in China and India, and consequently falling herbicide prices. At the farm level, herbicides cost on average 50 per cent less than hiring weeding labor. Despite low econometric estimates of damage abatement, herbicide adoption rates reach 25 per cent in remote rural zones and 75 per cent in more accessible rural areas. Key factors affecting adoption include spatial variation in herbicide prices and rural wage rates. At current levels, herbicide use reduces peak season rural labor demand by roughly 14 per cent.

Externalities of pesticide application on apple in Kashmir valley

This study has investigated the pesticide-use practices in relationship with external costs on health/environmental hazards in apple-dominated areas of Kashmir valley. The study has revealed unscientific/indiscriminate application of pesticides on apple; on an average, the apple orchards are sprayed 9 times, though few farmers even go beyond 12 sprays. Pesticides which are more costly and not recommended for a particular stage of fruit development are also sprayed in the study area. It is surprising that only one farmer has sprayed summer oils on his apple orchard. The use of unidentified/unlabelled pesticides has been found prevalent in the study area. There are huge technological gaps in the use of pesticides; dormant oils, fungicides and insecticides/acaricides are used 61 per cent, 32 per cent and 36 per cent more than the recommendations, respectively. The gaps have been found wider at the farms of farmers who purchase pesticides on cash or credit from contractors-cum-traders who are known for their misguiding roles. The study has provided an account of various environmental externalities of pesticide-use and has estimated costs (damage cost and damage abatement cost) associated with them, employing actual expenditure at market price and contingent valuation procedures. Pesticide health risk models have been specified for quantifying the probability of falling sick of health disorders, viz. dermatological, gastro-intestinal, neurological, respiratory and ophthalmological. The logit regression estimates ascertained that the use of more toxic pesticides significantly increase the probability of falling sick. The study has put forth a few policy suggestions for encouraging scientific application of pesticides and reducing the negative externalities arising from pesticide-use.

Canada goose crop damage abatement in South Dakota

Canada geese (Branta canadensis) can cause considerable damage to crops during summer when geese are fl ightless. We evaluated the effectiveness of a program designed to alleviate crop damage on soybeans by Canada geese in South Dakota, USA. The applications of electric fences, feeding stations, and propane cannons reduced the area of crop damage by 90% in 2006 and 80% in 2007, but the timing was important. Fields where abatement practices were applied early in the growing season had less damage than fi elds where they were applied later. Abatement practices that were properly applied as soon as damage started and that were maintained throughout the growing season were effective at reducing damage to soybeans by Canada geese.

A Comprehensive Nine-Year Case History of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Educational Impacts on Wild Pig Damage Abatement in Texas

Texas has the largest wild pig population in the nation, estimated at 2.6 million animals. Damage to agronomic enterprises was conservatively estimated in 2004 at $52 million annually with total economic damage to agriculture and the environment in urban, suburban, and rural Texas possibly reaching 10 times that figure. In response to damage caused by this invasive exotic species, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service increased educational programming efforts of wild pigs and damage abatement. From 2006-2014, project funding from multiple sources facilitated the development and deployment of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-led landowner education via one-on-one contacts, group meetings, demonstrations, and publications. Website availability and mass media contacts, including television and radio interviews and newspaper and magazine articles, were also utilized to increase public awareness and education on wild pigs and damage abatement. Participants (n = 21,752) attending Extension educational events were surveyed (n = 13,054) to characterize damage and control efforts as well as measure the impacts of education efforts. The most commonly reported negative impacts by landowners were pastures/hay meadows (72%) and owner/employee time (38%), while the most commonly used control technique prior to participation in an educational event was trap and destroy (51%). The average amount of losses attributable to wild pigs in the year prior to attending an educational program was $4,764 each and their predicted loss after participation decreased to $3,565. Over 98% of respondents indicated they increased their knowledge of wild pigs and damage abatement and planned to adopt an average of three new management practices each, with the most commonly cited new practices being using larger traps and pre-baiting wild pigs. A Net Promoter Score of 60.4% indicated that survey respondents were very pleased with the information they received by attending an Extension educational event directed at wild pigs and the abatement of their damage. This educational model can serve as a template for other states dealing with wild pigs as an emerging issue whenever their negative impacts on agriculture, the environment, and human health and safety occur.

Wild Pig Damage Abatement in Texas: An Integrated Strategy of Landowner Education and Direct Control

Author(s): Higginbotham, Billy; Bodenchuk, Michael J. | Abstract: Texas has the largest wild pig population in the nation, estimated at 2.6 million animals. Damage to agronomic enterprises is conservatively estimated at $52 million annually with total economic damage to agriculture and the environment in urban, suburban, and rural Texas possibly reaching 10 times that figure. In response to damage caused by this invasive exotic species, the Texas AaM AgriLife Extension Service (Extension) increased educational programming efforts and direct control of wild pigs via Wildlife Services. From 2006 -2013, earmarked grant funding (5 projects over the 8-year period) was obtained from the Texas State Legislature via the Texas Department of Agriculture. Project funding facilitated the development and deployment of an integrated strategy of direct control of wild pigs by Wildlife Services’ personnel and Extension-led landowner education via one-on-one contacts, group meetings, demonstrations, and publications. Website availability and mass media contacts including television and radio interviews, newspaper articles, and magazine articles were also utilized to increase public awareness and education on wild pigs and damage abatement. Landowners participating in Extension educational events were surveyed to characterize damage and control efforts as well as measure the impacts of education efforts. Direct control via Texas Wildlife Services employed all legal methods including trapping, shooting (both ground and aerial), snaring, and dogging, focusing control efforts on areas where pig damage compromised agricultural production and threatened sensitive environmental habitats and/or endangered and threatened species. This integrated approach of public education and direct control reduced the agronomic impact of wild pigs by 66% on cooperator-controlled properties in the pilot phase (2006-2007) of the project. Additional information on methodology and impacts of education and direct control from January 2006 through November 2013 is discussed.

Estimating Bird Damage to Rice in Africa: Evidence from the Senegal River Valley

AbstractGranivorous birds, mainly the Red‐billed Quelea, have subsisted on cereal crops in Africa for centuries and have caused substantial damage. There is, however, limited recent evidence on their impact. We propose an indirect method to estimate bird‐inflicted crop losses by fitting a production function with a damage abatement component and pest intensity slope dummies on a panel database of rice farmers in the Senegal River Valley. This allows us to estimate both bird damage and marginal productivity of bird control at different levels of bird pressure. Annual bird damage is found to average around 13.2% of the potential rice production during the wet seasons of 2003–2007, which translates into an average annual economic loss of 4.7 billion FCFA (€7.1 million). Our results are consistent with farmers’ perceived bird‐inflicted crop losses, averaging 15.2%. More alarmingly, we observe declining marginal productivities of bird control under increasing bird pressure. Farmers indicate that at high bird pressure, the efficacy of traditional bird scaring methods is inadequate, which suggests that predictive (monitoring), preventive (population control) and protective (insurance) measures against massive invasions are more urgent than improving the average efficacy of curative measures (pest control). These findings are especially relevant to farmers and policy‐makers who are currently struggling to implement an ambitious food self‐sufficiency programme in Senegal.

Health status of forest stands on permanent research plots in the Krkonoše Mts.

Damage to beech, mixed (beech with spruce to spruce with beech) and spruce stands in the Krkonoše Mts. is described on the basis of evaluation of transition matrices describing the probability of a change in the assessment of defoliation of particular trees in defoliation classes. The condition and development of health status were evaluated in the long run on PRP 1–32 in the Krkonoše Mts. by foliage and degrees of defoliation. Features describing the health status of the tree crown (damage by snow, frost, wood-decaying fungi, and insects) were also evaluated. Average defoliation, standard deviation of defoliation, estimation of minimum defoliation, and frequency of the tree number in defoliation classes were calculated for each plot, and each year. Three characteristic periods were distinguished according to different trend of foliage dynamics: period of the first symptoms of damage (1976–1980) – a decrease in foliage on average max. by 1% per year, period of great damage (1981–1988) – annual defoliation on average around 3–16%, period of damage abatement (1989–2009) – annual defoliation on average between 0% and 4%. The incomparably higher resistance of autochthonous stands to air pollution stress culminating in the eighties of the last century was demonstrated unambiguously.

How do Agricultural Programmes Alter Crop Production? Evidence from Ecuador

Evaluating agricultural programmes requires considering not only the programmes’ influence on input and output indicators, but also considering the relationship between these indicators as embodied in the production technology. This article examines the impact on production of an intervention in the Ecuadorian Sierra designed to improve returns to potato production through training and through linking smallholders to high-value markets. Critical to identifying the impact of the programme is the careful construction of a counterfactual and meticulous data collection. To assess the impact of the programme on production, a weighted estimation, where weights are constructed through propensity score matching, is employed to estimate a production function within a damage abatement framework. The function incorporates a series of interaction terms to assess the impact of the programme on the production technology. The findings provide evidence that the programme enhances yields both through a general shift in technology as well as increased input use. The results suggest that the use of effective farming techniques that are learned through the programme induce this technological shift

On the competitiveness of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera damage abatement strategies in Hungary: a bio‐economic approach

Abstract Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le Conte or western corn rootworm (WCR) is a major pest of cultivated maize, Zea mays L., introduced into Europe in 1992. Since then, the beetle spread through Central Europe, leading to a continuous pest population in 11 European countries. This article presents an economic assessment of different damage abatement strategies against this invasive species in the Hungarian maize sector. A bio‐economic model, using Monte Carlo sampling, estimates the potential damage from WCR under no control and the value created by Bt maize, seed treatment, soil insecticides and cultural control. At the same time, potential market shares for the different damage abatement options under perfect information are deducted. The potential damages under a no control scenario are estimated at €176/ha for grain maize farmers on average, which points out the need for well‐designed damage abatement strategies. For land‐constrained farmers cultural control is a valuable damage abatement strategy, being the optimal choice in 69% of the cases. In monoculture Bt maize is the best option as it creates the highest value in 78% of the cases. However, as Bt maize active against WCR is not deregulated in the European Union, soil insecticides in 54% of the cases and seed treatment in 46% of the cases are the rational choices. As the value created by Bt maize is positive, not deregulating Bt maize in Hungary leads to benefits foregone ranging from €16/ha for land‐constrained grain farmers to €49/ha in the case of silage maize under monoculture. Finally, the results of the sensitivity analysis can be used to develop a multi‐criteria tool to aid farmers in applying the appropriate damage abatement strategy. This could decrease the dependency of farmers on scouting techniques and economic thresholds of WCR presence.

Damage control inputs: a comparison of conventional and organic farming systems

The economic literature on pest control exclusively assumes a non-negative marginal product of pesticides based on a monotonic non-decreasing function of damage abatement, which may bias pesticide productivity estimates. This paper proposes a specification that allows for a negative marginal product of pesticides and a damage-abating role for labour and machinery. Pesticide productivity is found to be lower than previously reported. Conventional farms are found to rely substantially on pesticides and machinery for damage abatement, whereas organic farms mainly rely on machinery use and changes in cultural practices. Productivity analyses based on the asymmetric specification suggest that pesticides are used optimally in conventional farming, which contrasts with results in previous literature.

Formation Damage Abatement: A Quarter-Century Perspective

SummaryPetroleum well production impairment has long been associated with formation damage. Concepts such as the skin effect and its various manifestations have been introduced to account for the effects of damage. The origins of damage and the types of damage also have been the subjects of intense scrutiny. Abatement has included preventive measures such as the use of nondamaging fluids, presumably more benign processes, and improved drilling and well construction procedures and techniques. Once in place, the removal of damage has spawned an entire industry, that of matrix stimulation. This involves the use of appropriate remediation fluids, complete with the understanding of the often contrasting interaction among these fluids, the fluids and the damage, and, very importantly, the side effects that can damage the well more than its prestimulation state. Again, appropriate hardware was necessary. Owing to the fact that damage removal is often either incomplete or unsuccessful, methods of bypassing the damage, such as high-permeability fracturing, have been developed. Finally, brute force approaches are common, including the drilling of more vertical and/or horizontal wells regardless of the damage in order to get enough production. This paper is a critical review of both the evolution of the technologies and the thought processes that have permeated the industry over the past quarter century. Particular emphasis is given to the resolution of controversial subjects and their impact on the field. These include issues such as matrix stimulation vs. fracturing, sand production control vs. sand deconsolidation management, underbalance vs. extreme overbalance, and perforating and drilling fluids and practices.

Damage Control Productivity: An Input Damage Abatement Approach

This paper compares the value of the marginal product of three different pesticides from different specifications of the production function. The specifications are the output damage abatement specification proposed by Lichtenberg and Zilberman, a general input damage abatement specification and a traditional production function. These specifications are estimated on panel data of specialised Dutch arable farms over the period 1989–1992, using Generalised Maximum Entropy estimation. Results of the input damage abatement specification show that pesticides have different impacts on individual productive inputs, although statistical evidence is weak. The output damage abatement specification produces statistically more significant relations, but imposes restrictions that are only partly supported by the data. It is also found that estimation of a quadratic traditional production function, that treats damage abatement inputs in the same way as productive inputs, does not lead to over estimation of the value of the marginal product as previous authors have hypothesised.

The Economics and Econometrics of Damage Control

AbstractConcern for the potentially harmful side effects of agricultural chemical inputs, especially pesticides, highlights the need to accurately determine the economic levels of their use. We consider three model specification issues: interaction of direct production inputs with damage control inputs in damage abatement, justification for a priori exclusion of production inputs from the abatement function, and the motivations and consequences of alternative stochastic specifications. Empirical analysis using farm‐level data shows that misspecification of the stochastic element in the production function can overestimate the marginal physical productivity of pesticides and grossly underestimate the responsiveness of demand to increases in pesticide prices.