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1
Holden, Stein T. "Economics of Farm Input Subsidies in Africa." Annual Review of Resource Economics 11, no. 1 (October 5, 2019): 501–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100518-094002.
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Fertilizer and other input subsidies have been prominent components of agricultural policies in many Asian and African countries since the 1960s. Their economic and political rationale is scrutinized with emphasis on the second generation of targeted input subsidy programs that were scaled up in Sub-Saharan Africa after 2005. The extent to which they fulfill the goal of being market smart is assessed after inspecting the potential for such subsidies in Sub-Saharan Africa. The new fertilizer subsidy programs do not live up to the market-smart principles and suffer from severe design and implementation failures. While a clear exit strategy was one of the key principles, this has been neglected, with the result that most current programs are more sticky than smart. They have only partially achieved the intended impacts and have resulted in a number of unintended negative impacts. Subsidy program redesign should start from a pilot stage testing basic mechanisms.
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Holden, Stein T., and Rodney W. Lunduka. "Who Benefit from Malawi's Targeted Farm Input Subsidy Program?" Forum for Development Studies 40, no. 1 (March 2013): 1–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2012.688858.
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Mulula, Griffin, Hannah M. Dunga, and Steven Henry Dunga. "The Effect of Farm Input Subsidy Program on Food Poverty Dynamics in Malawi." Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies 9, no. 2(J) (May 18, 2017): 131–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v9i2(j).1656.
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As part of poverty alleviation and reduction of food insecurity in Malawi, the Malawi Government launched the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in 2005/06. The programme is a continuation and expansion of previous subsidy programmes which were designed for the same purpose as the current subsidy programme. Although evaluation studies show that FISP registered success in its first five years, there has been limited research analysing the effectiveness of the programme. This study purposed to investigate how the programme has contributed to food poverty transition during the period 2010 and 2013. The study adopts a Multinomial Logit Model and uses Integrated Household Panel Survey Data of 2010 and 2013 from national statistical office to measure food poverty dynamics between the two periods. Other variables which are expected to influence food poverty dynamics are also explored. Results show that FISP does not increase chances of moving out of food poverty. Rather, education greatly provides higher chances of moving out of food poverty. Between gender that have the same qualification, men have a greater probability of moving a household out of poverty. It was also found that household size has a negatively relationship with the probability of moving out of food poverty. The study recommends that government should strengthen the monitoring, evaluation and audit systems in order to make the FISP programme effective again.
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Mulula, Griffin, Hannah M. Dunga, and Steven Henry Dunga. "The Effect of Farm Input Subsidy Program on Food Poverty Dynamics in Malawi." Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies 9, no. 2 (May 18, 2017): 131. http://dx.doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v9i2.1656.
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As part of poverty alleviation and reduction of food insecurity in Malawi, the Malawi Government launched the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in 2005/06. The programme is a continuation and expansion of previous subsidy programmes which were designed for the same purpose as the current subsidy programme. Although evaluation studies show that FISP registered success in its first five years, there has been limited research analysing the effectiveness of the programme. This study purposed to investigate how the programme has contributed to food poverty transition during the period 2010 and 2013. The study adopts a Multinomial Logit Model and uses Integrated Household Panel Survey Data of 2010 and 2013 from national statistical office to measure food poverty dynamics between the two periods. Other variables which are expected to influence food poverty dynamics are also explored. Results show that FISP does not increase chances of moving out of food poverty. Rather, education greatly provides higher chances of moving out of food poverty. Between gender that have the same qualification, men have a greater probability of moving a household out of poverty. It was also found that household size has a negatively relationship with the probability of moving out of food poverty. The study recommends that government should strengthen the monitoring, evaluation and audit systems in order to make the FISP programme effective again.
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Lunduka, Rodney, Jacob Ricker-Gilbert, and Monica Fisher. "What are the farm-level impacts of Malawi's farm input subsidy program? A critical review." Agricultural Economics 44, no. 6 (October 11, 2013): 563–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/agec.12074.
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Arndt, Channing, Karl Pauw, and James Thurlow. "The Economy‐wide Impacts and Risks of Malawi's Farm Input Subsidy Program." American Journal of Agricultural Economics 98, no. 3 (August 24, 2015): 962–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aav048.
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Karamba, R. Wendy, and Paul C. Winters. "Gender and agricultural productivity: implications of the Farm Input Subsidy Program in Malawi." Agricultural Economics 46, no. 3 (March 31, 2015): 357–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/agec.12169.
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Zhao, Minjuan, Runsheng Yin, Liuyang Yao, and Tao Xu. "Assessing the impact of China’s sloping land conversion program on household production efficiency under spatial heterogeneity and output diversification." China Agricultural Economic Review 7, no. 2 (May 5, 2015): 221–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/caer-07-2013-0094.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess how spatial heterogeneity and production diversification have affected the efficiency of households participating in the SLCP. Design/methodology/approach – Based on household survey data collected from three sample counties in the Loess Plateau region, the paper analyzes how spatial heterogeneity and business diversification have affected the production efficiency of households participating in the SLCP. Using four-step bootstrap, input stochastic distance frontiers of multi-inputs and multi-outputs are developed simultaneously with a technical efficiency effects model in which participating in the SLCP is treated as an exogenous variable. Findings – The household production in the three counties is constrained by land, labor, capital, and fixed inputs; thus, it is germane to using a multi-input and multi-output household production technology to evaluate the SLCP. However, the relative importance of each input and output, the productive diversification, and the technological structure are differentiated in the three counties; estimating the regression with pooled data appears to conceal the influences of local factors and blur the specific divergence, compared to running county-based, separate regressions. Research limitations/implications – The effects of the SLCP on farm household production are location dependent. It is necessary to include spatial heterogeneity within public policy evaluation. In addition to suggesting localized and differentiated schemes of subsidy, this implies that the government may provide means to facilitate different regions to make the economic transition. Originality/value – This paper intends to make two contributions. First, the analysis will capture and explain the adjustments induced by the SLCP in off-farm and other activities for entire household production, and special attention is given to the diversification of household production outputs. Second, this analysis sheds new light to the significance of spatial differentiation in mediating the effectiveness of a public policy or program.
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Kolawole, Matthew A., Akeem A. Tijani, and Ayodeji D. Kehinde. "IMPACT OF A GROWTH ENHANCEMENT SUPPORT SCHEME ON COCOA YIELD AND INCOME OF COCOA FARMERS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA." Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Agricultura 19, no. 1 (March 24, 2020): 41. http://dx.doi.org/10.37660/aspagr.2020.19.1.5.
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Background. In an attempt to improve the yield of cocoa and farmers income, the Federal government of Nigeria in 2012 introduced the Cocoa Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme that subsidized farm inputs to farmers. This article examines the effects of the scheme on cocoa yield and the income of cocoa farmers in Osun State.Material and methods. A multistage sampling procedure was used to obtain data from 208 cocoa farmers of whom there were 100 participants and 108 non-participants of the scheme. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the binary logit regression model and the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) model.Results. Descriptive statistics revealed no mean difference between some socioeconomic characteristics among the categories of farmers in the study area such as household size, farming experience, age and education. The results further revealed that participation in previous government intervention programs, access to extension services and access to credit were significant determinants of participation in the GES scheme. Participation in the GES scheme increased cocoa yield and income of cocoa farmers by 42.30 kg·ha-1 and 24553.99 N·ha-1 (59.71 €·ha-1), respectively.Conclusion. This suggests that a subsidy on farm inputs could increase cocoa yield and the income of cocoa farmers.
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Gattoo, Munir Ahmad, Ghulam Mustafa, and Muhammad Iqbal. "Impact of Farm Households’ Adaptations to Climate Change on Food Security: Evidence from Different Agro-ecologies of Pakistan." Pakistan Development Review 55, no. 4I-II (December 1, 2016): 561–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.30541/v55i4i-iipp.561-588.
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The study used data from 3298 food crop growers in Pakistan. Potential outcome treatment effects model was applied to evaluate the impact of adaptations on household food security. A household Food Security Index (FSI) was constructed applying Principle Component Analysis (PCA). Adaptation strategies employed by the farmers in response to climate change were categorised into four groups namely: changes in sowing time (C1); input intensification (C2); water and soil conservation (C3); and changes in varieties (C4). Out of 15 mutually exclusive combinations constructed for evaluation, only 7 combinations were considered for estimating the treatment effects models because of limited number of observations in other cases. Results of only two of the 7 are discussed in the paper, as the other 5 had very small number of adapters and the impact measures shown either insignificant results or had opposite signs. The first (C1234) combined all the four, while the second (C234) combined the last three strategies. The results suggest that the households which adapted to climate changes were statistically significantly more food secure as compared to those who did not adapt. The results further show that education of the male and female heads, livestock ownership, the structure of house—both bricked and having electricity facility, crops diversification, and non-farm income are among the factors, which raise the food security of farm households and their impacts are statistically significant. The variables which are significantly negatively associated with the food security levels include age of the head of household, food expenditure management, households having less than 12.5 acres of land— defined as marginal (cultivate 6.25 to 12.5 acres). Farmers of cotton-wheat, rice-wheat, and rain-fed cropping systems are found to be more food secure as compared to the farmers working in the mixed cropping systems where farm holdings are relatively small and high use of tube-well water adding to salinity of soils. It is crucial to invest in the development of agricultural technological packages, addressing issues of climate change relevant to different ecologies and farming systems; improve research-extension-farmer linkages; enhance farmers‘ access to new technologies; improve rural infrastructure; development of weather information system linking meteorological department, extension and farmers; and establishment of targeted food safety nets as well as farm subsidy programs for marginal farm households.
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Mason, Nicole M., T. S. Jayne, and Rhoda Mofya-Mukuka. "Zambia's input subsidy programs." Agricultural Economics 44, no. 6 (October 7, 2013): 613–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/agec.12077.
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Jumbe, Charles Blessings Laurence, and Wanangwa Hawire Nyambose. "Does Conservation Agriculture Enhance Household Food Security? Evidence from Smallholder Farmers in Nkhotakota in Malawi." Sustainable Agriculture Research 5, no. 1 (February 1, 2016): 118. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/sar.v5n1p118.
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<p>The paper identified factors that influence the adoption and contribution of conservation agriculture (CA) on household food security using household-level data collected in 2010 from Nkhotakota District, Central Malawi where Total Land Care (TLC) a local Non-governmental Organization (NGO) has been promoting CA. To determine factors that influence adoption of CA, a Probit regression model was used. Then, the paper compared estimated production function between adopters and non- adopters of CA. The Probit results show that age and education level of the household head, number of extension visits, and land holding size are important factors that influence farmers’ adoption of CA in the study area. Further results showed that CA adopters had more than 50% higher maize production than that of non-adopters from the Cobb-Douglas production estimates. From the findings, there should be improvement in the delivery of extension services in the promotion and dissemination of agricultural technology to foster wider adoption and improve food security status in the study areas. This can be achieved through increased number of extension workers, increase number of demonstrations when introducing CA technology and improved access to formal education. Our overall results show consistently that CA adopters are better off than non-adopters in various aspects such as maize production, per capita maize requirements and meal frequency. As such, the promoting and up-scaling of CA technologies to smallholder farmers should be intensified as an effective strategy for addressing household food insecurity than the promotion of chemical fertilizers use through programs such as the Farm Inputs Subsidy Program, which is not only unsustainable, but also inappropriate for poor resource farmers.</p>
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Azumah, Shaibu Baanni, and Abraham Zakaria. "Fertilizer Subsidy and Rice Productivity in Ghana: A Microeconomic Study." Journal of Agricultural Studies 7, no. 1 (February 20, 2019): 82. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/jas.v7i1.14367.
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Across Africa, agricultural productivity continues to decline due to poor soil fertility. Smallholder farmers have less access to fertilizers to improve yields. Past and present governments in Ghana have made some efforts to raise productivity and to deepen the economic and social potentials of the agricultural sector by implementing fertilizer subsidy programs. Using data from 543 smallholder rice farmers in northern Ghana, we estimated both endogenous switching regression and treatment effect models to examine the factors that influenced participation in fertilizer subsidy programs, and rice productivity differences among beneficiary and non-beneficiary farmers. This was to address heterogeneity and biases stemming from unobservable characteristics at farm and farmer levels. Farmers’ participation in fertilizer subsidy programs was influenced by age, sex, education, farm size, membership of Farmer-Based Organization (FBO), access to media, knowledge of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices, farm to market distance and herbicides application. Productivity of rice was mainly influenced by age, knowledge of integrated SWC, seed and herbicides usage. The outcomes from the treatment effect model revealed a negatively and significant effect of fertilizer subsidy on rice productivity. It is recommended that ways to improve the effectiveness of the fertilizer subsidy policy and distributional mechanisms to farmers should be given much attention to unlock the agricultural potential of Ghana.
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Hoque, Asraul. "Allocative Efficiency and Input Subsidy in Asian Agriculture." Pakistan Development Review 32, no. 1 (March 1, 1993): 87–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.30541/v32i1pp.87-99.
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In this paper, input subsidies (fertiliser subsidies to be exact) have been related to the allocative efficiency of fertiliser input. Fertiliser was singled out not to ignore other inputs but to emphasise the fact that fertiliser accounts for at least 30 percent of the total farm expenditure in most of Asia, and the rest of the expense is accounted for by labour (which is primarily family labour). The regression results are based on a sample survey data of 150 farms of Khulna Division (Bangladesh) for the year 1986-87. We have first estimated a production function based on Hoque (1991) and then calculated the efficiency indices based on the estimated parameters of the production function. In the second stage regression, different farm sizes were regressed on efficiency indices which showed an overall inverse relationship (that is, the smaller the farm size, the higher the efficiency). This tendency is observed upto the size of 10 acres in case of fertiliser input. Thus, the farms upto the size of 10 acres should be subsidised to promote efficiency in production. However, if the selective subsidy programme is difficult to administer, 'one hundred percent subsidy may be worthwhile. It is argued that the withdrawal of the fertiliser subsidy will reduce efficiency and have an adverse impact on employment and output in the rural sector of Asia. The IFPRI (1987) study on Indonesia also clearly indicates this. Some indicative discussions in Section II and Section V support the statistical results in favour of fertiliser subsidy.
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Bista, Diwas Raj, Sujan Dhungel, and Santosh Adhikari. "Status of fertilizer and seed subsidy in Nepal: review and recommendation." Journal of Agriculture and Environment 17 (May 7, 2018): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v17i0.19854.
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The study focuses on the review of existing programs and policies regarding input subsidy in Nepal especially in seeds and fertilizers. The study aims to review timeline in subsidy programs, budget details and progress based on the gleaning of the secondary information available in the Ministry of Agricultural Development. The assured budget allocation for chemical fertilizers subsidy has led to increment in consumption over the years. Nepal spent 52.29 billion Nepali Rupees in importing chemical fertilizers and 23.19 billion in subsidy in last seven years. Nepal Government has also been promoting organic fertilizers however, the subsidy allocated to this program has not been able to take the pace. Seed subsidy program has been found to be impressive; however, it is confined to wheat and paddy only. The subsidy program is targeted mainly to the small and marginal farmers. The seed subsidy program should be expanded to pulses and oilseed crops as well. The organic fertilizers should be promoted to maintain long-term soil health. Inputs subsidy policy and programs should cover all farmer categories.
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Wirakusuma, Gilang. "IS INPUT SUBSIDY STILL USEFUL FOR INDONESIAN AGRICULTURE?" Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan 28, no. 1 (June 30, 2020): 17–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.14203/jep.28.1.2020.17-28.
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Government policies in the form of input subsidies have become an essential instrument for improving the performance of the agricultural sector and overcoming the limitations of resources owned by farmers. However, there are still questions about how effective this policy can be in boosting agricultural performance. This study aims to examine the impact of channeling input subsidies on agricultural productivity. Using the 2014 Agricultural Census microdata, 26,079 rice farm households were included in the analysis. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) is used to examine the impact of input subsidies on agricultural productivity represented by the productivity of rice farming. PSM was chosen because it can overcome the selection bias that could potentially arise in the analysis process. The analysis showed that the PSM model succeeded in reducing bias and confirmed that input subsidies had a significant effect on the productivity of rice farming. Thus, the input subsidy policy is an important and relevant instructor to improve the performance of the agricultural sector.
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Ricker‐Gilbert, Jacob, Thomas Jayne, and Gerald Shively. "Addressing the “Wicked Problem” of Input Subsidy Programs in Africa." Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 35, no. 2 (February 12, 2013): 322–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppt001.
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Widhiyanto, Iman, Nunung Nuryartono, Harianto Harianto, and Hermanto Siregar. "The Impact of Microcredit Interest Subsidy Accessibility on Paddy Farms' Performance." Jurnal Ekonomi Pembangunan: Kajian Masalah Ekonomi dan Pembangunan 19, no. 1 (May 9, 2018): 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.23917/jep.v19i1.5505.
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Capital is required in farm to buy input such as fertilizer, pesticide, seed, land rent, labor wage, and to adopt the latest technology. To ease the burden of loan interest and to increase the access of farm to formal credit, the government provides interest subsidy for Food Security and Energy Credit (Kredit Ketahanan Pangan dan Energi, KKP-E). This study was aimed to analyze the impact of accessing KKP-E on paddy farms’ performance. The methods used in this study are descriptive analysis and propensity score matching model. Accessibility of KKP-E in research location was able to increase fertilizer use of 16.98 percent, pesticide use of 40.23 percent, labor outside farm household use of 43.08 percent, production of 58 percent, productivity of 23.64 percent, and farm profit of 84.5 percent. This quite high increase in percentage was due to the reason that farm business scale in this study was categorized as small-scale business.
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Ashra, Sunil, and Malini Chakravarty. "Input Subsidies to Agriculture: Case of Subsidies to Fertiliser Industry across Countries." Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective 11, no. 3 (July 2007): 35–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/097226290701100305.
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The fertiliser industry in developing countries is facing challenge and uncertain future due to their commitments to the WTO. This is part of the reason that the developing countries are pushing for reducing of subsidies given by the developed countries to their agriculture which is much bigger making the subsidies to agriculture becoming a contentious issue in the WTO negotiations. Some of the subsidies are accepted in the WTO context whereas the others are not. In India the farm sector subsidies are given in the form of irrigation, electricity, fertilisers etc. By far the fertiliser and food subsidies are the most significant amounting to about US$9.3 billion in 2004 (less than 0.5 percent of GDP). Thus, while from the WTO point of view, it is not necessary to reduce fertiliser subsidy in India. However, because of the WTO commitments, quantitative restrictions in this sector had to be removed by the end of March 2001 in India. Cheaper imports have been threatening the domestic industry specially the units that do not use gas as feedstock. In the short run domestic companies may enjoy the protection of differential subsidy in some form or the other. But in the long run they will have to compete on a stand-alone basis. This paper examines the experience and impact of fertiliser subsidy across various countries and shows that it is a common tool to promote farm production. But the evidence shows that the fertiliser subsidy tends to benefit the rich farmers more than the poor farmers. The study examines the different approaches used by the policymakers to reach the targeted farmers. In this context the paper records the evidence from some countries where the fertiliser industry has come forward and complemented the policymakers' efforts to meet this objective and in the process ensured their better future.
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Jayne, Thomas S., Nicole M. Mason, William J. Burke, and Joshua Ariga. "Review: Taking stock of Africa’s second-generation agricultural input subsidy programs." Food Policy 75 (February 2018): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.01.003.
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Murtiningrum, Fery, Putri Suci Asriani, and Redy Badrudin. "ANALISIS DAYA SAING USAHATANI KOPI ROBUSTA (COFFEA CANEPHORA) DI KABUPATEN REJANG LEBONG." Jurnal AGRISEP 13, no. 1 (March 1, 2014): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.31186/jagrisep.13.1.1-14.
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The research objectives are to 1) analyse the competitive advantage of robusta coffee farm in Rejang Lebong Regency, 2) analyse the comparative advantage of robusta coffee farm in Rejang Lebong Regency, 3) analyse the impact of government policy toward competitive robusta coffee in Rejang Lebong Regency, 4) analyse the sensitivity of competitive of robusta coffee toward the changing of input-output. The areas of the research are selected by purposive method. It considered that Rejang Lebong is one of regency in Bengkulu that is have been planted robusta coffee from one generation to others and makes coffee become superior commodity. Selecting sample is done by using stratified random sampling method. The sample is 32 respondents. The result analysis is using Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM). The research result shows that robusta coffee in Rejang Lebong has high competition (competitive advantage and comparative advantage). It is known that DRCR value is smaller than one, about 0,37 and 0,23. The impact of government policy toward input of the result analysis using PAM method is IT value is negative Rp.1.197.108/ha/year. Input Transfer (IT) value describes the policy (subsidy or tax) happened in tradable input production. IT value is negative for robusta coffee farm. It indicates that there is a policy subsidy toward tradable (anorganic fertilizer) input production in coffee farm. That is an advantage for coffee farmer. For output, IT value factor is positive 10.296. It indicates that there is a government policy toward domestic input such as tax. The input-output policy doesn’t work effectively or support or protect the coffee farmer in Rejang Lebong. The government policy is applied in coffee trade, so it causes coffee farmer doesn’t accept the price of coffee as social price. The sensitivity analysis result shows that robusta coffee farm has good competitive (competitive advantages and comparative). The factor assumption is constant with PCR and DRCR value less than one. Combination sensitivity analysis shows that input and output changing is caused by the decreasing of robusta coffee farmer competitive in Rejang Lebong. It is shown in competitive advantage with the PCR value more than one, about 2,43 and comparative advantage with DRCR value smaller than one, about 0,44. Keywords: Robusta Coffee, PAM, Competitive, Comparative
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Mhango, Jarret, and Jan Dick. "Analysis of fertilizer subsidy programs and ecosystem services in Malawi." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 26, no. 3 (January 13, 2011): 200–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170510000517.
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AbstractThis paper evaluates the delivery of ecosystem services under different regimes of agricultural input subsidy in post-independent Malawi using (1) the protocol of the Millennium Ecosystem Service to characterize the services; and (2) the panarchy framework to describe the relationships among the political regimes, economic growth [gross domestic product (GDP)] and food security. Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems that support, directly or indirectly, human survival and quality of life. Panarchy is a nested set of adaptive cycles that provides a tool to explore the conductivity of ecological and social-cultural systems. The Malawian temporal political landscape has experienced several reorganizations since independence, in which the governments of Malawi have initiated socio-economic growth of the economy through implementation of different farmer input subsidy programs with variable success. The most recent agricultural subsidy program (2005–2009) appears to have shown an improvement in food security for the people of Malawi. However, this may be at the expense of an increased rate of decline in other ecosystem services, especially arable land resources and forestry. If agricultural subsidies continue to be implemented without a holistic understanding of all ecosystem services delivered to the whole country, then the system will be unsustainable. We recommend the ecosystem service approach and the panarchy framework as potentially useful tools for policy makers.
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Han, Xinru, Ping Xue, and Ningning Zhang. "Impact of Grain Subsidy Reform on the Land Use of Smallholder Farms: Evidence from Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in China." Land 10, no. 9 (September 3, 2021): 929. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land10090929.
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Smallholder farms have played an essential role in agricultural production and food security. In order to increase farm size, the Chinese government announced a reform of the grain subsidy program in 2015. Under the reform, 20% of the aggregate input subsidy, as well as the pilot subsidy to large-scale farmers and the incremental part of the agricultural support and protection subsidy budget, were used to support increasing farm size. This study evaluated the impact of China’s grain subsidy reform on the land use of smallholder farms to investigate whether the reform achieved its goal. Based on 2063 samples obtained from the 2013–2015 Survey for Agriculture and Village Economy data in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, we conducted a difference-in-difference model to solve the problem of missing counterfactual states in policy evaluation. Farms from Henan and Shandong were assigned to the treatment group, and farms from Hebei were assigned to the control group. The results revealed that the average treatment effect on the treated of the impact of the grain subsidy reform on the wheat-sown area was −25% (0.10 ha). Furthermore, there was heterogeneity in regard to the subsidy reform effects in different sown-area groups. The reform had the most significant impact on the smallest farmers. We also found that China’s grain subsidy reform had a significant and positive effect on the amount of outflow land area, while the impact of subsidy reform on land tenure was insignificant. Our findings suggest that while encouraging large-scale farms, it is necessary to take into account farmers’ small-scale operations and gradually promote the transformation of small-scale operations to large-scale operations. The Chinese government should strengthen the supervision of land use to achieve the goal of ensuring food security.
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Hanson, James C., Dale M. Johnson, Steven E. Peters, and Rhonda R. Janke. "The Profitability of Sustainable Agriculture on a Representative Grain Farm in the Mid-Atlantic Region, 1981–89." Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 19, no. 2 (October 1990): 90–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0899367x00002154.
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A long-term whole-farm analysis compared conventional and low-input farming systems. Data from a nine-year agronomic study at the Rodale Research Farm, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, were used to analyze profitability, liquidity, solvency, and risk on a representative commercial grain farm. Conventional and low-input farms participating in government programs are the most profitable scenarios, followed by conventional and low-input farms not participating in government programs. All farms increased their net worth. The low-input approach is advantageous for risk-averse farmers using a safety-first criterion.
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Jayne, T. S., and Shahidur Rashid. "Input subsidy programs in sub-Saharan Africa: a synthesis of recent evidence." Agricultural Economics 44, no. 6 (September 25, 2013): 547–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/agec.12073.
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Asfaw, Solomon, Andrea Cattaneo, Giacomo Pallante, and Alessandro Palma. "Improving the efficiency targeting of Malawi's farm input subsidy programme: Big pain, small gain?" Food Policy 73 (December 2017): 104–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.09.004.
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Wirakusuma, Gilang, and Irham Irham. "Can Credit Program Improve Agricultural Productivity? Evidence from Indonesia." E3S Web of Conferences 232 (2021): 01006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202123201006.
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Agricultural credit is a vital policy in improving farm performance since agricultural households face financial constraints in their business. This study aims to: (1) examine the impact of credit s on agricultural productivity while investigating the difference in impact generated by loans originating from governmental program loans and nonprogram loans and; (2) identify the characteristics of farm households that influence the use of credit in their business. This study employed cross-sectional micro-data at the household level drawn from the 2013 Indonesian Agricultural Census, in which 86,922 rice farm households were randomly selected as the research sample. The model was examined by using Two-Stage Least Square to avoid the selectivity bias. Results show that credit originated from government programs has a small impact on agricultural productivity, although the significant correlation appears. Furthermore, the use of credit, both government programs, and non-programs are determined by socio-economic aspects, agricultural subsidy, perceptions on risks, and perception on-farm profitability. Based on the results, the provision of credit to agricultural activities has to be supported by the provision of supporting incentives, such as agricultural counseling and irrigation facilities, in order to boost agricultural productivity effectively.
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Ahovi, Emmanuel, Kevin Schneider, and Alfons Oude Lansink. "Technical inefficiency of Dutch vegetable farms: Specific-input analyses." PLOS ONE 16, no. 4 (April 23, 2021): e0250494. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250494.
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Differences in technical efficiency across farms are one of the major factors explaining differences in farm survival and growth and changes in farm industry structure. This study employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compute technical inefficiency scores for output, energy, materials, pesticides and fertiliser of a sample of Dutch indoor vegetable farms within the period 2006–2016. A bootstrap truncated regression model is used to determine statistical associations between producer-specific characteristics and technical inefficiency scores for the specified inputs. For the sample of indoor growers, the average technical inefficiency was about 14% for energy, 23% for materials, 24% for pesticides and 22% for fertilisers. The bootstrap truncated regression suggested that the degree of specialisation exerts adverse effects on the technical inefficiency of variable inputs. While age, short-term, long-term debt and subsidy were statistically significant, the coefficients were not economically significant. Building the capacity of farmers to reduce input inefficiency will enable farmers to be competitive and reduce the adverse effects of input overuse on the environment.
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Nkhoma, Peter R. "The evolution of agricultural input subsidy programs: contextualizing policy debates in Malawi’s FISP." World Development Perspectives 9 (March 2018): 12–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2017.12.002.
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Key, Nigel. "Off-farm Income, Credit Constraints, and Farm Investment." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 52, no. 4 (November 2020): 642–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aae.2020.25.
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AbstractMany farmers face borrowing limits that depend on their household income and net worth. Given such credit constraints, an increase in off-farm income should allow farmers to borrow more, thus influencing production decisions and productivity. To test this hypothesis, the education level of the farm operator’s spouse is used to identify exogenous variation in off-farm income. Findings indicate that higher off-farm income leads to more borrowing, capital expenditures, capital input intensity, farm labor use, output, farm income, and productivity. Results suggest that Federal programs that promote access to credit for limited-resource farmers may increase farm investment and productivity.
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Gupta, Shweta, Avinash Kishore, Muzna Fatima Alvi, and Vartika Singh. "Designing better input support programs: Lessons from zinc subsidies in Andhra Pradesh, India." PLOS ONE 15, no. 12 (December 3, 2020): e0242161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242161.
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India has one of the largest agricultural input support programs in the world, delivered in the form of subsidies to farmers, raising concerns about its sustainability. This paper evaluates the performance of one such support, the micronutrient subsidy program in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and presents a case for providing this support in the form of direct cash transfers. Under the program, key soil micronutrients- zinc, boron, and gypsum were distributed free of cost to farmers living in micronutrient-deficient areas, with identification and targeting managed entirely by the state. We survey 1621 farmers, 61 agriculture extension officers, and 78 agriculture input dealers to assess the efficacy of the program and to identify bottlenecks preventing effective targeting, with a focus on zinc. We find that use of non-subsidized zinc is high in AP, and awareness of benefits of zinc and physical access to input dealer shops are significant predictors of zinc use. We argue that the free provision of micronutrients may have created demand among farmers, but there is little justification to continue subsidizing such a program at such high rates or resorting to public distribution. We find that micronutrient procurement and distribution has become a burden on extension staff and crowds out the private sector. Our analysis shows that the subsidy can benefit more farmers if it is channeled through the network of private fertilizer dealers. We use administrative data on budgetary outlays and digital soil maps to suggest fiscal redistribution in the form of direct cash transfers that may ensure more effective targeting at a lower cost to the state.
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Bardhan, Pranab, and Dilip Mookherjee. "Subsidized Farm Input Programs and Agricultural Performance: A Farm-Level Analysis of West Bengal's Green Revolution, 1982–1995." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3, no. 4 (October 1, 2011): 186–214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/app.3.4.186.
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We examine the role of delivery of subsidized seeds and fertilizers in the form of agricultural minikits by local governments in three successive farm panels in West Bengal spanning 1982–1995. These programs significantly raised farm value added per acre, accounting for almost two-thirds of the observed growth. The estimates are robust to possible endogeneity of program placement, controls for farm and year effects, other programs of agricultural development, local weather, and price shocks. The effects of the kits delivery program overshadowed the effects of other rural development programs, including the tenancy registration program Operation Barga. (JEL O13, Q12, Q16, Q18)
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Kilic, T., E. Whitney, and P. Winters. "Decentralised Beneficiary Targeting in Large-Scale Development Programmes: Insights from the Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Programme." Journal of African Economies 24, no. 1 (October 8, 2014): 26–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jae/eju021.
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P, PRAKASH, PRAMOD KUMAR, AMIT KAR, AWANI KUMAR SINGH, and PANBUKKANI. "Economic analysis of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) under protected cultivation in Maharashtra." Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 92, no. 4 (May 18, 2022): 460–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v92i4.123966.
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Protected cultivation of high-value crops offers higher productivity which in turn increases the profitability of the farm. There are a number of schemes and programs for the promotion and development of protected cultivation in India. Maharashtra is one of the states which have successfully adopted protected cultivation. Thus, the present study estimated the profitability of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cultivation, its feasibility with and without government subsidy support and assessed price spread in marketing in Pune and Nasik districts of Maharashtra during 2018–19. Establishment cost of carnation under polyhouse was very high (`12.99 lakh for 0.1 ha) but offered higher net income (`2.22 lakh/year for 0.1 ha). Feasibility analysis in both cases: with and without subsidy for carnation cultivation is observed to be sustainable and viable. But with subsidy support, it is highly remunerative and profitableto farmers. Farmers have followed two types of marketing channels which consisted of aggregators but if we compare producer share in consumer rupee it is higher for channel I (64%) than channel II (60%). The result indicates that with subsidy support, the payback period of their investment in protected cultivation was reduced and return increased which could support higher adoption of protected cultivation among other farmers.
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Krawczyk, Józefa. "Selected Economic Issues in the Protection of Biodiversity of Farm Animals." Economic and Regional Studies / Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne 11, no. 3 (September 1, 2018): 61–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/ers-2018-0025.
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SummarySubject and purpose of work: The aim of this research was to determine changes in the population of native animal breeds and to indicate the importance of subsidies under agri-environmental programs. The study concerned the years 1999-2017.Materials and methods: The research was based on the documentation of the National Research Institute of Animal Production (PIB). An assessment of the population size of native animal breeds was carried out depending on the amount of subsidies from the national subsidy up to 2004 and from agri-environmental programs since 2005.Results: Since the integration of Poland with the European Union and the mobilization of funds from agri-environmental programs, a successive increase in the number of farm animals covered by the protection program has been noted.Conclusions: This investigation demonstrated a considerable, but not exclusive dependence of the dynamics of the growth of the livestock population covered by the protection program on the amount of subsidies for breeders. The preservation of EU subsidies through agri-environmental programs in the years to come is the basis for maintaining the upward trend in the abundance of native livestock populations. Also, a greater increase in the number of animals than in the number of new beneficiaries using agri-environmental programs was observed, and this is a situation conducive to breeding work. National surveys show that native breeds are a source of obtaining products with pro-health, regional and traditional properties, for which the demand is growing, and which can also help to protect the biodiversity of farm animals.
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Kumar, Santosh, and Md Alamgir. "Constraints of Farm Mechanization and Subsidies Distribution in the Agriculture Sector of Bihar." MUDRA: Journal of Finance and Accounting 9, no. 2 (2022): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.17492/jpi.mudra.v9i2.922201.
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Farm mechanization in agriculture can play an important role in boosting food production with limited resources. The advantages of agricultural mechanization should be made available to all types of farmers, paying special attention to small and marginal farmers. The goal of the current study was to analyze the constraints to farm mechanization and the farm equipment subsidies program in Bihar's agriculture sector. Primary data have been collected by using the questionnaire method, from a total of 210 farmers of the Begusarai district of Bihar based on multistage sampling. The data were analyzed using the Garret ranking method. Results indicate that the large majority of respondents have chosen to give rank 1 to the constraint of ‘small and fragmented land holding’, followed by ‘high initial cost’ (rank 2) and lack of financial resources and credit facilities (rank 3). The study focuses on increasing the scope for farm mechanization through farm equipment subsidy programs and custom hiring services. Thus, the outcomes of the study will be helpful for policymakers for an effective distribution management system.
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Pellegrini, Pedro, and Roberto J. Fernández. "Crop intensification, land use, and on-farm energy-use efficiency during the worldwide spread of the green revolution." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 10 (February 20, 2018): 2335–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717072115.
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We analyzed crop production, physical inputs, and land use at the country level to assess technological changes behind the threefold increase in global crop production from 1961 to 2014. We translated machinery, fuel, and fertilizer to embedded energy units that, when summed up, provided a measure of agricultural intensification (human subsidy per hectare) for crops in the 58 countries responsible for 95% of global production. Worldwide, there was a 137% increase in input use per hectare, reaching 13 EJ, or 2.6% of the world’s primary energy supply, versus only a 10% increase in land use. Intensification was marked in Asia and Latin America, where input-use levels reached those that North America and Europe had in the earlier years of the period; the increase was more accentuated, irrespective of continent, for the 12 countries with mostly irrigated production. Half of the countries (28/58), mainly developed ones, had an average subsidy >5 GJ/ha/y (with fertilizers accounting for 27% in 1961 and 45% in 2014), with most of them (23/28) using about the same area or less than in 1961 (net land sparing of 31 Mha). Most of the remaining countries (24/30 with inputs <5 GJ/ha/y), mainly developing ones, increased their cropped area (net land extensification of 135 Mha). Overall, energy-use efficiency (crop output/inputs) followed a U-shaped trajectory starting at about 3 and finishing close to 4. The prospects of a more sustainable intensification are discussed, and the inadequacy of the land-sparing model expectation of protecting wilderness via intensified agriculture is highlighted.
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Ashari, Hasim, Imam Mujahidin Fahmid, M. Saleh S. Ali, Daniel Useng, Rangga D. Yofa, Resty Puspa Perdana, Valeriana Darwis, Sudi Mardianto, Sri Hery Susilowati, and Kurnia Suci Indraningsih. "Policy urgency and development of the highest retail price (HRP) of subsidised fertilizer." E3S Web of Conferences 316 (2021): 02037. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202131602037.
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Fertilizer price subsidies aim to increase the purchasing power of poor farmers in order to increase their productivity and farm income. This study aims to analyze the urgency of the fertilizer subsidy policy, and the development of the subsidized fertilizer HET ratio and the price of grain at the farmer level. The study was conducted in West Java Province, 2020. The data used include primary data and secondary data. Data analysis was carried out quantitatively and descriptively qualitatively. The results showed that the fertilizer subsidy policy was given to farmers who farmed a maximum of 2 hectares per season. In Indonesia, the total number of households using land with a scale of < 2 ha reaches 89%, which are small farmers and require input subsidies. Furthermore, the ratio of output prices to urea fertilizer (2012-2021) tends to increase by 0.97%/year. This shows that the development of subsidized fertilizer prices is relatively small compared to the development of government purchasing prices for paddy. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of fertilizer use and maintain the volume of subsidized fertilizer in the midst of a limited fertilizer subsidy budget, efforts must be made to be more targeted and efficient.
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Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob, Nicole M. Mason, Francis A. Darko, and Solomon T. Tembo. "What are the effects of input subsidy programs on maize prices? Evidence from Malawi and Zambia." Agricultural Economics 44, no. 6 (September 24, 2013): 671–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/agec.12081.
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Chinsinga, Blessings, and Colin Poulton. "Beyond Technocratic Debates: The Significance and Transience of Political Incentives in the Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP)." Development Policy Review 32, s2 (September 12, 2014): s123—s150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12079.
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Kusunose, Yoko, Nicole Mason-Wardell, and Solomon Tembo. "The Role of Liquidity in Preventing Dis-investment in Crop Inputs: Evidence from Zambia." Journal of African Economies 29, no. 4 (March 3, 2020): 375–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejz031.
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Abstract Despite the current focus on asset smoothing, very few studies consider how seasonal crop input decisions are affected by income shocks. If households cope with ‘bad’ harvests by cutting back on production inputs in the following seasons, they are likely to be slowing down their economic recovery. If such shocks increase in frequency, the ability to recover quickly becomes critical. This study posits that access to liquidity sources plays a role in determining a household’s investments in crop inputs following low-harvest years. Using nationally representative, household-level panel survey data from rural Zambia, we test for differential effects—by household liquidity level—of rainfall shocks on input investments in own-farm production. We estimate semi-elasticities, with respect to these shocks, of four maize inputs: basal fertilizer, top dressing fertilizer, improved maize seed and area planted to maize. Crucially, we allow the magnitude of these input adjustments to differ by household liquidity indicators, as measured by chickens, small livestock (sheep, goats, pigs), cattle, off-farm income and access to fertilizer subsidies. Our findings suggest that rainfall shocks negatively affect the use of some maize inputs. Importantly, households with cattle and access to the national fertilizer subsidy program show significantly smaller reductions in the use of mineral fertilizer. Curiously, we also observe that households with poultry and small livestock reduce their fertilizer use even more than those without.
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Fleming, Malcolm H. "Agricultural chemicals in ground water: Preventing contamination by removing barriers against low-input farm management." American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 2, no. 3 (1987): 124–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0889189300001776.
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AbstractAgricultural pesticides and fertilizers have contaminated ground water in areas throughout the U.S. This contamination may adversely affect more than 50 million people. The cost of monitoring to determine the extent of ground water contamination in vulnerable areas is likely to exceed one billion dollars. To reduce the possibility of contamination farmers can adopt “low-input” production methods. Unfortunately, several factors inhibit farmers from adopting low-input methods. These factors include the tendency of farmers to ignore the external costs of agrichemical use, especially environmental damage, the lack of up-to-date information describing low-input farming techniques, and government support programs that indirectly discourage farmers from adopting low-input methods. The federal government can take several steps to eliminate these obstacles. Farm support programs can be changed to eliminate incentives that encourage heavy agrichemical use and to require more stringent environmental compliance to be eligible for program benefits. Taxes can be imposed on agrichemicals to offset their external costs and to provide new funds for research on alternatives. Finally, current agricultural research priorities can be shifted to emphasize low-input production methods.
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Lee, Tzong-Haw, Brian Lee, Yi-Ju Su, and Hung-Hao Chang. "Are There Any Undesired Effects of Anti-Land Fragmentation Programs on Farm Production Practices and Farm Input Use?" Land 10, no. 2 (February 1, 2021): 138. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land10020138.
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Most policies designed to reduce land fragmentation involve land consolidation. However, research examining the relationship between agricultural zoning and land fragmentation has not yet been explored. This paper considers the causal impact of an anti-land fragmentation policy on farmland use and farm production inputs relevant to environmental quality using a population-based census survey of farm households in Taiwan. Using the regression discontinuity method, we found that the anti-land fragmentation policy reduced the proportion of farmland used in farm production and environmental conservation by 2.4% and 2.6%, respectively. The policy also impacted the proportion of farmland using fertilizers, irrigation systems, and underground water. Our results show that anti-land fragmentation policies must be carefully designed to avoid negatively impacting farmland use and the environment.
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Paulson, Nicholas, Gary Schnitkey, and Patrick Kelly. "Evaluating the marginal risk management benefits of the supplemental coverage option." Agricultural Finance Review 76, no. 3 (September 5, 2016): 411–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/afr-03-2016-0022.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the risk management benefits provided by the supplemental coverage option (SCO) insurance plan which was created in the 2014 Farm Bill. Specifically, the marginal expected utility benefits are compared with the potential additional subsidy cost introduced by the new program for a stylized example of a corn producer. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a stylized simulation model examines the preferred insurance program choice for a typical Midwestern corn farmer. The expected utility of the farmer is calculated under their preferred insurance program choice both with and without the availability of the SCO program, and compared to the case where crop insurance is not available. Scenarios are examined for a range of farmer risk aversion levels, different levels of correlation between farm-level and county-level corn yields, and case with and without insurance premium subsidies. Findings The SCO program is found to enter into the preferred insurance program choice for risk averse farmers. As risk aversion increases, farmers are estimated to prefer higher coverage levels for individual products along with SCO coverage. While the availability of existing crop insurance programs are shown to substantially increase the expected utility of farmers, the marginal impact of adding SCO to the crop insurance program is relatively small. Furthermore, the additional expected benefits generated by SCO are shown to include both risk management and expected return components. With subsidies removed, the estimated marginal benefits provided by SCO are reduced significantly. Practical implications The findings of this paper can help inform the policy debate for future farm bills as agricultural support programs continue to evolve. The results in this paper can also be used to help explain farm-level decision making related to crop insurance program choices. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by documenting a new, federally supported risk management programs made available to farmers in the 2014 Farm Bill and evaluates the marginal benefits the SCO program offers US crop producers.
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Lee, Linda K. "A perspective on the economic impacts of reducing agricultural chemical use." American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 7, no. 1-2 (June 1992): 82–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0889189300004513.
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AbstractAdoption of agricultural practices that reduce or eliminate chemical use creates tradeoffs among yields and output, production costs and net income at the farm level. If widespread adoption is to occur, potential improvements in human health and the environment from reduced chemical use must be weighed against effects on aggregate farm income and consumer food prices. At present, these tradeoffs are subject to considerable debate.I review available farm level and aggregate economic studies of reductions in total agricultural chemical use. At the farm level, available studies suggest that organic and low-input farming systems result in declines in per acre yields and in lower net returns than most conventional farming systems, although the studies do indicate that net returns for the two systems can be comparable under some conditions. Several studies suggest that low-input systems perform well with respect to risk criteria. I also discuss the potential influence of government programs on the profitability of some low-input farming systems.All aggregate economic models conclude that widespread adoption of organic farming would result in decreased yields, decreased aggregate output, increased farm income, and large increases in consumer prices. These models have limitations, however. Recommendations are made for further economic research of the impacts of reducing agricultural chemical use at both the farm and aggregate levels.
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Roberts, Wayne S., and Scott M. Swinton. "The Profitability of Sustainable Agriculture on a Representative Grain Farm in the Mid-Atlantic Region, 1981–89: Comment." Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 24, no. 1 (April 1995): 136–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1068280500003695.
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A long term whole farm analysis comparing conventional and low-input farming systems is reviewed. A computational error led to the mistaken conclusion that conventional farming with government programs is less preferred by risk-averse farmers than the low input alternative. The greater income variance of conventional agriculture need not make it less preferred provided a higher mean income sufficiently offsets the higher variance.
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Anyanwu, SO. "Determinants of aggregate agricultural productivity among high external input technology farms in a harsh macroeconomic environment of Imo state, Nigeria." African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 13, no. 60 (December 23, 2013): 8238–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.60.10955.
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The main purpose of this study was to isolate and discuss the determinants of aggregate agricultural productivity in an environment where policy on subsidy of fertilizer is inconsistent. The study examined determinants of aggregate agricultural productivity among HEIT farmers in Imo State, in order to provide information on those variables that play significant roles in determining the aggregate agricultural productivity in an environment where HEIT inputs such as inorganic fertilizer are not subsidized. Cross - sectional data generated from 80 smallholder farmers who practiced HEIT, randomly selected from 2 out of the 3 agricultural zones in Imo State were used. Multiple regressions was used in analyzing the data. Results showed that farm sizes, capital input, number of crops planted in a mixture in the farm, labour input, expenditure on planting materials, non farm income, distance to the nearest market, level of education and farming experience are the statistically significant determinants of aggregate agricultural productivity among HEIT users in a harsh macroeconomic environment of Imo State, Nigeria. The negative sign on man days of labour and expenditure on planting materials may suggest that a reduction in the current level of use of these inputs may increase aggregate agricultural productivity in Imo state. The negative sign associated with non farm income may imply that if more time is allotted to non farm activities less time would be available for allocation to farming activities which may reduce aggregate agricultural productivity. It is, therefore, recommended that appropriate policies be put in place by the government to increase the farm sizes through re-examination of the existing land laws. Credit liberalization in favour of HEIT farmers is expected to increase their labour and capital inputs while mass literacy and increase in extension contacts will increase their level of education. Credit facilities for the smallholder farmers should be skewed in favour of farmers with more years of farming experience and levels of education. Furthermore, improved planting materials should be made available to the HEIT smallholder farmers in the country, if aggregate agricultural productivity is to be increased under the prevailing macroeconomic environment.
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Young, Douglas L., and Kathleen M. Painter. "Farm program impacts on incentives for green manure rotations." American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 5, no. 3 (September 1990): 99–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0889189300003398.
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AbstractFarm programs influence the profitability of a crop rotation through five effects: (1) a deficiency payment (DP) effect, (2) an acreage reduction (ARP) effect, (3) a base effect, (4) a crop price effect, and (5) a risk reduction effect. This study initially examines ARP and DP effects of the 1985 Farm Bill on the relative profitability of a low-input rotation and a grain-intensive conventional rotation in Washington state over 1986–1990. In years of low deficiency payments or high foregone returns from ARP land, the low-input green manure rotation was competitive with the conventional rotation but lost its advantage in years of low ARP costs or high deficiency payments. Long-runincentives to maintain wheat base introduced a consistent bias against the low-input green manure rotation. Planting flexibility options proposed during the 1990 Farm Bill debate could reduce farm program barriers to green manure and other low-input rotations. The Bush Administration's Normal Crop Acreage (NCA) proposal, which was not accepted in the 1990 legislation, would have largely eliminated base erosion for the green manure rotation in this study. More importantly, non-ARP green manure acreage would have qualified for deficiency payments under the NCA, thereby sharply increasing the low-input rotation's relative profitability. Proposals like the NCA might receive further attention in the future due to environmental concerns, fiscal pressures, or possible trade agreements requiring multilateral phaseout of agricultural subsidies coupled to commodities.
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CHIBWANA, CHRISTOPHER, CHARLES B. L. JUMBE, and GERALD SHIVELY. "Agricultural subsidies and forest clearing in Malawi." Environmental Conservation 40, no. 1 (August 16, 2012): 60–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892912000252.
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SUMMARYForests are an important source of environmental services and livelihoods in Africa, thus it is important to determine potential drivers of forest loss. Over recent decades, forest cover has been declining steadily in Malawi. This paper attempts to evaluate the influence of agricultural input subsidies on forest conversion in Malawi. A two-stage regression model analysis of 2009 farm survey data from Chimaliro and Liwonde Forest reserves in Kasungu and Machinga districts, respectively, did not reveal direct evidence of policy-induced forest clearing for agricultural expansion. Instead, subsidy-induced agricultural intensification of food crops, especially maize, appeared to have reduced the rate and extent of forest clearing among households in Malawi compared with households not benefiting from subsidies. However, indirect negative impacts on forests arose due to offtake of trees to construct drying sheds for tobacco, a local cash crop. These findings have implications for designing strategies for simultaneously conserving forests while promoting food security in rural areas, and shed light on the direct and indirect effects of input subsidies.
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Woodward, J. E., T. B. Brenneman, R. C. Kemerait, A. K. Culbreath, and N. B. Smith. "On-Farm Evaluations of Reduced Input Fungicide Programs in Peanut Fields with Low, Moderate, or High Levels of Disease Risk." Peanut Science 41, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 50–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.3146/ps11-23r2.1.
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ABSTRACT In 2003, 2004, and 2005 standard and reduced input fungicide programs were evaluated throughout the peanut production region of Georgia for control of early leaf spot (Cercospora arachidicola), late leaf spot (Cercosporidium personatum), and southern stem rot (Sclerotium rolfsii). Disease risk was determined for each field based on the cultural practices implemented and ranged from low to high. Six to eight fungicide applications were made in the standard programs, versus three to six applications in reduced programs. Leaf spot ratings were higher for the reduced programs in five of the fourteen trials with substantial defoliation occurring in one trial. Overall, southern stem rot control for the reduced programs was equal to or better than that for the standard program, which could be attributed to the differences in fungicide selection or timing. Pod yields for the reduced programs were equal to or greater than the standard programs in all but one trial. Net returns were higher for the reduced programs in half of the trials; however, the reduced program resulted in lower net returns in one trial in 2004. Our results indicate that reduced input fungicide programs can be used to adequately manage fungal diseases of peanut without compromising yield or profitability, and that the use of cultivars with moderate levels of disease resistance may enhance disease control.