The Experts below are selected from a list of 60585 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Charles F Nicholson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Smallholder dairying under transactions costs in east africa
1997Co-Authors: Steven J Staal, Christopher L Delgado, Charles F NicholsonAbstract:Abstract It is argued that dairying is vital to future viability of many Small Farms in East Africa and that high transactions costs for dairy production and marketing limit participation by asset- and information-poor Smallholders. Case studies from Kenya and Ethiopia illustrate the role of dairy cooperatives in reducing transactions costs. Analysis of the determinants of producer prices received by a sample of dairy producers near Addis Ababa suggests that different levels of access to infrastructure, assets, and information explain why they contemporaneously accept widely different producer prices for fluid milk.
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Smallholder dairying under transactions costs in east africa
1996Co-Authors: Steven J Staal, Christopher L Delgado, Charles F NicholsonAbstract:It is argued that dairying is vital to future viability of many Small Farms in East Africa and that high transactions costs for dairy production and marketing limit participation by asset- and information-poor Smallholders. Case studies from Kenya and Ethiopia illustrate the role of dairy cooperatives in reducing transactions costs. Analysis of the determinants of producer prices received by a sample of dairy producers near Addis Ababa suggests that different levels of access to infrastructure, assets, and information explain why different households contemporaneously accept widely different producer prices for fluid milk.
Enrique Ortega - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the use of emergy assessment and the geographical information system in the diagnosis of Small family Farms in brazil
2008Co-Authors: Feni Agostinho, Guaraci M Diniz, Raul Siche, Enrique OrtegaAbstract:Abstract In this work, emergy analysis was used in association with the Geographical Information System (GIS) in order to improve the evaluation of family-managed Farms that adopt either the ecological or the chemical production models. Three Small Farms, located in Amparo County, in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, were studied. One of them, Duas Cachoeiras farm, uses agroecological concepts for its agricultural production. The two others (Santa Helena farm and Tres Lagos farm) use the conventional chemical model. In an attempt to improve the precision of the data used in emergy analysis, the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was incorporated to the GIS tool to calculate the topsoil loss in the Farms. The GIS tool also allowed the calculation of the amount of rain water that infiltrates the ground and can recharge the aquifer. This percolated water is a system output and was incorporated in the emergy accounting. Another modification in comparison to previous emergy analyses was that the renewability factor of each input was considered in the emergy accounting. Results showed that the agroecological farm is more sustainable and can be used as a model for Small Farms in their transition to ecological agriculture. The GIS–emergy tools were used to compare the environmental performance of the four main productive areas of Duas Cachoeiras farm (annual cultures, orchard, forest, and pasture). These results demonstrate the emergy performance of each kind of land use and may be used in watershed planning.
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emergy assessment of integrated production systems of grains pig and fish in Small Farms in the south brazil
2006Co-Authors: Otavio Cavalett, Julio Ferraz De Queiroz, Enrique OrtegaAbstract:The present study uses emergy methodology to evaluate environmental aspects of integrated production systems of grains, pig and fish in Small Farms in the South region of Brazil. New emergy parameters that use partial renewability factor of each input were used to improve emergy accounting. These parameters were already applied to different case studies and are very appropriate for use in emergy assessment of integrated agricultural systems. The following indicators were calculated for the integrated production system of grains, pig and fish: transformity: 948,000 sej/J; renewability: 24%; emergy yield ratio: 1.44; emergy investment ratio: 2.28; environmental loading ratio: 3.13 and emergy exchange ratio: 6.8. These values were compared with results calculated for grains, pig and fish production subsystems working in a separated way. The results obtained signalize that an integrated system has better emergy efficiency, is more sustainable and is less stressful on the environment in comparison with separated production subsystems. The emergy indicators presented are discussed in the text and they will be useful in further work to assist the formulation of public policy, and also to recommend better management practices to farmers.
Laure Latruffe - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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farm size agricultural subsidies and farm performance in slovenia
2013Co-Authors: Štefan Bojnec, Laure LatruffeAbstract:Abstract The paper investigates the links between size, subsidies and performance for Slovenian Farms. Slovenian Farms have always been Small and highly subsidized. A literature review is carried out for the period before accession to the European Union (EU), and new calculations with farm-level data are performed for 2004–2006, the period of adjustment to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. Our analysis reveals that both pre- and post-accession Farms’ performance measured in terms of technical efficiency is positively related to farm size in Slovenia. We find that Small Farms are less technically efficient but more allocatively efficient and profitable. The persistence of Small Farms in Slovenia may be associated with the provision of generous subsidies, which are negatively related to Farms’ technical efficiency but positively related to their profitability. The decline in the number of medium-size Farms which has been observed since the accession to the EU may be explained by the fact that medium Farms cumulate all disadvantages in terms of performance: they are too Small to be economically efficient, but they are too large to be profitable.
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Financing availability and investment decisions of Slovenian Farms during the transition to a market economy
2011Co-Authors: Štefan Bojnec, Laure LatruffeAbstract:This paper investigates the financial determinants of investment decisions made by Slovenian family Farms during the transition to a market economy in the period 1994-2003. Results from standard and augmented accelerator models indicate that Farms’ investment decisions were based on market opportunities during this period, ruling out the presence of soft budget constraints, but that these decisions were constrained by the availability of finance. Further analyses reveal a non-significant impact of investment subsidies received by Farms, but a positive impact of operational subsidies for Small Farms only, on the alleviation of financial constraints.
Birthe K. Paul - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from Small Farms
2016Co-Authors: Romain Frelat, Santiago Lopez-ridaura, Ken E. Giller, Mario Herrero, Sabine Douxchamps, Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt, Olaf Erenstein, Ben Henderson, Menale Kassie, Birthe K. PaulAbstract:We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub-Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60% of food availability. The off-farm income contribution to food availability ranged from 12% for households without enough food available (18% of the total sample) to 27% for the 58% of households with sufficient food available. Using only three explanatory variables (household size, number of livestock, and land area), we were able to predict correctly the agricultural determined status of food availability for 72% of the households, but the relationships were strongly influenced by the degree of market access. Our analyses suggest that targeting poverty through improving market access and off-farm opportunities is a better strategy to increase food security than focusing on agricultural production and closing yield gaps. This calls for multisectoral policy harmonization, incentives, and diversification of employment sources rather than a singular focus on agricultural development. Recognizing and understanding diversity among Smallholder farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is key for the design of policies that aim to improve food security.
Gary D Libecap - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Small Farms externalities and the dust bowl of the 1930s
2004Co-Authors: Zeynep K Hansen, Gary D LibecapAbstract:We provide a new and more complete analysis of the origins of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, one of the most severe environmental crises in North America in the twentieth century. Severe drought and wind erosion hit the Great Plains in 1930 and lasted through 1940. There were similar droughts in the 1950s and 1970s, but no comparable level of wind erosion. We explain why. The prevalence of Small Farms in the 1930s limited private solutions for controlling the downwind externalities associated with wind erosion. Drifting sand from unprotected fields damaged neighboring Farms. Small farmers cultivated more of their land and were less likely to invest in erosion control than larger farmers. Soil conservation districts, established by the government after 1937, helped coordinate erosion control. This “unitized” solution for collective action is similar to that used in other natural resource/environmental settings.
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Small Farms externalities and the dust bowl of the 1930s
2003Co-Authors: Zeynep K Hansen, Gary D LibecapAbstract:We provide a new and more complete analysis of the origins of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, one of the most severe environmental crises in North America in the 20th Century. Severe drought and wind erosion hit the Great Plains in 1930 and lasted through 1940. There were similar droughts in the 1950s and 1970s, but no comparable level of wind erosion. We explain why. The prevalence of Small Farms in the 1930s limited private solutions for controlling the downwind externalities associated with wind erosion. Drifting sand from unprotected fields damaged neighboring Farms. Small farmers cultivated more of their land and were less likely to invest in erosion control than were larger farmers. Soil Conservation Districts, established by government after 1937, helped coordinate erosion control. This "unitized" solution for collective action is similar to that used in other natural resource/environmental settings.
