Does Sending Farmers Back to School Have An Impact? A Spatial Econometric Approach

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/08/07.agricultural economics, spatial econometrics, economic development, Labor and Human Capital, Q12, C59, O13,

Economic Transition and Natural Resource Management in East-and Southeast Asia

Abstract: For several decades the effective and efficient dissemination of new agricultural knowledge among farmers in developing countries has been problematic. Two major programs were implemented in Indonesia, namely The Training and Visit (T&V) Extension Program or The Massive Guidance (BIMAS) Program, from the mid 1960s until the end of the1980s, and the Farmer Field School (FFS) Program, during the 1990s. The main difference between these two programs is that, where the T&V was concerned, farmers were instructed what to do, while the FFS program encouraged and stimulated farmers to make their own decisions. This paper aims to discuss and compare the effectiveness of these two programs with reference to rice production in Indonesia. This paper would like to argue that, for regions where the level of development is still very low, implementing a T&V program instructing farmers what to do is probably more appropriate than an FFS. As for regions where agriculture is relatively developed, an effective FFS program is more appropriate

Does Sending Farmers Back to School Have An Impact? A Spatial Econometric Approach

The Farmer Field School (FFS) is an intensive training program providing farmers with science based knowledge and practices, including the integrated pesticide management (IPM). Recently there has been intensive debates as to whether or not this kind of training has any significant impact. Most case studies argue that the impact, in terms of a farmers ability to reduce the use or pesticides while increasing yields, is significant. However, studies conducted by Feder et al., using a household panel data set for Indonesia, could not confirm that this is the case. This paper utilises Feder et al.s data set and applies a spatial econometric technique to re-evaluate whether or not the FFS induces better performances among farmers enrolled in the program and also among their neighbours, who are expected to receive some spillover knowledge from the FFS alumna

Does sending farmers back to school have an impact? a spatial econometric approach

The Farmer Field School (FFS) is an intensive training program providing farmers with science based knowledge and practices, including integrated pest management (IPM). Recently there has been intensive debate as to whether or not this kind of training has any significant impact. Most case studies argue that the impact, in terms of a farmer’s ability to reduce the use or pesticides while increasing yields, is significant. However, studies conducted by Feder et al., using a household panel data set for Indonesia, could not confirm that this is the case. This paper utilizes Feder et al.’s data set and applies a modified model specification and a spatial econometric technique to re-evaluate whether or not the FFS induces better performances among farmers enrolled in the program and also among their neighbors, who are expected to receive some spillover knowledge from the FFS alumna.agricultural economics, spatial econometrics, economic development

Working Papers in Trade and Development Intra-and Inter-village Conflict in Rural Coastal Communities in Indonesia: The case of the Kei Islands Intra-and Inter-village Conflict in Rural Coastal Communities in Indonesia: The case of the Kei Islands Intra-a

Abstract Using the data collected by a survey of small-scale fishing households from rural coastal communities in Indonesia, we examine the underlying factors that are potentially associated with the incidence of conflicts among local marine resource users. Intra-village and intervillage conflicts are examined separately. We find that social relationships and individual perceptions of changes in fishery conditions are significantly associated with the incidence of both intra-and inter-village conflicts. The findings confirm that declining fish stocks is positively associated with inter-village conflicts but not with intra-village conflicts; while increasing catch is positively associated with intra-village conflicts but not with intra-village conflicts

No-take marine reserves and illegal fishing under imperfect enforcement

No-take marine reserves have been increasingly advocated as an effective means of supporting marine ecosystems and conserving fisheries resources. A major problem that can hinder the effectiveness of no-take reserves is the incidence of illegal fishing, which has created significant ecological and economic losses in global fisheries. We construct a bioeconomic model to explore the connection between the effects of notake reserves and illegal fishing activities in relation to the level of regulatory control of illegal activities in the reserve and fished areas. Our parameterised model shows that the effects of no-take reserves on both the extent of illegal fishing and the fish biomass critically depend on illegal fishing regulations and the scale and patterns of fish dispersal. In a fishery where illegal fishing can only be partially controlled, increasing the size of the no-take reserve may result in a lose-lose situation in which the level of illegal fishing effort increases and the total biomass decreases. Our results further show that when the pattern of fish dispersal is density dependent, imposing a stricter control on illegal fishing in either reserves or fished areas increases the aggregate level of illegal fishing

Fishers' Perceived Objectives of Community-Based Coastal Resource Management in the Kei Islands, Indonesia

Community-based resource management is a key approach to achieve successful small-scale fisheries and marine conservation. Many local management initiatives worldwide have been successfully managing aquatic resources and livelihoods of communities depending on them. Community-based management is particularly prevalent in small tropical islands where communities are frequently heavily dependent on coral reef ecosystems and small-scale reef fisheries for their livelihoods. Community-based management is, however, not always a panacea since there are inherit trade-offs among multiple objectives which are sometimes accentuated by community heterogeneity. It is well recognized that perceived and real evidence of community benefits are key to attributing success to local community-based management. However, broader understanding of community-based management objectives and how fishers' perceived personal objectives and characteristics affect management outcomes remains limited. We apply a non-linear Principle Component Analysis (PCA) to explore variations in personally held community-based management objectives, based on local surveys for fishing communities in the Kei Islands in Indonesia. We then examine whether these variations also explain their perceptions of environmental and economic outcomes that are achieved by this management systems. In this study important differences are found in the perceptions fishers have of the relative importance of different community management objectives. The value people attribute to aspects of community management can be related to their socio-demographic characteristics and experienced fishers tend to focus more on environmental objectives. Given that strong links were found between community management outcomes and terrestrially based activities there is an opportunity to link in the terrestrial and coastal systems management and achieve multiple objective outcomes