Compliance costs for regulatory approval of c4 rice

So far, most new biotech crops have been developed by transforming one or two genes with preferred traits. Compliance costs for regulatory approval of this type of crop vary among countries and according to whether the new biotech crop is a food or non-food crop. However, whether a new biotech crop with multiple transformed genes would cost significantly more and take much more time to be approved is unknown. This paper estimates the compliance costs for the regulatory approval of C4 rice, a new GM rice plant required several gene transformations, assuming it would be realized simultaneously in the 13 Asian countries in 2035. We found it to be $18.8 million (undiscounted), around 16.3$106 million. These estimated R&D costs could be useful to quantity the net welfare benefits from the introduction of C4 rice. In addition, donors could use this result as a guideline to fund additional investment required to develop C4 rice

Productivity and Efficiency Analysis of Microfinance Institutions (MFIS) in Bangladesh

This paper estimates productivity and efficiency of ten major microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh using the stochastic frontier output distance function approach. Cobb-Douglas specification is applied with two outputs and four inputs for the period 2003-2011. Analysis reveals that on an average the rate of total factor productivity (TFP) growth in MFIs was 2.6%, mostly due to technological progress (2.5%), while the average efficiency change was only 0.1%. The mean efficiency of microfinance firms was 0.765, which implies that MFIs could have produced 23.5% more with the current levels of input bundles if they had been fully efficient. The determinants of firms’ inefficiencies are cost per borrower and operational self-sufficiency, significant at the 1% level. The smaller MFIs (RDRS, Shakti, SSS, and JCF) define better frontiers than others, while bigger MFIs (BRAC, ASA, and GB) have been catching up faster than others

The future of food security of the Philippines in the face of climate change and changing consumption

The objectives of this study are two-fold: (i) to foresight the future demand for food items in the Philippines by rural and urban households, and (ii) to simulate changes in food consumption under various climatic scenarios. I used uncompensated demand and income elasticities from Bairagi et al. (2022) to estimate the future food demands and develop a simulation-based rice market model to quantify changes in food demands in the next decade. The results reveal that temperature and precipitation negatively affect the rice yield in the Philippines, the primary cash crop and staple food, but the effects are insignificant (minimal). The rice productivity could decrease by 0.24- 0.9%, resulting in an approximate 0.28-1.02% increase in rice prices in the next decade. Because of climate change (RCP 8.5: no climate mitigation target scenario), the per capita rice consumptions in Filipino rural and urban households are likely to decline by 0.60 kg and 0.74 kg per year, respectively. In terms of total demand, approximately 85 thousand metric tons (mt) of milled rice will be less demanded due to climate change. The total meat demand is likely to decline by 5.4 thousand mt, with a higher decline in urban areas. In contrast, approximately 1.2 thousand mt of fish consumption will increase by 2030. These findings indicate that climate change will reshape the future food basket in the Philippines

Sweet Sorghum as an Ethanol Feedstock in Western Nebraska – Could It Happen?

It has been proposed that non-irrigated sweet sorghum might be grown in western Nebraska as a seasonal substitute for corn grain in corn ethanol plants. In the research summarized here, we examine the economic feasibility of this possibility, based on the technical data that are currently available about sweet sorghum production

HIGHER BORO PRODUCTION FOR FOOD SECURITY : AN INTEGRATED STRATEGY

Achieving self-sufficiency in foodgrain production by 2012, reduction of prices of essential commodities, and poverty reduction were amongst the most important election pledges of the new government. These commitments are of complementary nature. Attainment of food security at the national and household level can contribute towards fulfilling the above mentioned three commitments. Attaining food security at the national level depends on the availability of food from domestic production and imports from the international markets, whereas food security at the household level depends not only on availability of food, but also on the ability to purchase food by the household. Households with adequate income can buy food from the market if it is available, but low-income households face problems to buy food when food prices are high. For such low-income groups, government distributes food through priced channels such as Open Market Sale (OMS), and non-priced channels like Vulnerable Group Development (VGD), Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), Food for Works (FFW), etc. Therefore, a major challenge of the government is to balance the interest of producers and consumers through government procurement and Public Food Distribution System (PFDS). This paper attempts to arouse interest for an integrated strategy for food security through higher Boro production. It discusses input delivery strategy needed for higher Boro production as well as a mechanism for public procurement and distribution of foodgrains to ensure social protection and social safety net.food security, BORO PRODUCTION, procurement, distribution, foodgrain

Sweet Sorghum as Feedstock in Great Plains Corn Ethanol Plants: The Role of Biofuel Policy

This research examines whether sweet sorghum, a crop considered more drought-tolerant and suitable for semi-arid areas than corn, could result in an economically viable sweet sorghum ethanol pathway in the Great Plains. We find that that if the D5–D6 RIN price spread exceeds the $0.35/gal recently experienced, the benefits of the pathway would be equivalent to about$90/acre of sweet sorghum, or $0.38/gal of ethanol. Because of sparse cultivation potential, only four the six existing plants in the Nebraska–Colorado High Plains area might expect transportation costs to be low enough for economic feasibility

Infant Mortality Situation in Bangladesh in 2007: A District Level Analysis

District level trend of infant mortality rate (IMR) per thousand live births in Bangladesh influenced by some assorted form of socio-demographic determinants such as individual, household and community level factors. This paper examines the trend and annual rate of reduction from 1998-2007 time periods and correlates causal factors based on different data from Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh 2008 and Sample Vital Registration System 2007. Seven explanatory variables are considered and the log-log specified ordinary least square and simultaneous quantile regression models are employed to investigate and compare the stochastic impacts of these predictors on changing infant mortality. Infant immunization is the most effective factor that reduces infant mortality especially at lower quantile districts. Most notably, lower poverty line implies increasing trend with upper quantile, indicates that districts with low infant mortality rate has low effect for any positive rate of change of it. The least square as well as simultaneous quantile regression result disclose that share of population lived in electricity accessed houses, road density, no. of female per family planning personnel has potential and statistically significant impacts on infant mortality rate that is -0.25%, -0.22% and -0.58% respectively. Likewise, infant mortality decreased with the increased percentage of household having television by 0.08%, on average. As infant mortality is an outcome from a variety of socio-economic disparity; reduction strategy should address the degree of severity of the risk factors on infant mortality, prioritizing the most effective reducing factors such as infant immunization and controlled population growth rate as well

Infant Mortality Situation in Bangladesh in 2007: A District Level Analysis

District level trend of infant mortality rate (IMR) per thousand live births in Bangladesh influenced by some assorted form of socio-demographic determinants such as individual, household and community level factors. This paper examines the trend and annual rate of reduction from 1998-2007 time periods and correlates causal factors based on different data from Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh 2008 and Sample Vital Registration System 2007. Seven explanatory variables are considered and the log-log specified ordinary least square and simultaneous quantile regression models are employed to investigate and compare the stochastic impacts of these predictors on changing infant mortality. Infant immunization is the most effective factor that reduces infant mortality especially at lower quantile districts. Most notably, lower poverty line implies increasing trend with upper quantile, indicates that districts with low infant mortality rate has low effect for any positive rate of change of it. The least square as well as simultaneous quantile regression result disclose that share of population lived in electricity accessed houses, road density, no. of female per family planning personnel has potential and statistically significant impacts on infant mortality rate that is -0.25%, -0.22% and -0.58% respectively. Likewise, infant mortality decreased with the increased percentage of household having television by 0.08%, on average. As infant mortality is an outcome from a variety of socio-economic disparity; reduction strategy should address the degree of severity of the risk factors on infant mortality, prioritizing the most effective reducing factors such as infant immunization and controlled population growth rate as well