MEASURING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TECHNICAL PROGRESS IN LOW-INCOME AGRICULTURE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND FOREST PRESSURE IN PALAWAN, THE PHILIPPINES

Data from the Philippines are used to measure impacts of technical progress in lowland agriculture on upland forests. Irrigation development, labor demand, and employment are studied. Total annual labor use increased following irrigation. Employment of household members living along forest margins increased also. Time allocation data from the uplands show that increases in employment among households living along the forest margin were accompanied by reductions in forest clearing and forest-degrading activities. Empirical findings show irrigation-induced increases in agricultural employment can reduce pressure on tropical forests. Implications for policies and trends in use of labor saving methods that could undermine the observed changes are discussed.Philippines, irrigation, rice production, labor markets, environment, Environmental Economics and Policy, Labor and Human Capital, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

DO TROPICAL FORESTS PROVIDE A SAFETY NET? INCOME SHOCKS AND FOREST EXTRACTION IN MALAWI

We use seasonal household data on income shocks and forest extraction to study how households in Malawi use forests to cope with income shortfalls. In particular, we study household response to receipt of a positive income shock delivered in the form of a technology assistance package. We estimate a random-effects model of forest extraction to examine whether household forest use is responsive to income shocks received in a prior period. We also measure the extent to which households subsequently save out of transitory income. Findings indicate that forest extraction by asset-poor households was more responsive to income shocks than forest extraction by better-off households. Findings also suggest households save out of transitory income, and in the process accumulate physical assets that may reduce their dependence on forests for weathering subsequent income shocks. Results show how policies aimed at poverty alleviation among those living adjacent to tropical forests can also alleviate forest pressure.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Farm size and nonparametric efficiency measurements for coffee farms in Vietnam

We study the efficiency of smallholder coffee farms in Vietnam. Data from a 2004 survey of farms in two districts in Dak Lak Province are used in a two-step analysis. In the first step, technical and cost efficiency measures are calculated using DEA. In the second step, Tobit regressions are used to identify factors correlated with technical and cost inefficiency. Results indicate that small farms were less efficient than large farms. Inefficiencies observed on small farms appear to be related, in part, to the scale of investments in irrigation infrastructure.Farm Management,

Short Term Investment in Agriculture: Is there a Gender Bias?

Most developing countries strive to improve agricultural productivity by relaxing credit constraints, supplying better inputs, improving marketing and distribution. However the efficacy of these reforms needs to be examined in the context of the behavioral responses of farming households. This study examines gender biases within households that affect short-term investments in agriculture. The study utilizes data from ICRISATs village level studies in India (1975-85) to highlight the effects of child gender on the use of agricultural inputs. The main finding is that households with boys tend to use purchased inputs such as fertilizers and insecticides more intensively compared with households with girls. In general, household with boys also tend to have larger land holdings, and use animal and human labor to a greater extent than household with girls.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Agricultural Prices and Income Distribution among Farmers: A Whole-Household, Multi-Country, Multi-Year Analysis

Recent studies have emphasized that the poorest farmers are often net buyers of key commodities and therefore harmed by rising prices. We use LSMS data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala to test the degree of net purchases or sales by income level. We find that poorer farmers may be net buyers of individual crops, but only the poorest are net buyers of all crops. More generally, net sales among poor farmers are low. We conclude that agricultural price changes have a diverse but limited influence on poor farmers’ welfare, because their farm sales tend to be offset by food purchases.market participation, poverty, inequality, multi-continent multicountry, Agricultural Finance,

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS IN FOOD MARKETS? INSIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE RICE MARKET

We investigate the Philippine government's price stabilization policy for rice. Seemingly Unrelated Regressions are used to examine the effectiveness of the program at regional and national levels over a 21-year period (January 1983 to December 2003). Results of the regional analysis indicate some NFA-induced spatial and temporal differences in terms of producer prices. The NFA successfully increased producer prices in 5 of 13 regions through stock accumulation and paddy rice purchase at floor prices. NFA stock releases do not correlate strongly with retail prices at the national level, although results from the regional model indicate that NFA stock releases reduced retail prices in five regions, leading to perceptible spatial and temporal differences between regions. Although the NFA support price appears to have been moderately successful in increasing producer prices at a national level, on average, the support price led to an increase in consumer prices in ten regions and contributed little to price stabilization. Overall, therefore, our results indicate very limited success on the part of the NFA to achieve its major objectives at either regional or national level. We suggest the NFA should concentrate its resources in the poorest areas of the country, where it might exert greater and more useful influence in smaller and locally thin rice markets.Marketing,

Linkages between Market Participation and Productivity: Results from a Multi-Country Farm Household Sample

We build upon international trade literature to analyze the direction of causality between market participation and productivity. Cross-country household data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala are used in a 2SLS approach with market participation and productivity as endogenous variables. Results indicate that households with higher productivity tend to participate in agricultural markets regardless of market access factors. In contrast, having better market access does not necessarily lead to higher productivity. This finding suggests that investments in market access infrastructure provide minimal, if any, improvements in agricultural productivity; whereas programs targeted at enhancements in farm structure and capital have the potential to increase both productivity and market participation.International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Productivity Analysis,

Measuring the Impacts of Agricultural Input Subsidies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Malawi\u27s Farm Input Subsidy Program

Malawi, a small, land-locked country in south Eastern Africa has been at the forefront of the recent push to reestablish subsidies as a way of boosting agricultural production and improving food security, especially among the poor. Its programs have been widely observed, scrutinized, and emulated. This policy brief examines Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) and distills a set of key research findings drawn from research conducted recently at Purdue University