DIETARY DIVERSITY AND RURAL LABOR PRODUCTIVITY: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTAN

The relationship between rural labor productivity and food diversity was analyzed from the household consumption survey data of Pakistan. The elasticity of wage to diversity (0.77) was higher than to food expenditure (0.13). Lowering the prices of meats and fruits and vegetables will have the greatest impact on labor productivity.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Labor and Human Capital,

Productivity growth and resource degradation in Pakistan's Punjab - a decomposition analysis

The introduction of green revolution technologies in wheat, and rice production in Asia, in the mid 1960s reversed the food crisis, and stimulated rapid agricultural, and economic growth. But the sustainability of this intensification strategy is being questioned, in light of the heavy use of external inputs, and growing evidence of a slowdown in productivity growth, and degradation of the resource base. The authors address the critical issue of long-term productivity, and the sustainability of Pakistan's irrigated agriculture. To estimate changes in total factor productivity in four production systems of Punjab province, they assemble district-level data on 33 crops, 8 livestock products, and 17 input categories. They find that average annual growth in total factor productivity was moderately high (1.26 percent) for both crops, and livestock for the period 1966-94, but observe wide variation in productivity growth by cropping system. A second, disaggregated data set on soil, and water quality reveals significant resource degradation. The authors use the two data sets to decompose the effects of technical change, and resource degradation through application of a cost function. They find that continuous, and widespread resource degradation (as measured by soil and water quality variables) has had a significant negative effect on productivity, especially in the wheat-rice system, where resource degradation has more than offset the productivity effects of technological change. Degradation of the health of the agro-ecosystem was related in part, to modern technologies, mono-cropping, and mismanagement of water resources. The results call for urgent analysis of technology, and options to arrest the degradation of resources.Environmental Economics&Policies,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Agricultural Research,Economic Theory&Research,Drylands&Desertification

Quantifying the Extent and Nature of Risk in Alternative Cropping Patterns in Claveria, Philippines

The study develops a formulation to decompose variability in profit into price and production effects. The production effect is further segregated into management and weather effects. The formulation is used to compare and decompose risk in the profit of three existing cropping patterns (corn-corn, corn-fallow, and rice-fallow) in the rainfed areas of Claveria, northern Mindanao, Philippines. High variability and low profitability of the crops in a more risky season (dry in our case) can limit cropping intensities in rainfed areas. However, intensification of the crops during the less risky season (wet in our case) can provide the necessary stake to invest in the risky season crops. Although weather is the dominant factor in explaining total variability, this should not be interpreted as a general rule for all agricultural environments. In an environment where input intensity is high, and input-output markets are inefficient, management and price effects can dominate the weather effect. JEL classification: Q12 Keywords: Cropping Pattern, Weather Risk, Management Risk, Price Risk, Profit, Expected Utilit

Wheat Self-sufficiency in Different Policy Scenarios and Their Likely Impacts on Producers, Consumers, and the Public Exchequer

Every government faces a challenge to select an optimum policy to provide food supplies to the consumers at a reasonable price and maintain a reasonable nutritional standard. The alternative policy options available are an uninterrupted market, imports, input subsidies, price support, combined policy developed by the combination of input subsidy and price support, and investment on research and infrastructure development. This paper analyses the impact of these options on consumers’ and producers’ welfare, tax revenue, and foreign exchange requirement. The import and input subsidy give net return to the society while price support generates net loss. The triple combined policy option generates the highest net return to the society when each import and input subsidy component is combined with price support in the ratio of 40 and 20 percent, respectively. The best policies to provide higher wheat supplies at lower prices and to improve the welfare of consumers and producers were investment on agricultural research and development of irrigation infrastructure in the long run, but for the short run, the first and the second best option were respectively the combined and the input subsidy policy

Analysis of the Impact of Urbanization and Enhanced Incomes on Demand for Food Quality in Hanoi

This study relates the demand for quality foods in Hanoi in terms of its nutritional composition, diversity, price, processing stage, source, and extent eaten outside home with urbanization and enhanced incomes. The vast differences in these foods quality parameters across different socioeconomic groups and regions in and around Hanoi city suggest the changing nature of the food quality with increased income and urbanization. One lesson learned from this analysis is that urbanization and increased income may not necessarily bring all positive changes in food quality. While the diet becomes more balanced in terms of micronutrient, the increased demand for fat-based calories, processed and restaurant foods, and drift away from fresh sources of farm and home-garden foods raised alarm for food quality and safety. These trends provide a space for government policies to intervene for the purpose of maintaining hygiene standards of food and public health.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Supply, Demand, and Policy Environment for Pulses in Pakistan

This paper fills an information gap regarding factors affecting the supply and demand of pulses in Pakistan. The short- and long-term supply elasticities were estimated using the Nerlovian partial adjustment process, while demand elasticities were estimated by applying the Deaton and Muellbauer Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). Generally lack of technological innovation in pulses, except in mungbean, has reduced their production and they are pushed to low intensive areas which are marginal for cereal and cash crop production. Pulses did not benefit from the investment in irrigation infrastructure. Increase in wage rates has further affected the mungbean and lentil production. On the demand side, contrary to normal belief, pulses have high own-price demand and income elasticities. Thus decline in pulses consumption is not caused by their being regarded as inferior goods, rather it can be attributed to disproportionate increase in pulses price, as laxity in pulses research left their production behind demand. The high-yielding, short-duration, and pest-resistant pulses varieties with synchronised maturity can revive their production trend as well as improve the dietary pattern, especially of the poor

Combating Nutrient Deficiency in Pakistan

To quantify the micronutrient deficiencies and their overtime trends, food quantities reported to be consumed in HIES surveys data during 1991-92 and 2011-12 are converted into major and micronutrients using the FAO Food Composition Table for Pakistan. To see the impact of different price and income support policies on micronutrient consumption, nutrient demand elasticities are estimated for 2011-12 for carbohydrates (energy), protein, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and Niacin. The Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) is applied to estimate the demand elasticities of the eight food groups which are then converted into nutrient demand elasticities using the transformation of Hunag (1996). On average, per capita consumptions of almost all micronutrients are deficient compared to their respective recommended levels. Our analysis suggest that income support to the poor in Pakistan through programmes like BISP would have been much more effective to eradicate nutrient deficiency, if deficient nutrient(s) are targeted and support is provided to those foods having highest demand elasticity for that nutrient. For example, the promotion of wheat and other cereals are important to eradicate energy deficiency, and promotion of vegetables, fruits, and milk are particularly important in eradicating vitamin A, C and iron deficiencies. These commodities are also high value crops for farmers, thus the price support in these crops will also impact micronutrient consumption through income effect