Direct Payment Program Research Articles

Modeling the implications of policy reforms on pesticide risk for Switzerland

Growing public awareness of the negative effects of pesticides on the environment, ecosystems, and human health has led governments to set targets for reducing pesticide risk. Switzerland introduced in 2023 two new policy measures to reduce pesticide risk by 50 % by 2027: (1) voluntary direct payment programs supporting pesticide-reduced and pesticide-free but non-organic cropping systems for most crops on arable land, and (2) restrictions of harmful pesticides for farmers managing under Swiss cross-compliance standards. This study aims to (1) develop a method to assess pesticide risk on a national scale and (2) carry out an ex-ante impact assessment to predict whether these policies can effectively reduce pesticide risks in Switzerland. Therefore, we introduced crop-specific pesticide quantities and pesticide risk scores into a sample of 1907 bio-economic farm optimization models. The models were used to predict farmers' adoption decisions regarding voluntary direct payment programs from 2019 to 2030. By combining the bio-economic farm optimization models with an agent-based modeling approach, we assessed the evolution of pesticide-related risks at the national level. Simulations for pesticide risk from 2019 to 2022 reflected the observed pesticide risk monitored by the Swiss government. In surface waters and semi-natural habitats, achieving the target depends on reducing pyrethroids, a class of insecticides with high-risk potential. Further, we highlight significant uncertainty in projecting the risk potential for surface waters and semi-natural habitats due to uncertainty about the amounts of pyrethroid used for different crops. The results underline the need for comprehensive datasets on pesticide use in Switzerland.

The effects of land direct payment program on farm income and production practices

AbstractMany countries of the world have implemented subsidy programs to maintain a minimum amount of farm production especially for rice. Agricultural support programs usually cause significant fiscal burdens on government budgets. These programs can be generally categorized into decoupled and coupled programs, and one longstanding research interest of previous literature is whether these programs are decoupled or coupled with farm production practices. In Taiwan, a unique land direct payment (LDP) program to rice farms was implemented to ease severe financial burden of the price support program with government purchase. In contrast to production control programs imposing quantity restrictions on farm production, this program is voluntary for rice farms, and participants are paid at a fixed rate per hectare of farmland. This paper examines the impacts of this program on farm income and farm production practices in Taiwan. The causal effect of the program is identified based on the exogenous rollout of the policy across multiple times and areas. We construct a dataset linking nationally representative rice farm surveys over several years and administrative records on program recipients to estimate the local average treatment effect of the program. We find that the effect is 4% of farm income. In addition, program participants rely less on price support programs and produce less rice and use less fertilizer, pesticide, and machinery. Although the LDP reduces rice production, we find that it causes overall government spending on the price support and direct payment programs to increase by 8.7% after the LDP.

The Achievements and Limitations of the Public-purpose Direct Payment Program in Korea

In the past, the direct payment program in the agricultural sector predominantly focused on rice, raising concerns about fairness in relation to other crops, excessive rice production, and limitations in terms of enhancing public functions. To tackle these concerns, the Korean government undertook a reorganization of the direct payment program in 2020. This reorganization brought about a substantial increase in the overall amount of direct payment, while also promoting equity among farm households through the introduction of direct payments specifically aimed at small farmers, among other measures. Although the reform of the direct payment program for public interest has generally been acknowledged as successful, it is believed that expanding the optional direct payment program would be a more effective approach to further enhance the value of public interest, which constituted the primary objective of the reform. By expanding the optional direct payment program, greater strides can be made towards achieving the desired improvement in public-purpose value.

Reducing feed-food competition with direct payments? An ex-ante assessment of economic and environmental impacts

Abstract Worldwide, feed-food competition for arable land is of rising concern. Swiss agricultural policy wants to promote grass-based cattle feeding through a voluntary direct payment program that is currently being revised. The current version of the program requires a minimum share of 75–85 per cent grass-based feed in the yearly rations for ruminants. The revision suggests financial compensation for using concentrates with limited crude protein (CP) content at different levels (18 per cent, 12 per cent, or 0 per cent CP) without limiting the amount of concentrates. In a multimodel approach, we investigated the adoption rate of the new program, and its effect on feed-food competition and environmental indicators at the national scale for Switzerland. We found that the less strict the requirements are regarding the protein content of concentrate feeds, the more cattle farmers will adopt the new program for protein-reduced concentrate feeding. We further found that, compared to the current version of the program, the revised program could have the opposite or none of the intended effects regarding feed-food competition and environmental indicators. Only banning the use of concentrates altogether moves the environmental indicators in the intended direction for the farms participating in the program. This study shows that ex-ante evaluations are important to expose ineffectual policy measures and improve their design before introducing new direct payment programs.

Participatory Evaluation of a Direct Payment Program for Equity in Dementia Care in Nova Scotia, Canada: A Study Protocol

Nova Scotia's Supportive Care Program (SCP) is an individualized funding program that provides funds for people living with dementia (PLWD) or acquired brain injuries to purchase basic home care services such as personal care, respite, cleaning and cooking. The SCP has the potential to address the Quintuple Aim of enhancing care experience, improving population health, reducing costs, improving provider experience and improving health equity, yet qualitative evidence is lacking. The aim of this study is to use participatory program evaluation methods to evaluate the SCP and consider how effective it is in addressing the Quintuple Aim. The study objectives and corresponding methods are to (1) Co-develop a SCP logic model to guide the evaluation through consultations with a diverse group of stakeholders including PLWD, caregivers, care providers, researchers, government representatives, and nongovernment organizations, with attention to gender; (2) Evaluate the SCP based on the outcomes and outputs identified in the logic model using focus groups with PLWD, caregivers and home care providers, and interviews with PLWD and their caregivers; and (3) Mobilize knowledge about the ways the SCP addresses the Quintuple Aim through integrated knowledge translation activities with public, policy and research audiences. By focusing on clinically and socially vulnerable populations of PLWD and caregivers, the proposed evaluation of the SCP offers a valuable case in assessing the effectiveness of individually-funded home care in addressing the Quintuple Aim including health equity within the context of dementia care.

Fairness and Transparency in Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services Programs in Vietnam: A Community Based Evaluation

Payment for forest environmental services (PFES) has been widely implemented in Vietnam for enhancing the reforestation and conservation of natural resources. However, fairness and transparency in the implementation of PFES programs have not been given due attention. In order to gather the community's opinions about the fairness and transparency of PFES's implementation, two case studies of direct and indirect payment programs in Bac Kan Province were selected to investigate. In this study, a five-point scale to rank the levels of "importance" and "implementation" of eight criteria of fairness and five criteria of transparency were used. There were 167 people who participated in the evaluation process through a questionnaire. The results pointed out that the community highly evaluated fairness and transparency in terms of "importance". Nevertheless, the "implementation" of these criteria had lower evaluation points. In comparing the evaluation results between the service providers and buyers, there were no statistically significant differences in terms of the "important" criteria. However, the difference between providers’ and buyers' evaluations regarding "implementation" were significant, with the mean values of the providers' being relatively higher than the buyers'. In addition, the analyses also found that participants in the direct program evaluated fairness and transparency higher than those in the indirect program. Finally, we state that policymakers and other stakeholders should include fairness and transparency criteria in designing the evaluation framework of PFES programs in Vietnam in order to promote more participation of people and improve the sustainability of PFES programs.

Analysis on Income and Income Distributional Effects of the Public Direct Payment System

The purpose of this research is to examine the income and income distributional effects of the public direct payment system that was newly introduced in 2020. The major findings are as follows. First, in terms of income effects under price uncertainty, the results from the Monte Carlo simulation for rice agriculture support that the public direct payment system has positive effects on farm income if the market price is maintained at 176, 515 won/80kg or higher. In the meanwhile, both expected income and income stability of rice farmers were decreased compared to the previous direct payment program. Second, the analysis of the Gini coefficients for paddy fields show that the public direct payment system has positive effects on income distribution, although to a lesser extent than the previous direct payment scheme. On the other hand, in the case of upland fields, positive results were obtained showing that the public direct payment system leads to a higher income distributional effects than the former counterpart.

An Employer-Provider Direct Payment Program Is Associated With Lower Episode Costs.

Bundled payment has shown promise in reducing medical spending while maintaining quality. However, its impact among commercially insured populations has not been well studied. We examined the impacts on episode cost and patient cost sharing of a program that applies bundled payments for orthopedic and surgical procedures in a commercially insured population. The program we studied negotiates preferred prices for selected providers that cover the procedure and all related care within a thirty-day period after the procedure and waives cost sharing for patients who receive care from these providers. After implementation, episode prices for three selected surgical procedures declined by $4,229, a 10.7percent relative reduction. Employers captured approximately 85percent of the savings, or $3,582 per episode (a 9.5percent relative decrease), and patient cost-sharing payments decreased by $498 per episode (a 27.7percent relative decrease).

Funding Direct Payments to Americans Through Social Security Deferral

We analyze in this whitepaper a way of addressing both targeting and financing in a direct payment (or “stimulus check”) program to provide households with additional liquidity during the economic downturn associated with the COVID-19 virus: by allowing voluntary loans to individuals in which the proceeds would be paid back through deferral of Social Security retirement benefits at the time when the individual claims Social Security. Specifically, those individuals that choose to receive a check would have the balance carried forward at a pre-specified, favorable government interest rate until the time that they choose to claim Social Security. At that time, the loan would be repaid out of the very first Social Security checks the individual would otherwise receive. Those who choose to receive no check would keep their Social Security retirement benefits unchanged. For most individuals, the delay that could be expected to repay a $5,000 check would be at most 3 months in order to make the program budget neutral.

An Analysis of the Production Effects of Rice Direct Payment Program

An Analysis of the Production Effects of Rice Direct Payment Program

Animal Welfare Payments and Veterinary and Insemination Costs for Dairy Cows

To promote the provision of animal-friendly housing and management exceeding the minimal legal standards, the Swiss government offers direct payments through two programs for several farm animal species. In dairy cows the BTS program pays for group housing systems with a comfortable lying area separated from the feeding area. The other program, the RAUS, requires that cows receive regular exercise in an outdoor run in the winter and a pasture during summer. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between the two Swiss direct payment programs and the veterinary and insemination costs for dairy cows. We used a large sample of more than 21,000 dairy farm observations from 2004 to 2014 obtained from the Swiss Farm Accountancy Data Network. A propensity score weighting was combined with a linear regression model to estimate the doubly robust treatment effects of the BTS and/or RAUS programs on dairying and breeding. Compared to the control group, that is, farms participating in neither program, farms in the RAUS tended to reduce their veterinary costs by 2% (CHF 4.71). Participation in both the BTS and RAUS programs resulted in a 10% cost reduction (CHF 19.32). An analysis of the effects of participation in both programs, with farms participating in only the RAUS as the control group, indicated a cost reduction of 7% for the farms participating in both programs (CHF 13.54). In contrast, participation in the RAUS only or in the RAUS and the BTS did not have a significant effect on insemination costs. The results thus indicate that the implementation of higher welfare standards can have a positive effect on the economic situation of a farm.

Using practitioner knowledge to expand the toolbox for private lands conservation

Private lands provide important habitat for biodiversity and are critical to many conservation efforts. With increasing awareness of the importance of private lands, a broad suite of strategies to engage landowners in conservation is emerging. The success of these strategies is contingent on a skilled workforce of conservation practitioners that can scale-up these efforts and meet both ecological and livelihood objectives. Although professional capacity building is an acknowledged priority in the conservation community, the knowledge and experience of conservation practitioners (e.g., individuals working at land trusts and government agencies) has not been widely assessed. Here, we surveyed practitioners in the United States to gauge their familiarity with seven approaches to private lands conservation in different landscape contexts. Most practitioners were familiar with only two conservation tools, conservation easements and direct payment programs (e.g., Farm Bill programs), and familiarity varied among different types of organizations. Although these tools were perceived to restrict residential development and restore habitat, respectively, they had limited reported impact on climate change mitigation or relevance to urban areas. Widespread reliance on just two tools also raises important questions about the vulnerability of private lands conservation efforts to political and institutional changes and the ability to meet multiple conservation objectives in a world undergoing rapid climate and land use change. We argue for targeted efforts to enhance the professional capacity of conservation practitioners to expand the toolbox and achieve multiple conservation goals on diverse private lands.

Assessment of Soil Organic Carbon Storage in Vegetable Farms Using Different Farming Practices in the Kanto Region of Japan

Agricultural fields can store substantial amounts of atmospheric carbon in the soil. In 2011, the Environmentally Friendly Farming Direct Payment Program (EFFDPP) began as a way to promote sustainable agriculture, but the approved methods for receiving the subsidy are limited to the use of manure and cover crops. For evaluating other options for the EFFDPP, we calculated soil carbon inputs and CO2 emissions in four nature farming (NF) systems for comparisons with conventional farming (CF) and environmentally friendly farming (EF) systems. In 2015, we collected data on farm management from interviews and conducted a field experiment for NF. According to the calculations using a modified Roth C model, the ability for soil carbon sequestration predicted over the next 20 years is the highest in a no-till NF system with grass mulching. CO2 emission per ha for CF was 4.8 tCO2/ha, which was eight times higher than that for NF. However, the highest CO2 emission per kg of crop was noted in NF with no grass mulching due to very low yield. The total CO2 emission for CF was similar to that for EF. The NF systems were beneficial in reducing CO2 emission, but a combination of other approaches is required for satisfying EFFDPP criteria.

A modelling approach to evaluating the effectiveness of Ecological Focus Areas: The case of the European brown hare

With the current implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2014–2020, the European Commission wants to move towards “greener” farming practices in the European Union. Therefore, the EU funds both obligatory measures, such as Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) through the Green Direct Payment program, and voluntary agri-environment measures. However, empirically evaluating the effectiveness of these measures is challenging. We therefore demonstrate here that mechanistic simulation models are a valuable tool for performing these evaluations. As an example, we use the Animal, Landscape and Man Simulation System (ALMaSS), an established simulation system that has been used to simulate a wide range of farmland species relevant to biodiversity. We analysed the benefits of seven greening scenarios for the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus), which has been in widespread decline throughout Europe since the 1960s. We examined the effects of the following EFA types on hare population dynamics: the cultivation of legumes such as (1) peas and (2) beans, (3) permanent and (4) rotational set-asides, (5) permanent extensive grasslands, and (6) herbaceous and (7) woody field margins. The cover of each type was increased separately up to 5% of the area in three Danish landscapes, which are characterised by low hare densities. The effects on female and yearling abundance were observed over a period of 30 years. All greening scenarios had significant positive effects on hare populations. The relative change in female abundance ranged from a factor of 0.4 in the peas scenario to 3.6 in the permanent set-aside scenario. However, only one EFA type, permanent set-asides, led to densities of more than 10 females per km2 in all three landscapes, which we assumed to be the threshold for population viability. Herbaceous field margins were the second best EFA type, leading to population viability in two landscapes. Our results indicate that overall, 5% coverage with Ecological Focus Area is insufficient to improve the living conditions of the brown hare to a necessary degree. Permanent set-asides seem to be the most valuable type of EFA, but this needs to be confirmed for a wider range of species and landscapes. Using mechanistic simulation models for a suite of representative species, types of agricultural landscapes, and eco-regions could help in achieving the aim of the European Commission to promote biodiversity in the European community via greener farming practices.

Decoupling direct payments: potential impacts of the 2014 farm bill on farm debt

Purpose – For over 20 years, decoupled agricultural support programs have played a large role in farm policy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of decoupled agricultural support payments on farm-level debt. Design/methodology/approach – A two-stage least squares model is used to estimate the impact of decoupled payments, farm production characteristics, demographics, regional risk factors, as well as cross-sectional and temporal fixed effects on farm debt, along with weather-related instrumental variables. Findings – Results indicate that a negative and statistically significant relationship exists between decoupled payments and farm debt. This study also provides evidence that research results not accounting for the endogenous relationship between acres operated and farm-level debt should be interpreted with caution. Research limitations/implications – The constantly changing sets of policy options provide a challenge in identifying the impact of a single policy, ceteris paribus. Therefore, one notable limitation is in extrapolating the results in this study to make implications on the elimination of the direct payments program, as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. Practical implications – This implies that farmers likely use annual decoupled payments to reduce their debt, potentially influencing their exposure to financial risks, capacity to withstand financial instability, and access to credit. The methodology used may establish a foundation for continued research that seeks to empirically identify and measure the complex interrelationships among agricultural public policies and farm-level financial measures. Social implications – Decoupled payment programs may indirectly influence debt decisions, which can influence production decisions in the long run. Originality/value – In order to accurately identify the impact of direct payment programs on farm debt levels, this study is the first of its kind to account for the endogenous relationship between production decisions and debt and use a large unbalanced panel of data available from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey.

米価の不確実性の低減と米作の収益性

米価の不確実性の低減と米作の収益性

Details of the Proposed Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) Program for Cotton Producers and Potential Strategies for Extension Education

The new Farm Bill could lead to significant changes for commodity producers. The potential impact of these changes on cotton producers is examined. In particular, the difference between the existing Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payment Program and the new Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) for cotton producers is discussed. An illustrative example is provided to show how payments to cotton producers could potentially differ for a specific year under various programs. Detailed information on STAX calculations and a STAX payment calculator is included to assist with the development of Extension programs targeted to cotton producers, landowners, and bankers.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of a direct payment for biodiversity conservation: The Bird Nest Protection Program in the Northern Plains of Cambodia

Direct payments for the protection of biodiversity (a type of payment for environmental services) have been proposed as an effective tool for delivering conservation outcomes, in a way that also delivers development benefits to local people. Using an impact evaluation framework, this paper analyses the effectiveness of a direct payment program that was established for nine globally threatened bird species in the Northern Plains of Cambodia. The program provided conditional payments to local people to protect nests, since most of the species were highly threatened by the collection of eggs and chicks. Since the program’s inception in 2003 it has protected >2700 nests over >2000km2 of habitat at a cost of $30,000 annually, with 71–78% of the costs paid directly to local people. Payments significantly improved the success rates of protected nests in comparison with control sites, leading to population increases for at least three species. However, payments did not influence other threats to species, such as land clearance, and have failed to arrest declines in at least one species’ population. The average payment per protector was a significant contribution to incomes in remote rural villages. However, the program only benefited a small proportion of people, causing some local jealousies and deliberate disturbance of nesting birds. The program demonstrates that direct payments can be a highly effective conservation tool in those cases where payments correctly target the cause of biodiversity loss. The results also suggest that it is important to consider how decisions over beneficiaries are made, especially in situations where property rights over biodiversity are unclear, if payments are to be socially acceptable. This has important implications for the design of payment schemes in conservation more generally.

경관보전직불제에 대한 이해집단간 의식 비교 연구

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the differences of recognition of the actual conditions, performances, problems and issues of the Direct Payment Program for Rural Landscape Conservation(DPPRLC) between interest groups who are residents, officials and experts. In the results of this study, there were differences in awareness of DPPRLC depending on interest groups and whether the program participation. It is determined to be caused the limitations of the program that the target district farmers recognised the program as a source of income and seldom act to manage the rural landscape except cultivating "landscape crops". Therefore, the efforts will be demanded to clarify and share the goals, contents of the project. The following measures are proposed in this study for the direction of improvement of DPPRLC: First, the various efforts are needed to overcome the differences on the interest group's recognition for goals, contents, performance of the Direct Payment Program for rural landscape conservation. Second, it is needed to conduct the program based on the rural landscape plan and participant's capabilities. Third, the various programs to attract voluntary participation from residents should be implemented. Forth, it demands the entrusted implementation to professional organizations to support resident's voluntary activities of surveying rural landscape resources, planning rural landscape conservation, execution of village landscape conservation, etc. Fifth, the various programs to strengthen participant's capabilities should be implemented.

Potential Farm-Level Effects of Eliminating Direct Payments

Since 2003, direct payments have accounted for a significant portion of farm program payments. If direct payments were eliminated, many agricultural producers would be affected, both through the loss of income and potential declines in land values and rental rates. This report considers the potential contribution of direct payments to farm revenues and land values across farm commodities and regions and estimates the magnitude of the financial impact on participating farms should direct payments be eliminated. Direct payments are highest relative to crop revenues in parts of the Northern Plains, Southern Plains, Mountain, Delta, and Southeast regions, and the estimated effect of direct payments on cropland values also is relatively high in many of these regions. Overall, our analysis suggests that an abrupt end to the direct payment program could reduce the number of farms with a favorable financial status (profitable farms having relatively low debt burdens) by about 11,000 nationally, or about 2 percent of farms that received direct payments in 2009. The estimated effect varies regionally and is more pronounced in the Delta and Southeast regions, where direct payments per farm tend to be higher, on average, than elsewhere.