Agricultural and Food Economics最新文献

Access to healthy food varies across socioeconomic circumstances such as primary livelihood, and access to shops, land, farms, and cities. We compared household food and nutrition security across households with food-producing and non-food-producing livelihoods, access to farms and non-farm greenspaces, and their location relative to farms, non-farm greenspaces, shops, and urban centres. We used household survey data and landscape spatial data from five sites across the socioeconomic gradient. Food security was higher in wealthier, more educated, urban households, and dietary diversity was highest in rural and agrarian households. Non-farm greenspaces such as communal and informal land, and backyard and communal gardens, were significant food sources. On-farm diversification, smallholder support, and provisioning of non-farm greenspaces can improve food and nutrition security. Agricultural extension and spatial planning policy should target smallholder capacitation, and development of fruit and vegetable gardens in both rural and urban areas, for sustainable, equitable, healthy food environments.

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Drawing on survey, interview, and workshop evidence, this paper reviews the current state of play of short food supply chains (SFSCs) in England, calling for greater focus on infrastructure to support and enable SFSCs to build capacity in agri-food economies. The paper argues that despite a recent burgeoning of research on SFSCs, the role and importance of infrastructure to support SFSC arrangements remain piecemeal and too often 'backstage'. A survey of 586 farms in England (completed May-August 2023) identifies widespread and greater than anticipated interest in increasing engagement in SFSCs, including amongst larger and crop farms. However, inadequate infrastructure is perceived as a major barrier to market access. Interviews (n = 29) (conducted in 2023) and a participatory workshop (February 2024), both involving SFSC operators, advisory organisations, and academics in England, echo survey findings and help understand why reconfiguring infrastructure is essential for transforming national, regional, and local food systems. The paper concludes by outlining priority topics, identified by practitioners, for future academic research. Key steps for a future research agenda include developing a common understanding of infrastructure types and combinations for sectors, alongside wider strategic alliance building with recognition that infrastructure support alone (material, virtual, legal, etc.) will not be sufficient. Bringing infrastructure 'front stage' in this more strategic way, we conclude, builds resilience capacity in agri-food economies to enable producers interested in SFSCs to realise positive outcomes.

Most farms in the Global South are small family farms and supporting these in generating ideal profits is critical for reducing poverty. We study the state of Bihar, the poorest in India where approximately 100 million people source their food and income from farms smaller than two hectares. Our research assesses the profit efficiencies achieved by smallholders in rice and wheat production and examine the variation in profit efficiencies across different farm sizes and geographical regions of the state. Applying single-step stochastic profit frontier analysis with data from 4016 randomly selected farmers, we estimate profit potential and identify sources of profit inefficiency. Spatial mapping with profit efficiency scores helps visualize differences and pattern within the state. The findings reveal that high planting cost in wheat and high harvesting costs in rice and wheat reduce profit efficiency. Additionally, excessive rainfall in August and higher temperature in November impede profit efficiency of rice and wheat, respectively. The biggest source of inefficiency in rice and wheat production is costly diesel-driven irrigation system. Our estimates suggest that closing profit efficiency gaps can increase smallholder profits by 38% in rice and 35% in wheat. Identifying strategies to close profit gaps in smallholder settings and agriculture-led economies is crucial for informing interventions that alleviate rural poverty.

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The relationship between food sources and food waste handling behaviour, though important in designing food waste reduction interventions, has been largely overlooked. In this context, this study investigates how food sources influence food waste behaviour. Specifically, it compares food waste management practices across food sources and examines the impact of food sources on consumers' decisions to save food. We conducted an online survey in urban Vietnam and yielded 616 valid responses. The survey presented four scenarios capturing corresponding food sources for two hypothetical products: vegetables and pork, which were forgotten and expired, but still edible. They include (1) supermarket purchases, (2) food bought from a known farmer, (3) gifted party leftovers, and (4) gifted party leftovers sourced from a known farmer. The results show the lowest discard rate for the meat sourced from a known farmer (62%) and vegetables that are party leftovers (27%). Proportion test and bivariate probit regression confirm that food sourced from known farmers, which is either gifted leftovers or food bought by consumers, was more likely to be saved, as compared to that from supermarkets, suggesting higher perceived values of local food. The study suggests that fostering food waste reduction requires better consumer communication of food values associated with their perceived favourable food sources, especially local food.

Decisions about what we consume have environmental repercussions and, therefore, implications for future generations. Consumers' ability to pay more for sustainable food stimulates production strategies, like circular agriculture, aiding the European Green Deal's sustainable food system. With the aim of analysing the preferences and willingness to pay of European consumers for food labelled as obtained by more sustainable systems in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the optimisation of soil nutrients, a survey with 5591 participants from Spain, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and Belgium was conducted. The survey was designed to analyse three food products (pork meat, milk, and bread) obtained through different production systems (circular, conventional, and organic) using the discrete choice experiment methodology. The survey included questions about consumers' environmental attitudes and consumption behaviour, to identify their influence over preferences regarding sustainable food products. Results revealed that over 27% of consumers preferred circular food, unveiling a potential market. This preference highlighted the effect of consumers' environmental attitudes. Those who actively engaged in recycling were more prone to choose circular food and shown a tendency to go for less conventional options. Consumers' WTP was consistently higher for circular milk compared to conventional across all the studied countries. However, for circular pork and bread, this greater WTP was reported exclusively in Spain and Croatia. It was suggested that sectors involved in a sustainable food production should standardise labels for circular food, create educational programmes about problems generated by unsustainable consumption, and promote consumption of circular products.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40100-025-00350-0.

An examination of the dynamics of seed markets in Bihar, India, reveals a paradox-despite an influx of wheat varieties bred by public and private sectors and the proliferation of seed market networks in rural villages, older wheat varieties remain prevalent-necessitating a thorough investigation of the seed distribution system. Unlike most empirical studies that examine the adoption of new and improved crop varieties from a farmer's perspective, our study shifts the focus to the seed supply side. We analyse data collected from 200 private seed dealers who cater to the needs of over 163,000 farmers spread across 10 districts in Bihar. We use descriptive statistics alongside dealer-level and varietal-level regression models to examine the relationship between seed sales and varietal age. Findings indicate that the number of varieties available with a dealer (varietal richness) is positively associated with the number of seed buyers (dealer's reach) and the total quantity of seeds sold. Private varieties are in demand despite their higher prices. Dealer-level models showed that varietal age affects neither the reach nor the sales, allowing older public-sector varieties to coexist with more recent private-sector ones. However, the varietal-level regression models show that dealers rank the new varieties higher as the ones being sold more. To explore the potential of private seed markets to reduce the proliferation of old wheat varieties that are more susceptible to evolving biotic and abiotic stress factors, we recommend strengthening the varietal registration and seed certification processes, implementing better seed traceability systems, and fostering public-private partnerships in variety development and seed dissemination. Investing in market experiments to incentivize seed dealers to engage in quality assurance can help refine strategies and ensure efficient and inclusive dissemination of promising wheat varieties.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40100-024-00330-w.