Journal of Agricultural Economics最新文献

Although both protected areas and agri-environment schemes (AES) aim to conserve biodiversity, the interaction between the two policy instruments is unknown. We investigate the effects of listing a region as a protected area (a regional nature park) on the uptake of biodiversity conservation AES within the region. Using panel data of all Swiss farms between 2005 and 2020, and survey data on 15 Swiss regional nature parks established between 2008 and 2018, we analyse the effects of park establishment on farmers' adoption of three types of AES for biodiversity conservation (action-based, result-based, and agglomeration) in a heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences framework. Overall, parks significantly increase the adoption of result-based AES. Moreover, the park effect depends largely on the agricultural baseline where parks are established. In regions with relatively more intensive agricultural production and lower AES adoption beforehand, the establishment of parks increases the adoption of result-based and agglomeration AES, evidencing synergies between the two policies. Such effects are not observed in regions with more extensive agricultural production and high AES adoption prior to park establishment. Moreover, the effects of park establishment increase over time. Therefore, when introducing a new policy aimed at integrating biodiversity conservation into agriculture, it is important to account for baseline situations and identify synergies between intended and existing policies.

Time preferences play a critical role in the agri-food value chains of low-income countries, impacting the choices of local operators, including innovation uptake. This paper assesses the association between smallholder farmers' individual characteristics, their exposure to diverse adverse events, and their intertemporal choices using in-the-field experiments conducted across five African countries. By jointly estimating time and risk preferences, we find that farmers who have experienced social setbacks during the previous year are more likely to be patient. This suggests that time preferences may vary over time, particularly when farmers are exposed to social distress (e.g., food shortage, health issues, violence, or crime). Moreover, we find gender to be a prominent factor associated with farmers' time preferences, with female farmers showing greater patience. These findings hold direct implications for both research and public policy initiatives aimed at influencing agricultural choices in the aftermath of social distress. By understanding the factors influencing time preferences, policy practitioners can develop more targeted and effective strategies to support smallholder farmers, thereby enhancing the resilience of agri-food value chains in low-income countries.

Ongoing structural transformations in many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies are driving changes in labour inputs and wages, likely influencing smallholder agriculture and the direction of agricultural intensification processes. At the same time, the adoption of capital-intensive technologies still remains puzzlingly low. This article, therefore, explores how smallholder farmers in Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi adapt their mix of production factors in response to evolving regional wage conditions. In particular, we investigate the nature of the relationship between capital and labour regarding their substitutability, given that the types of available capital and prevailing farming systems in SSA mean that mechanisation still requires significant complementary labour. Using a multi-step method based on panel data, our results show that the elasticity of substitution between capital and labour is non-unitary, indicating they are gross complements. In line with these findings, our binary choice model reveals that higher wages are likely to impede capital investment in African agriculture. Our findings corroborate recent literature from other regions and suggest that growth in the off-farm economy could hinder the adoption of capital-intensive agricultural technologies in SSA.

Introducing and lifting COVID-19 restrictions caused significant disruptions throughout the world economy, including in international trade. This study employs a panel gravity model to examine the impact of the pandemic on the agri-food trade of EU countries. Specifically, we estimate the direct effects of the intensity of lockdown-type policies on bilateral trade across country, product, and time dimensions, and the indirect effects of those policies as they work through domestic market impacts. We also decompose the indirect effects of COVID-19 between the domestic demand side and supply side impacts. We provide insights into the sources of pandemic disruptions by comparing a ‘no-COVID’ counterfactual scenario from March 2020 to February 2022 to the COVID-19 reality. Our data analysis reveals a loss of 162 billion EUR in agri-food trade due to direct and indirect effects of COVID-19, equivalent to 11.3% of imports over the period. Approximately half of this total is comprised of intra-EU bilateral trade. The COVID-19 effects were proportionally greatest in the trade of fats and oils, and animal-origin products, while vegetable-origin and processed food products were affected only about half as much. Reduced intra-industry demand was a dominant source of indirect effects in the trade of non-processed food. In turn, the weakening of consumer demand was the main factor behind trade losses in processed food imports. The proportional trade impacts differ greatly across EU countries.

Despite the many studies providing evidence of the benefits of cooperatives, most small farms and farm households, particularly in transition economies, do not participate in them. This study analyses the effect of cooperative activity on farm performance using a large-scale farm survey conducted in Armenia. In addition, it addresses the issue of heterogeneity, which is often overlooked in the literature. It looks at heterogeneity in terms of observed effect modifiers, which are measured covariates that can modify the causal effect of cooperation on a specific farm performance indicator. This is the first study that pays special attention to heterogeneity and uses the causal forest approach in the context of cooperative membership to characterise the drivers of treatment heterogeneity (i.e., variation in the causal impact of cooperative membership across farmers with different observable characteristics). Participation in cooperatives is associated with greater perceived farm performance among farmers with limited access to market information and low financial literacy. Similarly, higher benefits are observed for less experienced and older farmers, suggesting that cooperatives play a particularly important role in supporting more vulnerable subgroups.

This study investigates farmer preferences for publicly and privately financed agri-environmental contracts. Using a labelled Discrete Choice Experiment with 366 German grassland farmers, we examine trade-offs between payment schemes (public/private), payment criteria (practice-based/result-based), collaboration options, and advisory services. Our results show that farmers require higher compensation for privately financed contracts compared to public ones. On average, respondents prefer practice-based over result-based payments and value free advisory services, particularly in private schemes. Preferences for collaborative implementation indicate a strong desire for autonomy. A key contribution of this study lies in integrating farmer identity into the analysis. Drawing on a psychometric scale of ‘good farmer’ attributes, we identify three latent identities—productivist, environmentalist and civic-minded—and show that these significantly explain heterogeneity in preferences and land enrolment decisions. Productivist farmers demand higher compensation and commit less land, while environmentalist and civic-minded farmers are more inclined to participate and enrol larger areas, even at lower compensation levels. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring agri-environmental contracts to farmers' identities through for example framing of agri-environmental contracts accordingly. Privately financed schemes, such as those based on crowdfunding platforms, must address perceived risks, offer advisory support and develop communication strategies that resonate with different identity profiles. Recognising farmer identity as a behavioural driver can enhance participation in both public and private agri-environmental schemes and inform more effective contract design.