Journal of Agricultural Economics最新文献

Gene editing (GE), a revolutionary genetic engineering technology that makes targeted modifications to plant and animal genomes, offers the potential to address key challenges in food security, nutrition, safety, health, agricultural productivity, and sustainability, yet consumer demand for GE foods remains uncertain and complex. This study reviews (1) the factors affecting consumer preferences for GE foods and (2) studies on consumer acceptance of GE foods that feature comparisons to genetically modified (GM) foods. The present manuscript also discusses implications for industry and policymakers and identifies areas where additional research would further promote the acceptance of GE technology. A total of 74 consumer studies were identified, reviewed, and discussed. The results indicate that many factors drive consumer preferences for GE foods, mainly sensory attributes, nutritional content, price, risk perception, trust in institutions, consumer socio-demographics, and available knowledge and information about GE technology. Furthermore, we found that consumers generally prefer GE foods over GM foods, but this preference varies depending on specific products and contexts. These findings provide useful insights for science, industry, and policymakers aiming to develop, commercialise, and regulate GE foods. Finally, several future research avenues are outlined and discussed.

We examine farm management decisions of smallholder farmers during the first wave of COVID-19 infections in India between June 2020 and March 2021. We use panel data from 256 farm households in the rural–urban interface of Bangalore from a pre-COVID-19 face-to-face survey and a phone survey at the end of the first COVID-19 wave. We combine this survey data with sub-district and village level data on the number of COVID-19 infections as well as rainfall data. Results of fixed effects panel data models show that higher COVID-19 exposure, measured by numbers of sub-district and village level COVID-19 infections, positively affects the number of sustainable agricultural practices adopted. Conversely, higher COVID-19 exposure is related to a reduction in the share of crops treated with external inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides. The results suggest that disruptions related to COVID-19 exposure levels restricted farmers' access to agricultural inputs, prompting a shift towards sustainable agricultural practices.

We examine the effects of the uptake of grass-based feeding practices on the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of farm sustainability. More specifically, we analyse the predictive effects of an increase in grassland or ley area on farm net income, total working hours, and fertiliser expenditure. Our analysis utilises farm-level data from Swedish dairy farms spanning the period 2002–2021. Drawing on a directed acyclic graph (DAG), we assess both the average and distributional effects using panel regression with fixed effects and penalised panel quantile regression methods, respectively. Our results show that an increase in either grassland or ley area is associated with a decrease in both farm net income and fertiliser expenditure, alongside an increase in total working hours on average. Our distributional analysis further indicates that these effects vary across the quantile distribution of the outcome variables. Finally, the results show that an increase in either grassland or ley area leads to a reduction in milk yield, feed cost and the cost of veterinary services. Overall, our findings highlight the trade-offs associated with farmers' transition towards the uptake of more grass-based feeding practices and the policy implications.

There is growing evidence that a transformation in land use is required if we are to avoid the existential threats posed by the climate and nature crises. This paper revisits the influence of property rights on land use decisions in the context of climate and biodiversity commitments and the emergence of new voluntary natural capital markets. Scotland is used as a case study, having a high natural capital endowment and an ongoing commitment to land reform. Using Mazzucato's common good framework as an analytical lens, the paper highlights how recent changes in governance are beginning to rebalance property rights in favour of the wider public interest and redress some of the issues raised by the voluntary natural capital markets. However, significant policy gaps remain. The paper calls for a more integrated and spatially targeted approach to land use policy, supported by an appropriate balance of property rights and responsibilities, to ensure climate and nature goals are met.

The value of purchased seed is a product of its underlying genetic information. However, farmers purchasing seed face a classic information asymmetry problem, as varietal identity is not directly observable. In this article we investigate the effectiveness of two certification systems in addressing this issue in the context of Uganda: the formal certification system (predominantly private sector) and the FAO's quality declared system (certification for seed produced mainly by farmers' groups). Using a large, nationally representative panel dataset spanning thirteen growing seasons, and controlling for time-invariant household and plot-level unobservables, we find that cultivating purchased quality declared improved seed results in measurable yield increases relative to saved seed. Surprisingly, however, certified improved seed is shown to provide no yield benefits over seed saved from previous seasons, despite its higher cost. Our findings suggest that input heterogeneity and information asymmetry in seed markets may be key constraints to the successful diffusion of improved maize varieties in Uganda, and that the formal seed certification system may not have provided an adequate signal of seed quality to farmers during the time period covered by the panel.

Pesticide reduction is increasingly incentivised in European agriculture but may generate trade-offs. For example, replacing herbicides with mechanical weed control methods is associated with higher costs and exacerbated soil compaction and erosion. We develop a bio-economic modelling approach to explore the potential of remote sensing technologies to measure weed pressure levels to reduce mechanical weed control interventions in herbicide-free production systems. The model is applied to Swiss winter wheat production and accounts for different remote sensing technologies, production systems, and cost scenarios for mechanical control. The model is further used to conduct ex-ante policy analysis, that is, to assess how fuel taxation affects the viability of different technologies. Our results show that remote-sensing technologies have the potential to reduce the number of mechanical control interventions, but that these benefits vary across production systems and cost structures. We further find that fuel taxation has a limited additional impact on technology benefits.