In our note, we tried to realise a comprehensive document dedicated to Social Network Analysis, in which we focused on its origin, application and adoption in analysing the diffusion of innovation, with particular attention paid to the agriculture sector, because we believe that farmers can easily exchange knowledge with each other and boost the diffusion of innovation in terms of agricultural techniques. Most of the scientific researches reported in our note in which SNA was applied are carried out in developing countries, we reckon that in these countries information is not usually recorded in a database, and farmers can easily get innovation through their system of acquaintances. We noted that SNA is a flexible and useful tool because it can be applied jointly with several approaches and theories. Through SNA, we can get relevant information about the network to understand how innovation gets shared and to assess the role and importance of different actors involved in the network.
{"title":"Social Network Analysis: A useful tool for studying Innovation diffusion processes","authors":"Youssef Beni Houd, M. El Amrani","doi":"10.3280/ecag2022oa12059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2022oa12059","url":null,"abstract":"In our note, we tried to realise a comprehensive document dedicated to Social Network Analysis, in which we focused on its origin, application and adoption in analysing the diffusion of innovation, with particular attention paid to the agriculture sector, because we believe that farmers can easily exchange knowledge with each other and boost the diffusion of innovation in terms of agricultural techniques. Most of the scientific researches reported in our note in which SNA was applied are carried out in developing countries, we reckon that in these countries information is not usually recorded in a database, and farmers can easily get innovation through their system of acquaintances. We noted that SNA is a flexible and useful tool because it can be applied jointly with several approaches and theories. Through SNA, we can get relevant information about the network to understand how innovation gets shared and to assess the role and importance of different actors involved in the network.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"114 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72386342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study analyses the productive efficiency of dairy farms in Kazakhstan and suggests export implications by the expansion of trade networks and the participation of global value chains. As the world's largest landlocked country and ninth largest area in the world, Kazakhstan has often been considered to have vast potential to produce and export dairy products. The greater openness of markets and improved geostrategic circumstances with the latest rail link between China and Europe are expected to strengthen Kazakhstan's trade opportunities with the rest of the world. Despite these positive prospects, few empirical studies have examined the export potential of the country's dairy products. To bridge this gap, this study surveys 23 dairy farms across nine oblasts in Kazakhstan and performs a data envelopment analysis with milk production as the output variable and feed, labour, and capital as the input variables. The estimation results indicate that Kazakh dairy farms could reduce input use by up to 70% under the most efficient system. A dichotomy of productive efficiency among large and capital-intensive versus small-scale family farms suggests that the country should promote inclusiveness through sharing knowledge and best practices within the industry.
{"title":"Productive efficiency and trade opportunities for Kazakhstan dairy farms","authors":"Sang-Woo Han, S. Lim, A. Balkibayeva","doi":"10.3280/ecag2022oa12752","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2022oa12752","url":null,"abstract":"This study analyses the productive efficiency of dairy farms in Kazakhstan and suggests export implications by the expansion of trade networks and the participation of global value chains. As the world's largest landlocked country and ninth largest area in the world, Kazakhstan has often been considered to have vast potential to produce and export dairy products. The greater openness of markets and improved geostrategic circumstances with the latest rail link between China and Europe are expected to strengthen Kazakhstan's trade opportunities with the rest of the world. Despite these positive prospects, few empirical studies have examined the export potential of the country's dairy products. To bridge this gap, this study surveys 23 dairy farms across nine oblasts in Kazakhstan and performs a data envelopment analysis with milk production as the output variable and feed, labour, and capital as the input variables. The estimation results indicate that Kazakh dairy farms could reduce input use by up to 70% under the most efficient system. A dichotomy of productive efficiency among large and capital-intensive versus small-scale family farms suggests that the country should promote inclusiveness through sharing knowledge and best practices within the industry.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77229116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Artisanal food industry from agricultural and livestock crops have major potential on improving local community welfare and even contributing to sustainability if they are processed, produced and marketed properly. Agricultural and dairy products can be processed into a more diverse range of products that can attract wider consumers, particularly burgeoning urban middle-class. However, studies on such industry, particularly those in low and lower-middle income countries, are disproportionally sparse in the literature. In this study, we examine economic viability of product diversification of swamp buffalo milk-based artisanal confectionery product named gulo puan, which is exclusively produced in Pampangan sub-district, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia. To improve its marketability, the diversification of gulo puan into chocolate bar-like products was proposed. Financial feasibility analyses with the investment criteria, namely NPV, Net B/C, IRR, payback period, and sensitivity analysis were conducted and show that the proposed implementation is viable, robust, and realistic. However, declining number of swamp buffaloes in recent years due to farming mechanization, as well as lack of infrastructure for supply chain, remain as challenges in the future that need to be addressed by stakeholders and policymakers.
{"title":"Feasibility study on indigenous confectionery business - the case of gulo puan industries","authors":"K. Yuliati, Ruth Samantha Hamzah, B. Hamzah","doi":"10.3280/ecag2022oa12375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2022oa12375","url":null,"abstract":"Artisanal food industry from agricultural and livestock crops have major potential on improving local community welfare and even contributing to sustainability if they are processed, produced and marketed properly. Agricultural and dairy products can be processed into a more diverse range of products that can attract wider consumers, particularly burgeoning urban middle-class. However, studies on such industry, particularly those in low and lower-middle income countries, are disproportionally sparse in the literature. In this study, we examine economic viability of product diversification of swamp buffalo milk-based artisanal confectionery product named gulo puan, which is exclusively produced in Pampangan sub-district, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia. To improve its marketability, the diversification of gulo puan into chocolate bar-like products was proposed. Financial feasibility analyses with the investment criteria, namely NPV, Net B/C, IRR, payback period, and sensitivity analysis were conducted and show that the proposed implementation is viable, robust, and realistic. However, declining number of swamp buffaloes in recent years due to farming mechanization, as well as lack of infrastructure for supply chain, remain as challenges in the future that need to be addressed by stakeholders and policymakers.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"177 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75705506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Guest Editorial. Current use and new perspectives for the Farm Accountancy Data Network","authors":"L. Briamonte, L. Cesaro, A. Scardera","doi":"10.3280/ecag2021oa12832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2021oa12832","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"02 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80087245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
For the traditionally small-scaled Swiss agriculture, large economies of scale exist in dairy farming. Farm expansion is typically linked to a barn investment, but the opportunities for expanding the necessary acreage are limited. To enable an investing farm to expand its acreage, neighboring farms must shrink or phase out. Hence, the question arises how neighboring farms affect investing farms. To address this farm management question, we used a set of Farm Accountancy Data Network data and government data on subsidized projects. We combined this dataset with agricultural census data to assess the concentration of agricultural land as well as the number of subsidized investments within the municipality of an investing farm. By means of random-effects models for agricultural income per family working unit on the one side and herd size change on the other, we found two effects of neighborhood effects. A high number of subsidized projects and a high concentration of land (Gini coefficient) limited the growth in herd size due to scarcity of available land. At the same time, neighborhood positively influenced the management, leading to a higher agricultural income per family working unit. The results illustrate that an extension of the Farm Accountancy Data Network data, which in itself is extensive, can further help to address specific research questions.
{"title":"The Role of Neighborhood Effects on Investing Dairy Farms","authors":"B. Kramer, Anke Schorr, R. Doluschitz, M. Lips","doi":"10.3280/ecag2021oa12778","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2021oa12778","url":null,"abstract":"For the traditionally small-scaled Swiss agriculture, large economies of scale exist in dairy farming. Farm expansion is typically linked to a barn investment, but the opportunities for expanding the necessary acreage are limited. To enable an investing farm to expand its acreage, neighboring farms must shrink or phase out. Hence, the question arises how neighboring farms affect investing farms. To address this farm management question, we used a set of Farm Accountancy Data Network data and government data on subsidized projects. We combined this dataset with agricultural census data to assess the concentration of agricultural land as well as the number of subsidized investments within the municipality of an investing farm. By means of random-effects models for agricultural income per family working unit on the one side and herd size change on the other, we found two effects of neighborhood effects. A high number of subsidized projects and a high concentration of land (Gini coefficient) limited the growth in herd size due to scarcity of available land. At the same time, neighborhood positively influenced the management, leading to a higher agricultural income per family working unit. The results illustrate that an extension of the Farm Accountancy Data Network data, which in itself is extensive, can further help to address specific research questions.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79524666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Cagliero, A. Arzeni, F. Cisilino, Alessandro Montelelone, P. Borsotto
This article aims to contribute to the debate about the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), on how to make it more usable, useful and reliable, both for research users and practitioners when studying policy assessment. Ten years ago, the Italian National Rural Network published a highly relevant report about FADN data use for Rural Development policy evaluation, providing a wide range of examples of its application. The report had the merit of providing a comprehensive and systematic overview of FADN uses for evaluation for the first time and not only for impact assessment.From this experience, this paper examines how the different Managing Authorities in Italy have used FADN data for the evaluation of the current 2014-20 Rural Development Programmes: how actually the database has been used in the Annual Implementation Reports, with a focus on indicators for competitiveness assessment. The paper highlights some recommendations, considering the next programming period and the application of the so-called New Delivery Model.
{"title":"Ten years after: Diffusion, criticism and potential improvements in the use of FADN for Rural Development assessment in Italy","authors":"R. Cagliero, A. Arzeni, F. Cisilino, Alessandro Montelelone, P. Borsotto","doi":"10.3280/ecag2021oa12769","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2021oa12769","url":null,"abstract":"This article aims to contribute to the debate about the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), on how to make it more usable, useful and reliable, both for research users and practitioners when studying policy assessment. Ten years ago, the Italian National Rural Network published a highly relevant report about FADN data use for Rural Development policy evaluation, providing a wide range of examples of its application. The report had the merit of providing a comprehensive and systematic overview of FADN uses for evaluation for the first time and not only for impact assessment.From this experience, this paper examines how the different Managing Authorities in Italy have used FADN data for the evaluation of the current 2014-20 Rural Development Programmes: how actually the database has been used in the Annual Implementation Reports, with a focus on indicators for competitiveness assessment. The paper highlights some recommendations, considering the next programming period and the application of the so-called New Delivery Model.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"2017 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89730619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Myriam Ruberto, Alessandro Catini, Mara Lai, V. Manganiello
The aim of the research is to analyze economic aspects related to the use of water in agriculture, by evaluating the effect of irrigation on agricultural productivity in a sample of FADN farms in the Veneto region in 2018. Specifically, the change of the Gross Saleable Production (GSP) is analysed as against the binary variable use/non-use of irrigation by applying an econometric analysis. To estimate how irrigation might influence gsp we have considered, in addition to the variable use/non-use of irrigation, other explanatory variables that could leverage the gsp , in particular ‘variable costs', ‘use of land' and ‘uaa'. Results of the analysis show that a positive relationship exists between irrigation and the GSP . This result is considered relevant in the context of water resource management policies.
{"title":"The impact of irrigation on agricultural productivity: The case of FADN farms in Veneto","authors":"Myriam Ruberto, Alessandro Catini, Mara Lai, V. Manganiello","doi":"10.3280/ecag2021oa12779","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2021oa12779","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of the research is to analyze economic aspects related to the use of water in agriculture, by evaluating the effect of irrigation on agricultural productivity in a sample of FADN farms in the Veneto region in 2018. Specifically, the change of the Gross Saleable Production (GSP) is analysed as against the binary variable use/non-use of irrigation by applying an econometric analysis. To estimate how irrigation might influence gsp we have considered, in addition to the variable use/non-use of irrigation, other explanatory variables that could leverage the gsp , in particular ‘variable costs', ‘use of land' and ‘uaa'. Results of the analysis show that a positive relationship exists between irrigation and the GSP . This result is considered relevant in the context of water resource management policies.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"230 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89031107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Organic farming in Italy is growing fast thanks to an increased focus on environmental sustainability and consumer demand thus challenging the farmers to create new working models and territorial systems.Organic land in Basilicata is more than 21% of the regional UAA , an area that has more than doubled in size since 2015. This study compares Lucanian organic farming systems with conventional farming systems and their economic benefits and is based on 2019 FADN data made up of 24% organic farms. This study could help regional policy makers to design guidelines for the 2021-2027 programming period reinforcing the green growth strategy. In fact, agricultural policy continues to focus on environmental themes (Green Deal and Farm to fork), proposing new challenges to agricultural businesses who take advantage of the competitive advantages of new models and territorial systems.
{"title":"Organic and conventional farms in the Basilicata region: A comparison of structural and economic variables using FADN data","authors":"Maria Assunta D'Oronzio, Carmela De Vivo","doi":"10.3280/ecag2021oa12775","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2021oa12775","url":null,"abstract":"Organic farming in Italy is growing fast thanks to an increased focus on environmental sustainability and consumer demand thus challenging the farmers to create new working models and territorial systems.Organic land in Basilicata is more than 21% of the regional UAA , an area that has more than doubled in size since 2015. This study compares Lucanian organic farming systems with conventional farming systems and their economic benefits and is based on 2019 FADN data made up of 24% organic farms. This study could help regional policy makers to design guidelines for the 2021-2027 programming period reinforcing the green growth strategy. In fact, agricultural policy continues to focus on environmental themes (Green Deal and Farm to fork), proposing new challenges to agricultural businesses who take advantage of the competitive advantages of new models and territorial systems.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"120 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80602379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) is one of the most important microeconomic surveys in Europe. It collects information suitable for use in performing structural and socioeconomic analysis of the agricultural sector in all the Member States. Contents and purposes have evolved over the time depending on the informative needs of the EU Commission and CAP's priorities. As a part of the Green Deal, CAP is expected to contribute to the environment, climate change and biodiversity objectives beyond 2020. In this new framework, one initiative launched inside the Farm to Fork Strategy has been the change of name from fadn to Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) including variables related to the environmental and social aspects of farming. Like in other EU countries, the information collected by the Italian FADN exceeds that required by the EU regulations, allowing to some extent consideration of special characteristics of national agriculture. However, further variables could be added or changed, gathering them directly from the farmer, by including the existing database or through targeted questionnaires on fadn sub-samples. The new survey will maintain and improve the current role of FADN, reinforcing the analytical and political relevance of the network by adding further dimensions of sustainability. The discussion is on-going at EU and National level and this paper is a contribution to this debate. It gives a description of the environmental and social data gathered by the Italian FADN together with a consideration regarding about the opportunity and the possibility to enhance the system in view of the future period under evaluation. The switch to FSDN will require an effort from the Member States in terms of IT infrastructure, economic resources, new ways of collecting data and staff involved in data collection and the verification process.
{"title":"Enhancing the Italian FADN for sustainability assessment: The state of art and perspectives","authors":"L. Turchetti, Nadia Gastaldin, S. Marongiu","doi":"10.3280/ecag2021oa12771","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3280/ecag2021oa12771","url":null,"abstract":"Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) is one of the most important microeconomic surveys in Europe. It collects information suitable for use in performing structural and socioeconomic analysis of the agricultural sector in all the Member States. Contents and purposes have evolved over the time depending on the informative needs of the EU Commission and CAP's priorities. As a part of the Green Deal, CAP is expected to contribute to the environment, climate change and biodiversity objectives beyond 2020. In this new framework, one initiative launched inside the Farm to Fork Strategy has been the change of name from fadn to Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) including variables related to the environmental and social aspects of farming. Like in other EU countries, the information collected by the Italian FADN exceeds that required by the EU regulations, allowing to some extent consideration of special characteristics of national agriculture. However, further variables could be added or changed, gathering them directly from the farmer, by including the existing database or through targeted questionnaires on fadn sub-samples. The new survey will maintain and improve the current role of FADN, reinforcing the analytical and political relevance of the network by adding further dimensions of sustainability. The discussion is on-going at EU and National level and this paper is a contribution to this debate. It gives a description of the environmental and social data gathered by the Italian FADN together with a consideration regarding about the opportunity and the possibility to enhance the system in view of the future period under evaluation. The switch to FSDN will require an effort from the Member States in terms of IT infrastructure, economic resources, new ways of collecting data and staff involved in data collection and the verification process.","PeriodicalId":37333,"journal":{"name":"Economia Agro-Alimentare","volume":"90 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79401671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}