Input Substitution Research Articles

Botanical extracts for insect management: lessons from participatory research in peri-urban horticultural systems of central Argentina

ABSTRACT We evaluate botanical insecticides as a technological device for synthetic input substitution in peri-urban horticultural system transitions. For that purpose, a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework was proposed, and garlic extracts (GE) performance was evaluated for pest and natural enemy regulation in lettuce crops in conventional and agroecological contexts. Through three PAR cycles under actual production conditions, we observed GE effectiveness on aphids, thrips, and natural enemies. Additionally, context-specific adaptations were noticed: for conventional systems; the extract is useful near harvest and serves as a trust-building tool while reducing synthetic insecticide dependence. Instead, for agroecological systems, garlic extract highlighted biodiversity’s relevance for system redesign.

A Study on The Relationship Between Organic Agriculture and Agricultural Employment in Türkiye

Organic agriculture is a sustainable agricultural system with different principles that is carried out within the scope of certain rules. Due to the substitution of organic inputs with chemical inputs, getting the products ready for sale, weed control, and similar operations by hand, enterprises engaged in organic farming require a larger labor force. All these jobs increase employment opportunities in rural areas and allow small family businesses to continue production. In this study, it has been tried to reveal the relationship between organic agriculture and agricultural employment with the help of an econometric model and to determine the effect of organic agriculture on employment. The study analyzed a 17-year time series of data spanning from 2004 to 2021 to identify the factors influencing agricultural employment, taking into account various aspects of organic agriculture, including the number of organic agricultural products, the count of farmers engaged in organic agriculture, the area dedicated to organic agricultural production, the organic wild collection area, the total area allocated for organic agricultural production, the quantity of organic agricultural production, the number of entrepreneurs involved in organic agriculture, the unit price of subsidy for organic agriculture, and the total amount of subsidy provided to organic agriculture. Based on the results of the regression analysis, it was determined that the number of organic products does not have a significant effect on agricultural employment. In addition, it was found that the wild harvesting area is positively significant for agricultural employment and that the total production area of organic agriculture and the amount of subsidy are negatively significant. The results of the research reveal that a 1% increase in the wild harvesting area related to organic agriculture would lead to an increase of more than 0.28% in the agricultural employment rate, while a 1% increase in the total production area and the amount of subsidy would lead to a decrease of 0.40% and 0.44% in the agricultural employment rate, respectively.

Regional variations in the chemical composition of fresh and composted beach wrack on the island of Gotland, Sweden – Considering future treatments

Harvesting beach wrack biomass (stranded seaweed) from coastal zones to use in agriculture could mitigate eutrophication while contributing to resource substitution of fossil-based inputs in food production. As such, beach wrack holds great resource potential in a bio-based circular economy, but its chemical properties prove challenging, and more research is required to develop treatment techniques that will allow the realization of such a system. We compiled results from chemical analyses of fresh beach wrack conducted 2012–2023 from a database within the marine policy scheme LOVA in Gotland, Sweden, to study spatial and seasonal variations in macronutrients and cadmium (Cd) content since cadmium is a highlighted risk metal for beach wrack use. This data was complemented by sampling composted beach wrack from compost sites (passive pile treatment), including analysis of ammonium and nitrate.There was considerable variation in the chemical composition of the beach wrack depending on location and season. Fresh beach wrack from the LOVA-sampling exhibited an average C content of 17.32 %, N content of 1.24 %, P content of 0.17 %, and K content of 1.3 %, which is in line with earlier studies. Composted material also showed significant differences between locations in C, N, C/N, ammonium-N, nitrate-N, P, K and Cd.The C/N and ammonium-N/nitrate-N ratios in composted beach wrack differed significantly between different composts, indicating differences in mineralization processes and maturity.Average cadmium levels were below the EU cd-limit for biofertilisers 1,5 mg/kg DW, cd-level in fresh beach wrack (LOVA − 1,24 mg/kg), and in composted beach wrack (1,09 mg/kg DW). However, single values exceed the EU limit, and long-term effects of cadmium soil accumulation could not be ruled out.The results confirm that regional variations in beach wrack quality require investments in treatment techniques and strategies to make beach wrack usable.

Application of commercial seaweed extract-based biostimulants to enhance adventitious root formation in ornamental cutting propagation protocols: a review

Despite significant advancements in stem-cutting propagation, insufficient rooting efficiency remains an economic burden for the ornamental nursery industry. IBA and NAA play a critical role in generating adventitious roots (AR) when applied exogenously. In sustainable agriculture, the substitution of chemical inputs, with alternative natural eco-friendly products presents a key challenge. Biostimulants can form part of a solution to mitigate such risks deriving from the use of agrochemicals, they are generally considered to be non-toxic, non-polluting, biodegradable, and non-hazardous. The current knowledge of the use of commercial seaweed extract (SE) products applied to ornamental cutting propagation has not been summarized until now. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review, and we hypothesized that SE-based biostimulant application to ornamental stem cuttings improves AR formation in terms of rooting percentage, root number, and architecture. Moreover, they increase the overall quality of a rooted cutting as dry biomass and organic compound content. The authors chose SE-based biostimulants because they have been proven to have an extremely low carbon footprint; moreover, they are expected to account for more than 33% of the global market for biostimulants and reached a value of 894 million Euros by 2022. This review focuses on (i) SE-based biostimulants, in particular, brown algae; (ii) technical information on five commercial products: Goteo®, Kelpak®, AlgaminoPlant, Bio Rhizotonic, Actiwawe and others, less known, also used as phytoregulators substitutes; (iii) applied protocols, describing dose, application method, number of treatments, cutting type; (iv) effects of applied protocols on rooting rate, root architecture and overall rooted cutting quality. Outcomes show that findings vary based on crops, cuttings, location, raw materials, composition, dose, application number and procedures, and growth environment.

Towards decoupling in chemical industry: Input substitution impacted by technological progress

The chemical industry is one of the fundamental industries of economic development. Coordinating the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions (EGCE) is crucial in realizing the carbon neutrality target. The Tapio model and decomposition models are used to assess the degree of decoupling within the Chinese chemical industry and identify pivotal factors impeding progress. The energy efficiency decomposition model explores the crux of failure to achieve strong decoupling. This framework further decomposed the energy intensity to uncover how technical efficiency, technological progress, and input substitution changes affect energy intensity and CO2 emission. The paper found that the EGCE of the chemical industry were stable in a weak decoupling mode from 2009 to 2019. The reliance on technological progress to reduce energy intensity and emissions is insufficient (accounting for only 18.2%), far below the cumulative contribution from economic growth (accounting for 57.76%), which has become the crux of the strong decoupling failure. Technological advancements drive energy substitution for labour, resulting in 244.41 Mt of cumulative carbon emissions. The improper factor input allocation hinders the desired reduction in energy intensity and carbon emissions. A series of policy implications are proposed based on the insights derived from the decomposition analysis to foster sustainable practices in the chemical industry.

Effects of using climate-smart agricultural practices on factor demand and input substitution among smallholder rice farmers in Nigeria

Effects of using climate-smart agricultural practices on factor demand and input substitution among smallholder rice farmers in Nigeria

Multi-sector environmental efficiency and productivity: A general Leontief optimization method

For efficiency evaluation purposes, a multi-sector economy is always regarded as a “black box” in which the linkages among sectors are not considered. This leads to biased efficiency evaluation and failure to identify the sources of inefficiency. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a general Leontief optimization method for environmental performance estimation. The proposed method can assess the environmental benefits that result from the adjustment of input coefficients and environmental factor intensities. Moreover, this study proposes two models under different elasticity of input substitution assumptions. The difference in environmental efficiency between the two assumptions is defined here as the substitution efficiency. Further, a new Luenberger environmental productivity indicator is constructed that contains a new element reflecting the effect of input substitution. To demonstrate the new method, a numerical example is used to compare the estimation results between the general Leontief optimization method and the traditional data envelopment analysis method. Then, the environmental performance associated with CO2 emissions and energy consumption in China is studied over two years, i.e., 2012 and 2017. By fully opening the “black box” of how to improve environmental efficiency, this study provides a reference with regard to cost-effective specific measures for policymakers in China.

Different organic farming systems under greenhouse do not improve soil C storage but affect microbial functions across soil aggregates

AbstractVegetable crops production is usually based on organic fertilizers purchased off‐farm while the care of soil fertility based on the maintenance of adequate level of soil organic matter receives few attentions. Organic production in plastic tunnel‐greenhouses represents the most intensified organic production system. Therefore, we compared four alternative organic production systems mainly characterized by the combination of fertilizer application practices based on compost, cover crops and commercial organic fertilizers. The systems were: input substitution organic method (BAU), biodynamic method (BIODYN), organic‐agroecological (AGROEC) and a not fertilized but organically managed control (CNT). The objective of this study was to explore in a 3‐year long trial, the effects of different organic systems on soil organic carbon (SOC) balance and the possible effects on soil chemical–physical characteristics, enzymatic activities involved in the C, N and P cycling, total bacterial biomass (16S rRNA), and the microbial functional genes cbbL and amoA in bulk soil and in three aggregate size fractions (macroaggregates >250 μm, free microaggregates 250–53 μm and free silt plus clay (free‐SC) < 53 μm). The conducive microclimatic conditions for soil microbial activities under the greenhouse, together with the transition toward a more intensive rotation and tillage, determined a decrease of the SOC stock (from 5.9 Mg C ha−1 in BIODYN to 10.8 in CNT) that was only partially balanced by C input distributed to soil (from 4.6 Mg C ha−1 in CNT to 31.6 in AGROEC). The different organic systems did not seem to directly affect chemical and microbial properties in the bulk soils. The higher SOC decline in CNT, however, resulted in the degradation of soil structure but at same time led to the increase of the FDAse in the bulk soil. At aggregate level, instead, more evident effects of organic systems were observed on both chemical–physical and microbial properties. The impact of organic systems on enzymatic activities differed in the different aggregate size classes while the effect on bacterial biomass and functional genes was the same in all aggregate size classes. Interestingly, the cbbL gene abundance in soil aggregates, especially in macroaggregates, was correlated positively to OC inputs (r = .82; p < .001). The amoA gene and bacterial biomass, instead, put in evidence for BIODYN, a significant decrease in soil aggregates that seemed to be related, particularly in macro and free microaggregates, to the low amount of total N content. In soil aggregates, only AGROEC compared with CNT, determined the increment of the phosphatase in macroaggregates, while BIODYN and BAU highlighted even lower values of β‐d‐glucosidase, β‐d‐glucosaminidase and phosphatase in free‐SC. In conclusion in high‐input organic systems under tunnels, the misleading notion that a high supply of OC and TN through green manuring, compost amendment etc., improves per se soil health is challenged.

Ecological Circular Agriculture and Green Development

1) Identify the ecological and environmental problems facing agriculture; (2) Introduce the need and importance of developing organic farming and green development; (3) Model and technology of organic farming (recycling of waste resources; use of biodiversity; green substitution and reduction of chemical inputs, mitigation of greenhouse gases, etc.); (4) Regulation of policies and laws

Estimation of the value-added/intermediate input substitution elasticities consistent with the GTAP data

Estimation of the value-added/intermediate input substitution elasticities consistent with the GTAP data

Impact of industrial robot applications on global value chain participation of China manufacturing industry: Mediation effect based on product upgrading

Promoting the application of industrial robot (IR) is an important module for China to build core competitiveness, and it is also the main grasp of global value chain participation (GVCP). Using China manufacturing industry panel data from 2006–2014, working from the perspective of product upgrading, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of IR applications on GVCP. The empirical results show that IR applications weaken China’ incentives to participate in global value chains (GVCs); this weakening effect is reflected in both forward and backward participation in GVCs. On the one hand, the mediation effect test results indicate that the product upgrading effect brought about by IR applications can help China achieves the import substitution of intermediate inputs and uses local intermediate inputs to produce exports. These steps would reduce the backward participation in GVCs. On the other hand, the localization of manufacturing can result in China losing the opportunity to export intermediate inputs to other economies, thus reducing the forward participation of GVCs. Of course, due to sample limitations, the research conclusions of this article are only applicable to interpreting the Chinese economy.

Import competition and sustainable development of global value chains: Evidence from China

AbstractAs the largest developing country and the second largest importer, China provides meaningful research on import competition and the global value chain (GVC). This article uses theoretical models and empirical tests to explore whether and how import competition affects the sustainable development of Chinese firms' GVCs. Moreover, we utilize China's entry into the WTO as a quasi‐natural experiment for import competition to further test the robustness of our findings. Ultimately, we find that import competition reduces the sustainable development of GVCs by decreasing the quality of imported intermediate inputs, which inhibits technology spillover, and by increasing the substitution of foreign inputs for domestic materials. Heterogeneous analyses show that import competition negatively affects ordinary trade and mixed trade firms while having no significant impact on processing trade firms. Moreover, this negative effect is especially significant for firms in eastern and central regions.

The global consumer incidence of carbon pricing: Evidence from trade

Carbon pricing is often seen as regressive, disproportionately burdening low-income consumers. I show that higher prices following a global carbon price would be mildly regressive in industrialized countries, mildly progressive in developing countries, and steeply regressive across countries. Refunding revenues via national carbon dividends would reverse all three findings. The net effect would be globally progressive, even without international transfers. My approach to estimating the global distributional effects of carbon pricing uses bilateral trade data and features non-homothetic consumers who differ both between and within countries. The supply side includes substitution of inputs along global value chains.

Young Duality for Variational Inequalities and Nonparametric Method of Demand Analysis in Input–Output Models with Inputs Substitution: Application for Kazakhstan Economy

The global macroeconomic shocks of the last decade entail the restructuring of national production networks and induce processes of input substitution. We suggest mathematical tools of Young duality for variational inequalities for studying these processes. Based on the tools we provide, a new mathematical model of a production network with several final consumers is created. The model is formulated as a pair of conjugated problems: a complementarity problem for optimal resource allocation with neoclassical production functions and the Young dual problem for equilibrium price indices on network products. The solution of these problems gives an equilibrium point in the space of network inter-industry flows and price indices on goods. Based on our previous results, we suggest an algorithm for model identification with an official economic statistic in the case of constant elasticity of substitution production functions. We give an explicit solution to the complementarity problems in this case and develop the algorithm of the inter-industry flows scenario projection. Since the algorithm needs the scenario projection of final sales structure as its input, we suggest a modified methodology that allows the calculation of scenario shifts in final consumer spending. To do this, we employ the generalized nonparametric method of demand analysis. As a result, we develop new technology for scenario calculation of a national input–output table, including shifts in final consumer spending. The technology takes into account a substitution of inputs in the network and is based on officially published national statistics data. The application of the methodology to study tax collection scenarios for Kazakhstan’s production network is demonstrated.

Does Informatization Cause the Relative Substitution Bias of Agricultural Machinery Inputs for Labor Inputs? Evidence from Apple Farmers in China

The change of information scenario may change the market transaction cost of different factors, thus changing the relative price of factors and inducing the substitution of production factors, but there is no research to prove this. Therefore, this study takes labor-saving technology (mechanical substitution of labor) as an example, evaluates informatization from three aspects of information technology access, information technology application and information literacy comprehensively, and uses the probit model and CMP method to analyze whether informatization causes the substitution of agricultural machinery inputs for labor inputs and its heterogeneity. The results show that informatization has a significant negative impact on farmers' choice of labor-saving technology, and the result is robust at the regional level, but the negative impact of informatization on farmers' choice of labor-saving technology in the eastern region is smaller than that in the western region. The level of information literacy has the largest negative impact on farmers' choice of labor-saving technology, followed by the level of access to information technology, and the level of application of information technology has the smallest impact. The study concludes that informatization has not led to the significant substitution of labor by machinery in apple production. Thus, the results are important for enriching the theory of induced change in agricultural technology in the context of informatization.

Renewable energy consumption, trade and inflation in MENA countries with augmented production function: Implications for the COP26

This paper selects a multivariate panel data approach to understand and analyse the renewable energy augmented production function, with particular emphasis the importance of the association between capital, labour, output, the consumption of renewable energy, inflation, and trade for the eight Middle East and North Africa countries. Unlike previous studies which are not decisive on the channel by with renewable energy consumption affects trade and economic growth, we model renewable energy in the growth process as a primary element of technological development in the endogenous growth model. Utilising data between 2000 and 2016 and employing panel co-integration tests, the key findings demonstrate evidence of a longstanding association between the variables. Additionally, a bi-directional causality between real Gross Domestic Product and inflation was found. Significantly, the study found evidence of two uni-directional causalities running from inflation to renewable energy and from renewable energy to economic growth. The findings deliver an alternative macroeconomic interpretation for the influence of inflation on factor input substitution. The findings also emphasise the critical role that renewable energy plays in the production process and its comprehensive and positive economic effects.

Ontological how and why: action and objective of planned processes in the food domain.

The computational modeling of food processing, aimed at various applications including industrial automation, robotics, food safety, preservation, energy conservation, and recipe nutrition estimation, has been ongoing for decades within food science research labs, industry, and regulatory agencies. The datasets from this prior work have the potential to advance the field of data-driven modeling if they can be harmonized, but this requires a standardized language as a starting point. Our primary goal is to explore two interdependent aspects of this language: the granularity of process modeling sub-parts and parameter details and the substitution of compatible inputs and processes. A delicate semantic distinction-categorizing planned processes based on the objectives they seek to fulfill vs. categorizing them by the actions or mechanisms they utilize-helps organize and facilitate this endeavor. To bring an ontological lens to process modeling, we employ the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology Foundry ontological framework to organize two main classes of the FoodOn upper-level material processing hierarchy according to objective and mechanism, respectively. We include examples of material processing by mechanism, ranging from abstract ones such as "application of energy" down to specific classes such as "heating by microwave." Similarly, material processing by objective-often a transformation to bring about materials with certain qualities or composition-can, for example, range from "material processing by heating threshold" to "steaming rice".

Firms amid conflict: Performance, production inputs, and market competition

We study the effect of conflict on firms’ economic performance and the underlying mechanisms. We develop a simple theoretical framework in which conflict reduces a firm’s output, induces input substitution, and increases firms’ exit. In our empirical analysis, we combine an original dataset of Libyan firms and geolocalized data on conflict events during the Second Libyan Civil War to show that, in line with the predictions of the model, conflict reduces a firm’s revenues and increases exit, relatively more for firms intensive in foreign inputs. We also document that, conditional on survival, the negative effect of conflict on revenues is non-linear, with its marginal effect decreasing as conflict intensity increases. Two mechanisms drive this result: the heterogeneous conflict-induced reduction in the availability of production inputs and the weaker market competition due to the conflict-induced decrease in the number of a firm’s competitors.

Transforming food systems towards agroecology – a critical analysis of agroforestry and mixed farming policy in 19 European countries

ABSTRACT Agroforestry (AF) and mixed farming (MF) are two multifunctional land use systems that harbor an untapped potential for future climate mitigation, however, they remain outside of the norm. This review collected and analyzed the policy landscape for AF and MF in 19 European countries. The results show that while the policy landscape in Europe has been growing for AF, with support found within the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and Green Deal, as well as European state polices, direct MF support is largely missing. No country assessed supports AF in its entirety (traditional, establishment, yearly maintenance) although, there are countries like Portugal, which show robust policies for at least one of these aspects. This paper also assessed the degree to which policies found can be considered agroecological, or contributing to an agroecological transition. Our analysis indicates that while agroecological elements do exist in some of the policies, it is currently primarily on plot, field, and farm level, involving input substitution or the change of one practice for another. We conclude that policies are currently not designed in a cohesive manner, and at times work against one another. We therefore recommend that all future policies center themselves on the High-Level Panel of Expert’s 13 Principles of Agroecology, as well as on transformative and inclusive policy design frameworks.

Analyzing the Factors Influencing the Adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Technology in Cotton in Rajasthan

Background: The model of sustainable agriculture mostly emphasizes on enhancing the efficacy of agrochemical usage by the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology, substitution of various inputs and practices with effective alternative technologies involving low energy utilization and plant/animal integration. Following the sustainable approach towards agriculture, a research has been conducted in the state of Rajasthan to identify the major factors that influence the adoption of IPM technology in Cotton. Cotton being the major crop of Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts for kharif season had an average area of 2.39 lakh hectares and average production of 7.44 lakh bales that constituted 51 per cent and 52 per cent of total area and production of Rajasthan, respectively during last five years ending 2016-17. Methods: On the basis of pest management strategy, farmers in the area were classified into three categories viz. farmers following conventional practice, farmers following IPM practice and farmers following both the practices, for the research. The purpose of the study was to identify the factors influencing adoption of IPM technology in the study area. A total of nine metric socio-economic variables of three groups of a total sample of 90 farmers from both the districts were taken for the study for the crop year 2017-18. The data were analyzed through suitable statistics: linear discriminant analysis and two-step cluster analysis. Result: It was found that ‘years of experience in current practice followed’, ‘number of workshops attended for current practice’, ‘years of education’, ‘years of experience in agriculture’ and ‘number of trainings attended for current practice’ are the major variables that discriminated among the three group of practices followed by the farmers of the study area. Among the selected significant discriminating factors, ‘higher education’, ‘higher number of workshops attended for current practice’ and ‘higher number of trainings attended for current practice’ were found to be the major influencing factors towards the adoption of IPM technology among the cotton growers in the study area. This study would facilitate the stakeholders involved in the dissemination of IPM technology as a measure for sustainable agriculture.